Turkey Day Game Plan 2012

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Seems everyone right now is sharing their awesome recipes on the blogs, which offers an overwhelming array of delicious foods to choose from.

This year, things are going to be simplified in our house. We'll probably visit the in-laws for the usual feast, which means I will need to be stocked with some safe dining options. I'm cool with that, I love Thanksgiving food (and especially leftovers)!

However, due to the increasing size of my belly, and the strain on my poor muscles, I am not allowed to spend as much time on my feet. This has severely cramped my ability to cook lately (and do dishes, darn...).

So, this is my plan for the big day:

The Amazing Feast of 2011 

The bird: I have a 10 lb free-range turkey on its way, which I ordered from my favorite Sprouts Farmer's Market. I plan on keeping it simple, and following this winning recipe from allrecipes.com.

The sides: My favorite green bean casserole for the past few years - Thanks to Irvin at Eat the Love for allowing me to enjoy this classic dish without all the gluten and dairy! (pictured above)

Still debating between these two recipes - Roasted Orange Sweet Potatoes from Gluten Free Girl & The Chef - or Cinnamon Stuffed Sweet Potatoes (I know it's a recipe from a yogurt website, but I plan on subbing cashew cream in for the yogurt). 

Of course, I'll be whipping up a batch of Cranberry Citrus Sauce from Kim at Cook it Allergy Free! I can't get enough of this stuff. I've been dreaming about it for months now, as the weather's hinted at getting colder ;) (pictured above)

If I have any leftover sauce, I may try adding some of it to this gorgeous cake recipe from Iris at the Daily Dietribe. 

Dessert: Of course, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without something amazing to satisfy the sweet tooth! I'm sticking to my tried and true (and much loved) Chocolate Pecan Tart. I think I'm going grain free on the crust this year (I love the Food Lovers' almond flour crust!), and will somehow be adapting the filling (possibly using Hallie's pecan tart as a guide?). 

I promise to follow up this year with the results of all this hard work!

What do you all have planned this year?

*The photo above is from last year's dinner, however, I never posted a follow up on how everything turned out! It was great! The turkey was deliciously flavored, and I definitely enjoyed all my leftovers :)

Thanksgiving Menu 2011

I'm rather embarrassed that it has been 2 months since I last posted. Life has been incredibly busy and stressful, but mostly good. However, I have not had much time to keep up the blog.

So, Thanksgiving is just about here, and I'm sure most of you have your menus all planned. However, if you are in need of any last-minute inspiration, here is my plan for the big dinner.

Well, technically, we are having 2 Thanksgiving dinners. Wednesday night, we're having a smaller feast, with just the two of us. On Thursday, we're headed to Grandma's house to celebrate w/ the in-laws. They should have some safe foods for me, but I always like to be prepared, just in case. So I'm sure I'll have a Tupperware or two of leftovers hanging out in my purse.

As far as my meal plan goes, this is the rundown:

For the bird - I have my brine soaking my 12-pound free-range turkey right now, a delicious-smelling concoction from Pioneer Woman (also, check out her tips on controlling saltiness post-brine). I plan on following this recipe to actually cook the turkey tomorrow.

I LOVED this cranberry citrus sauce last year, so I am making it again. But I am struggling to resist the gorgeous photos of this tart recipe, so I think I'm going to halve the first recipe, and make a half-batch of The Food Lovers primal cranberry sauce too! Funny that I never touched this stuff as a kid, and now I can't get enough cranberry sauce!

Rolls - I had planned on making Carol's beautiful GF/DF dinner rolls...but laziness struck, and I hit up the health food store to see if I could find any rolls from my new favorite local bakery! Success! They are a bit pricey, and not at all paleo (but still GF of course), but after my first bite, I decided they're definitely worth the cost! Hopefully I will have the self-control to save the rest for dinner tomorrow.

Since we're on a pretty paleo diet these days, I thought I'd skip the stuffing this year, since I'm the only one who likes it anyway. Hopefully the rolls will be enough to give us our carb-fix (and I'm sure my husband will get his fill of mashed potatoes on Thursday).

Another favorite recipe from last year - Irvin's GF/VEGAN green bean casserole. I've been having dreams about this dish, and can't wait to taste it again! I'm trying an onion-free experiment to see how my body does without them, so I wanted a substitute for the absolutely divine shallot crisps in this recipe. I think I'm going to give this almond "bread crumb" topping a go.

I don't ever remember eating butter pecan sweet potatoes, but someone mentioned them in a blog post the other day, and I started fantasizing. So I did some searching, and came upon this recipe. Knowing Martha, she won't disappoint.

We're bringing a couple appetizers to the big dinner on Thursday. I've got a veggie platter in the works, as well as my favorite cheezy dip from Kristen's Raw. I'm also contemplating baking some bacon-wrapped dates. I wonder how many of those would still be on the plate when we get to Grandma's...

On to desserts.

I keep coming back to this paleo pumpkin pie recipe. I love that it looks like a creamy, fluffy pumpkin filling, but there's no coconut in it! I'm sold! For those who can tolerate coconut, I suggest this chocolate mousse pie which has me salivating. As far as my own chocolate fix goes, I'm also planning on making my chocolate pecan tart recipe again, but I'm wanting to paleoize it if I can. We'll see how that goes.

There are so many great resources out there for paleo/gluten-free/dairy-free and other allergy-friendly recipes, if you can find them! I hope some of the recipes I've listed have inspired you! I can't wait to hear how everyone's meal goes :)

Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving all!

Amazing Sweet Potato Chips

I love Karina's website! I am always so excited when I see she's posted a new recipe.
This one isn't new, but it's definitely at the top of my faves list right now. I haven't had a potato chip in AGES! I stopped eating them since I noticed a trend of bloating and cramping after eating. I always assumed it was the fat/oil content. Until I figured out it was actually the potatoes themselves (although it may have been the fat/oil as well).
Eating with a sensitive stomach can be challenging, and sometimes frustrating when there are so many "normal" things I can't enjoy anymore. Praise Karina, potato chips are no longer on that list!
Her recipe can be for either regular or sweet potatoes, depending on which you prefer. I really don't think these tasted much different than "regular" potato chips. Although, mine were not quite equally sized. I hate cutting sweet potatoes. I can never get the thickness even, and so I ended up with a lot of half rounds, as well as many thick and thin chips. Not enough to stop me though! I might try slicing the potatoes with my food processor next time. And believe me, there WILL be a next time!

Sweet Potato Chips

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, sliced very thin
Light olive oil, as needed
Sea salt, as needed

Heat about an inch of oil in a large, deep skillet. When the temperature is very hot (I used a candy thermometer to try and get it to about 350 degrees F, which was almost exactly medium heat setting) place just enough chips to fill the pan without crowding them. Fry until golden crisp. This was hard for me to determine when they were done. A lot of mine were overcooked, and a lot ended up still soft in the middle (due to my horrendous sweet-potato-cutting skills). Remove with tongs and drain on paper towels. Lightly salt them while they're still hot.
Repeat with the next batch until all the chips are cooked.
Add more oil as needed, but you don't need to drench them in the oil.

This makes about 2 servings (or 1 if you're really excited to eat these and get carried away).

I noticed these went soft really fast. They were great and crunchy when still hot, but once they'd cooled, and I'd eaten my fill, I threw them in a ziploc. By the end of the day, they'd sogged up a bit, and even toasting them in my toaster oven didn't crisp them up enough.
So maybe they're a same-day snack. Well worth the time and energy :)

Sweet Potato Cornbread


I got this amazing recipe from Karina over at Gluten Free Goddess (http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2006/10/sweet-potato-cornbread-movie-review.html?showComment=1211994060000).
Luke has said that this recipe totally tastes the same as regular "gluten food". I was very nervous about him trying it, as he is such a traditional eater. But he loved it!
BTW, you've probably noticed the little orange chunks in the bread. That is because I didn't quite puree my sweet potato. I just threw a couple in the microwave, cooked for a few minutes, scooped out the pulp, and mashed it with a fork. I think next time I will try and boil them, then use an electric mixer to mash them better.

Sweet Potato Cornbread
Equivalent of 3 eggs in Egg Beaters (since my IBS diet recommends I avoid yolks)

1/2 c veggie oil (although I used 1/4 c oil and 1/4 c applesauce - also b/c of IBS diet)

3/4 c sweet potato puree

3/4 c brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp cinnamon

A pinch each nutmeg, ginger, ground cloves

1 c cornmeal

1 c featherlight flour mix

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 good pinches of salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8 baking dish, and dust with cornmeal.

Whisk eggs in large mixer. Add oil and applesauce. Add sweet potato and whisk well.

Add sugar, vanilla and spices. Whisk to combine

Pour dry ingredients on top of wet ingredients, and mix together with a wooden spoon.

Pour batter into baking dish.

Bake for 45 minutes, until firm and golden. Check with a knife or tooth pick to see if done (will come out clean).

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool until able to cut.

Sooooo good!