King Cake (Happy Mardi Gras)!!!

This looks like a great recipe!!
Happy Mardi Gras!!

Butternut Squash Souffle

This is also a great recipe for Thanksgiving:
From the kitchen of Denise Benson adjusted by me for my family's wheat free/dairy free needs:

4 Cups Cooked and mashed Butternut Squash
2 tsp salt
1/2 Cup Maple Syrup
4 Tbs Packed Brown Sugar
6 Tbs Cornstarch
6 Egg Yolks
2 2/3 Cups Milk (Soy, Almond, etc)
1 C Melted Margarine
Sliced Toasted Almonds

First of all, I would also suggest using a Pie crust with this similar to doing a pumpkin Pie recipe only in a 9x13 baking pan.

Combine squash, salt, syrup, brown sugar and cornstarch. Beat until fluffy.
Add Egg yolks, milk, and butter. Mix thoroughly.
Pour into a buttered (9 x 13) casserole dish. Sprinkle with slivered almonds. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Serve at once (best nice and warm).

Now for Thanksgiving Dessert

I make a killer wheat and Diary free Pumpkin Pie.
One thing that you need to know is that whenever a recipe calls for sweetened condensed milk, just try it with soy or almond milk and see if it still works out. Pumpkin Pie sure does!
First of all at Whole Foods and a few other great Markets there are wheat and dairy free mixes for cakes, cookies and low and behold Pie Crusts!

So for my pie crust I use the "Perfect Pie Crust" mix from the brand, Gluten-Free Pantry. I carefully follow the directions and everything is great for the crust.

As for the filling, I like making mine from scratch. So I have adjusted a recipe from 20+ years ago. Here it is:

Pumpkin Pie:
2 cups of cooked/mashed pumpkin or 1 16oz can of pumpkin
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
3 Eggs
1 1/4 C Milk (Soy, Almond, Rice, etc)

Combine all the ingredients and pour into cooked pie crust. Cover edge of crust with foil and cook for 25 minutes at 375 degrees. Take foil off and put back in oven for 25-30 minutes at the same temperature until a knife inserted towards the center comes out clean. Cover and chill until ready to serve (or serve a little warm. That's yummy, too!).

So simple and sooo yummy. Don't feel left out in the cold with all of the holiday treats! Have some!

Thanksgiving Feast

Once I heard that I had to cut out wheat and dairy, first, for my husband and then for our children, I knew that things in our lives would change. Life in our society has so many events with food traditions, this was going to get tricky.
Thanksgiving was a biggie!!! What to do for stuffing or Grandma's Rolls?!!!
Oh boy.
Well, we have figured out some very yummy Turkey Day delights that are already on many tables.
First of all we get a huge turkey ('cause we like the whole thing and then the leftovers for a couple days). For basting I use margarine or Olive Oil (Cold Pressed). For stuffing we LOVE our rice and sausage stuffing with chopped up celery and onions. Potatoes are good 'ol traditionally mashed potatoes. We actually skip rolls. Is there anything else? Well, if there is a need for more in your home, cook up some more veggies, and a great salad. I also have a new recipe from my friend, Denise, for a Butternut Squash Souffle that is almost a dessert.

Stuffing: Cook 4 cups of rice (any kind your family loves)
add 1 cup chopped celery, 1/2 cup chopped carrots, and 1/2 cup chopped red onions, and 1 lbs cooked sausage( your level of spiciness). Stir this all together and add salt and pepper. Stuff the bird and enjoy the thought that all of those tasty turkey juices will soak into that rice meshing with the tastes of the sausage for a wonderful stuffing.

Mashed Potatoes: See one of my first postings. Easy!!!!

Don't forget the Pumpkin Pie! Yep you can do it wheat and dairy free. See the next posting!
Enjoy.