thanksgiving
"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
It seemed like Thanksgiving flew by this year... Everything seemed to go by really fast & I am so bummed that we didn't even take a family picture! Next year I will have to make that my top priority. All in all, we had a nice & relaxing day. Thanksgiving is a good reminder for me to be thankful everyday, not only in the big things, but the little ones too! This past year has been full of joy & I am so thankful for all these blessing the Lord has given to us: the birth of Oliver, family, friends, two cars, my husbands job, a roof over our head & food to eat.
We spent this Thanksgiving with Matt's family & my job was to make cranberry chutney, gluten free stuffing & mini gluten free pies! Everything was delicious! Although I love Thanksgiving food, I am glad the leftovers are gone! But, I wanted to share the recipes I made & also for me because I tend to forget where I got the recipes ;) My husband is gluten free & I am dairy free, so I do have to tweak normal recipes to suite our needs, but I will post the sites where I got the original recipes! Enjoy!
Cranberry Chutney
(original recipe found
here)
1lb fresh cranberries
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
1 cup apple cider
1 cinnamon stick
6 fresh mint leaves
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1. rinse the cranberries & discard any soft ones
2. in a saucepan over medium heat, combine cranberries, sugars, orange juice, apple cider, salt, cinnamon & mint, stir to mix
3. bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, then reduce the heat to med-low
4. simmer until all the juices have reduced & the consistency is getting thick, about an hour or hour & a half
5. let the chutney cool to room temperature, then cover & refrigerate
6. let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before serving
note* I add salt & more sugar because it was really tart, & it helped cut the tartness in half ;)
Gluten Free Bacon Stuffing
(original recipe found
here)
5 cups gluten free bread, dried & cut in cubes
1lb bacon, cut into bite size pieces
1 granny smith apple, cut into bite size pieces
1 onion, cut into bite size pieces
3 stalks celery, cut into bite size pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 TBS fresh poultry seasoning, chopped
salt & pepper
2 eggs
1 cup chicken broth or vegetable broth
1. cook bacon & reserve about 1/2 the bacon grease, set bacon aside
2. add all the chopped ingredients (except poultry seasoning) to the same pan that the bacon was in & pour in the reserved bacon grease
3. add the minced garlic, salt & pepper to the pan & cook until everything is soft
4. next, place cooked ingredients in a large bowl, then add bacon, gluten free bread cubes & seasoning & stir together
5. finally, stir in the eggs & broth then place in a greased baking dish
6. bake at 375 F for 30 minutes
note* I pretty much halved the original recipe & didn't use the bourbon or apple cider vinegar that it said in the original recipe
Gluten Free Mini Pies
(original maple pecan recipe
here, original pumpkin pie recipe
here & original apple pie recipe
here)
note* I used two containers of
Pillsbury gluten free pie & pastry dough, which made about 24 mini cupcake sized pies & I just pressed them into the cupcake pans before I made any of the fillings.
Apple Pie Filling
1/4 cup gluten free flour (I use
Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour)
3lbs granny smith apples, peeled & sliced thin
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 TBS apple cider vinegar
2 TBS dairy free butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp allspice
1 egg
1. place all ingredients in a large bowl & mix together
2. scoop filling in unbaked pie crusts
3. bake at 375 F for about 15-20 min (check frequently as to not burn them)
4. transfer to a wire rack & cool completely
5. can be stored at room temperature
note* I made 12 of the mini gluten free apple pie's, but I would almost recommend cutting this recipe in half or buying more dough because it could have made 24 mini pies! also, I greased the cupcake pans before placing the dough in.
Pecan Pie Filling
1 cup pecan pieces or halves
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
2 TBS dairy free butter
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1. place pecans in a skillet over medium low heat & cook until they smell fragrant, string occasionally about 5 minutes
2. pour maple syrup & butter in a small saucepan over medium low, cook until butter melts
3. beat eggs in large bowl, then whisk in sugar, vanilla & salt
4. slowly add the maple syrup mixture & whisk away
5. stir in pecans, then add filling to the uncooked pie shells & cook at 375 F for about 15-20 minutes (check frequently as to not burn them)
6. cool thoroughly & store in refrigerator
note* I halved the original recipe, but it still made extra ( I made 6 mini pies with this recipe)
Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie Filling
1 15oz can pumpkin puree
2 eggs
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/4 cup coconut milk
1. preheat oven to 425 F
2. whisk all ingredients together
3. pour in unbaked pie shells & bake 10 minutes
4. reduce heat to 350 F for another 15-20 minutes (check frequently as to not burn them)
5. cool on wire rack
Hope all my American friends had a Happy Thanksgiving!