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Recipe: Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cornbread

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 2 Comments

Want a fun twist on cornbread this holiday season? This recipe is just for you!

Not only does cornbread make a simple substitute for rolls at your holiday table, but the pumpkin in this recipe will help tie in the fall theme.

Pumpkin Cornbread**

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Jules gluten-free Flour
  • 1 tsp xanthan gum
  • 1 Tbs baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup cornmeal (I used Bob’s Red Mill Stone Ground GF Cornmeal)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • 1 Tbs molasses

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees & grease a 10-inch pie pan or 9-inch square pan.
  2. Mix all dry ingredients (except brown sugar) in a large bowl.
  3. In another bowl, beat the eggs lightly. Then mix in the pumpkin, brown sugar, oil & molasses.
  4. Make a well in the dry ingredient mix and then add the wet ingredients. Stir to mix, being careful to not over-mix.
  5. Pour into the pan and bake for 30 minutes or until the bread is nicely browned and a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
  6. Cool slightly & enjoy!

I found this freezes well – it tastes just as good when you defrost & eat slightly warmed in the microwave or toasted in the toaster oven.

**The original recipe comes from Laura at Real Mom Kitchen and was modified to be gluten-free by me.

Is Sushi Gluten-Free?

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

I realized this is a tougher question than I thought, two days ago.  The immediate response may be, sure it is, because it is mainly rice and raw fish…seems pretty safe, right?  Wrong.

Sushi seems like is should be pretty straight-forward and in some cases it can be, but in others hidden gluten can innocently be missed. The other night we went out for sushi for the first time in a while.  I am usually so up on my game when checking out if a restaurant is safe by calling ahead of time, looking up reviews, but this caught me totally by surprise.  I knew to stay away from the imitation crab, which contains gluten, and regular soy sauce, as well as some wasabi (which can sometimes contain wheat), but this was a new one to me.

I was totally looking forward to having sushi, so we get to a nice sushi restaurant that I have wanted to try for years, and as soon as we sit down, I ask if they happen to have gluten-free soy sauce.  They do – bonus, because I forgot mine. I ask if this fish has been marinated in anything, they tell me that no, it is plain fish unless we order a roll with sauce.  Great.  Next I ask about some non-sushi dishes to order as a side and ask if those sauces would be free of gluten and safe and they tell me no, everything has soy sauce.  Fair enough.  We order drinks, order our sushi, and my mouth is watering in anticipation of this meal.  Next, the server comes to our table and tells me that the sushi rice has a sauce with vinegar and wheat in it.  What???  With this new piece of information, we decided to leave, because now, I couldn’t even eat sushi, so really there was nothing to eat except maybe steamed edamame.

We decided to try another sushi place, Ru San’s, which is a local Atlanta chain of reasonably priced and unique sushi combinations.  Plus, I had remembered that I read a review on Yelp, of someone saying they were gluten-free and ate there regularly.  I decided to play it safe anyway, and called them on the ride over to confirm their rice was safe.  I would never even of thought that sushi was rice was something I needed to question, but now I know.  Ru San’s confirmed their rice was safe, so I picked up a bottle of gluten-free tamari and we were on our way.

Not only was their sushi safe (as long as you stay away from the imitation crab, tempura and any rolls that come with sauces, such as spicy tuna), they made us fried rice using our gluten-free soy sauce.  They also told me that they usually do have gluten-free soy sauce on hand, but didn’t that night.  I am glad I came prepared.

I have also heard that some places will put sesame seed mixtures on the outside of the rolls, and some of these mixtures contain wheat.  Ru San’s used plain sesame seeds, but when I looked at a bottle of sesame seed seasoning mix on the table, I saw that it contained sesame seeds, seaweed and wheat, so be sure to ask that they are not using that on your rolls.

In my pre-celiac days, I liked to start a sushi meal with miso soup and salad with ginger dressing, but now it is important to ask what ingredients go into the soup and salad dressing before ordering.

Sushi can be an easy meal to enjoy gluten-free if you know what questions to ask and where to know where there might be hidden gluten.  Be sure to ask about any seasoning in the sushi rice; any kind of seasoning on the fish; and the sauces used in some sushi rolls. And always remember to bring your own soy sauce and stay away from the imitation crab.

Gluten-Free Stuffing or Dressing?

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 3 Comments

So, what do you call it? Is it stuffing or dressing where you come from? I remember my grandmother (Dad’s mom) calling it dressing, but my parents always called it stuffing. Does the fact that it is stuffed in the bird not change the name for you? We call it stuffing and since I am a little freakish about the stuffing being cooked in the bird, we cook it in a baking dish outside of the turkey. I know that a lot of people would call that “dressing” based on the fact that the side dish is not actually “stuffed” inside of the turkey. Semantics.

The first year that I was gluten-free we tried a stuffing made from Ener-G gluten-free bread and I was not impressed. So much so that I almost abandoned the idea of stuffing from there on out. Then I remember cornbread. Why not make cornbread stuffing? Lots of people made stuffing from cornbread and I was sure that texture would be much better than what I had experienced with the Ener-G bread. So, cornbread it was.

As suspected, the stuffing turned out amazing! Even picky, non-gluten-free family members raved about it. Score! The first year I used Gluten-Free Pantry’s Yankee Cornbread Mix. Ever since I have made my own cornbread using the recipe from the back of the Quaker Corn Meal canister.

Cornbread

**From the back of the Quaker Yellow Corn Meal Box

***Double this for the stuffing

  • 1 ¼ cups Pamela’s Baking Mix
  • ¾ cup cornmeal (Used Bob’s Red Mill Stone Ground Cornmeal)
  • ¼ cup sugar (1/8 cup for stuffing cornbread)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt (I omitted this b/c there is salt in Pamela’s baking mix)
  • 1 cup buttermilk (the box says to use skim, I like buttermilk in my cornbread)
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil (I use canola)
  • 2 egg whites or 1 egg beaten (I used the beaten egg.

Directions:

Heat oven to 400. Pam 8 or 9-inch baking pan. Combine dry ingredients. Stir in milk, oil, and egg, mixing just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and the toothpick comes out clean. (I did 20 minutes).

The day of preparation.

Crumble the cornbread onto cookie sheets in a single layer & place in oven at 250 – 300 degrees and check frequently until it gets dried out, but not burnt. While you are doing this, you can prepare the sausage (I used Tennesee Pride Mild).

Melt butter in a large frying pan. Add chopped celery & onion & cook until translucent. Add seasonings – salt, pepper & poultry seasoning to taste. My Mom is the pro at this. You can always add more, so taste as you go.

Mix bread, sausage, and butter/celery/onion mixture together in a large bowl.

You will need to add broth to moisten the stuffing before placing it in the oven. How much depends on your preference. The more, the more moister. Cover & bake at 350 – 375 for 30-40 minutes. Take the cover off for the last 10 minutes or so to crisp up the top if you like.

So, whether you call it stuffing or dressing, make sure to make enough for leftovers. There is nothing like leftovers from Thanksgiving for breakfast before heading out for a long day of shopping on Black Friday.

Recipe: Battered Gluten-Free Chicken Fingers

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 4 Comments

Chicken fingers are often one of the things I hear people talk about missing when they start the gluten-free diet. If your child has been diagnosed with Celiac Disease, it is likely that he or she is mourning the loss of his or her favorite foods. I know that Jon was really bummed at first; he was 10 when he was diagnosed. My son really missed his Pop Tarts, chicken nuggets and pasta.

We have tried many recipes for Chicken Nuggets and while the recipes we have tried are good, nothing has come close to what Aaron, my husband, made this evening. I had been taking a much needed nap and was told when I woke up that he was making chicken fingers for dinner. My first thought was “Great, I am off the hook for making dinner!” 😉 Then he told me to look in the freezer. I couldn’t figure out why. I opened the freezer and there sat a baking sheet full of battered chicken fingers (uncooked). I am not going to lie, I was a little skeptical about his method, but who am I to question? I was just happy that I only had to worry about what I was going to eat later on. He started cooking a short time later. I began to smell a wonderful aroma drifting over to the comfy couch spot where I was sitting and couldn’t help but to get up to follow it into the kitchen. At first glance I was impressed! The color of the chicken fingers was a golden brown. They reminded me of the chicken fingers that Chili’s serves and are far from being gluten-free. I bit into one and was floored! These were spot on!! They were just as good, if not better, than the Chili’s fingers. I immediately began to inquire how he had made them so that I could share the recipe here with you all.

Ingredients:

  • Better Batter Pancake Mix, 2-3 cups
  • 1-2 lbs of chicken
  • garlic, 1-2 tsps
  • paprika,1 tsp
  • oregano (just a sprinkle or two)
  • salt, 1/2 – 1 tsp
  • pepper, 1/2 tsp
  • 1 egg
  • water

***amount of dry ingredients will depend on how much chicken is used. The amounts listed in parentheses are strictly guidelines.

Directions:

  1. Soak chicken tenders in water.
  2. Mix together dry ingredients.
  3. Dredge chicken through dry mixture and set aside.
  4. After all chicken has been dredged through the dry mixture, add the egg and enough water to make the mixture the consistency of pancake batter.
  5. Coat all chicken pieces and then place on baking sheet that has been lined with wax paper.
  6. Freeze for 1 hour or so. This helps the batter adhere to the chicken.
  7. Heat enough oil in a pan so that the chicken can be completely submerged.
  8. Fry until golden brown.
  9. Drain on a paper towel. Season with salt & pepper if desired.
  10. Enjoy.

The kids loved these, as did I! I apologize for not having more specific ingredient amounts, but Aaron cooks by feel and 99% of the time he is spot on. He is now considering using this same approach for battered fish for the kids! I told him he should use gluten-free beer instead of water for beer-battered fish!

Recipe: Gluten-Free Almond Cranberry Bites

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 4 Comments

With the holidays quickly approaching, I thought it was time to share these amazing cookies with you all. While the recipe calls for cherries, I didn’t have any when I made these last year, so I substituted dried cranberries. I liked that so much that I have never tried the cherries, however, dried cherries with chocolate drizzle on top would be awesome!

Almond Cranberry Bites
**Original recipe from Eatingwell.com; modified to be gluten-free by me

    • 1/3 cup whole almonds (I used Trader Joe’s raw almonds)
    • 1/3 cup sugar
    • 2/3 cup coarsely chopped dried cherries
    • 2/3 cup gluten-free flour mix (I used Jules gluten-free Flour)
    • 2 tablespoons canola oil
    • 1 large egg white
    • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
    • 2 tablespoons chocolate chips or finely chopped dark and/or white chocolate, for decoration (optional- I opted not to add this, but will next time.)

Makes about 20 cookies – I will make sure to double this next time.

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 350.
  2. Grind raw almonds & sugar in a food processor until you have the desired texture; the finer the texture, the more intense the almond flavor & less crunch from the almond. Be careful not to turn the almonds into paste. Transfer mix to large bowl & mix in flour & cranberries.
  3. Add egg white, oil, vanilla & almond extracts. Mix until well incorporated.
  4. Shape dough into small balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the bottom is slightly brown; the tops will not brown.
  5. Transfer to a wire rack & cool completely.
  6. Optional- melt chocolate & drizzle over cookies with a fork. Let stand until chocolate sets.

I can’t wait to make more of these! They certainly don’t last very long!