Gluten Free Holidays....starting with Green Bean Casserole

Well, it is DEFINITELY the holiday season. Christmas lights are up, travel plans have been made, extra dance practices are in and preparation for the busiest time of the year is in full swing. I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving! We had just the four of us here since Pom had croup and Diva ended up with strep throat. Poor little things.

It was still a good day though! We made some total experiments this year! Most of them worked but some need tweaking. Oddly enough, the best experiment came out of frustration at the small bits of leftovers that needed to be eaten immediately. That recipe will be coming up!

Every year I try something new but there are a few standby's. This year I finally made a gluten free Green Bean Casserole that turned out right and I tried something new with a Wild Rice Casserole. Both will be made again for Christmas dinner on request of the hubby and both girls.

Green Bean Casserole

• 2 cans salt free cut green beans
• 1 can gluten free mushroom soup (I use Progresso)
• 1 Tblsp gluten free soy sauce
• 1 onion, sliced and "fried" (recipe below)

Mix beans, soup, soy sauce and half the onions in a casserole. Sprinkle the other half of the onions over the casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 - 45 minutes.

"Fried" Onions

• 1/3 cup gluten free flour blend
• a few dashes of gf season salt (McCormick is good)
• salt and pepper
• 1 onion, sliced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix flour and seasonings. Toss onion slices in flour mix. Spray a baking sheet with Canola oil. Toast in oven for about 15 minutes.

This was the closest we've come to the green bean casserole we knew and loved. It's wonderful! I know this post is late for Thanksgiving but it's perfect for all those upcoming holiday dinners!

ENJOY!!

Oatmeal Fruit Cookies...Like Grandma used to bake, only better!!

Lately I have been craving Oatmeal cookies the way my grandma used to make them. One of the few things we cooked together when I was growing up was cookies. They were warm, chewy and comforting. The last time I tried to make them after going gluten free, they were NOTHING like that. I hadn't tried them since but tonight, the desire overcame the fear and a-baking I went.

Having learned a few tricks and lessons over time, I altered the recipe of my grandmothers and these were the result. Perfect. Chewy. Comforting. EXACTLY like grandma's. Only gluten free. Making them better. And here they are.

You may notice that these aren't Oatmeal RAISIN cookies. It began years ago simply because we were out of raisins but they were so good that we continued making them like this. They are fantabulous!!

Oatmeal Fruit Cookies

• 2 cups gluten free quick cooking Oats **(see note)
• 1 1/2 cups gluten free flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cup dried fruit (I used a mix of cranberries, cherries and chopped apples)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup (two sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Beat all ingredients in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium high speed until well mixed.
Drop onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper (or a well seasoned stoneware pan) about one inch apart. Bake about 10 minutes, cool on a wire rack.
ENJOY!


WARNING: I ate five of these very quickly. They are seriously yummy.

**People ask me all the time about the label "gluten free" for oats. YES it is very important that you get GLUTEN FREE oats. Bob's Red Mill sells some. Since oats are grown alternately on the same land as wheat then processed in the same facility, they are contaminated from the very beginning. Gluten free oats are grown and processed in wheat free facilities.