Gluten Free Green Bean Casserole

I am discovering every day that eating gluten free doesn't have to be boring, and you don't have to sacrifice your favorite foods. A little thought and creativity can go a long way to help you enjoy the foods you love. In the case of this green bean casserole, the recipe I put together resulted in the best green bean casserole I've ever eaten. Seriously.

I was pretty bummed at first about Thanksgiving, and the thought that I wouldn't be able to eat many of my favorite foods. I decided to let stuffing go this year, although next year I'm going to make gluten free cornbread, and use that for my stuffing recipe. I was determined, though, that green bean casserole stay in the menu plan, and that it be something I could eat.

I started pondering the ingredients in the traditional green bean casserole that are now off limits for me. Canned cream o mushroom soup and the bagged french fried onions. There are gluten free canned soups out there, but I haven't seen them in my stores, and I've tried to avoid things like that anyway because of the sodium.

I like to use a little sour cream along with the soup, so I figured I could keep that, and maybe use some half n half to create a cream sauce with fresh mushrooms. Okay, done. Now, what about those onions? Why couldn't I just bread my own? It was time to play in the kitchen.

Ingredients:
1 large sweet vidalia onion
1 cup of skim milk
2 cups of your favorite gluten free flour
1t kosher salt
1t paprika
1t garlic powder
1/2t pepper
1 cup oil (I used extra light olive oil, but canola or sunflower would both work nicely)
2T butter
8oz button mushrooms, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2T fresh chopped parsley or 1t dried
1t gluten free flour
1/2 cup vegetable broth (or if you have an open bottle of white wine, use it. I used a 1/4 cup of each)
1 cup half and half
1/2 cup sour cream
additional salt and pepper to season during sauteeing, if desired
1lb of your preferred green beans- fresh, frozen or canned (if fresh or frozen, you will want to steam them before combining with the sauce. I am ashamed to say that I just love low sodium canned green beans, and prefer that texture in my g.b. casserole. I know some foodies consider that to be a major sin, and to them, I apologize, but I can't help it :) I used 2 cans of drained green beans in this recipe)

The first thing I needed to do was make the fried onions. I cut the onion in half and cut into slices, separating the pieces out as I went. I put the milk in a bowl, and dropped the onions in the milk for about 10 minutes. Then I grabbed a large bag and placed my flour, salt, paprika, garlic and pepper in the flour, shaking to mix.

I heated the oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Working in small batches, I dropped the milk soaked onions into the flour, and shook to coat.
After shaking the excess flour off the onions, I dropped into the oil and cooked until nice and golden brown, about 3-4 minutes, using my tongs to turn them so they would could evenly
When they were done, I placed them on paper towels to drain. Of course, we needed to taste test them to see if they were edible.
I am actually amazed there were any left to make the casserole. Amazing restraint was required to not munch on them as I went.
After I finished the onions, I disposed of the oil, washed and dried the skillet and put it back on the stove over medium heat. I melted the butter, then added the mushrooms and garlic, along with the parsley and a pinch of salt and pepper, and sauteed, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes, until the mushrooms were tender. I sprinkled the flour across the mushrooms, and let the mixture cook for another 2 minutes before stirring again. I stirred, then started adding my liquids- broth, wine and half and half.
After bringing the mixture to a nice simmer, I removed from the heat, and stirred in the sour cream. Now I was ready to combine with the green beans in my baking dish.
I then took half the onions, stirred them into the green beans, and topped the casserole with the other half of the onions. I baked in a 350 oven for 30 minutes.
The whole family gobbled these up. Truly divine. I missed nothing, and in fact, found a better recipe to use from now on. I can hardly wait to prepare these for unsuspecting friends and family :)

Menu Plan Monday Week of 11/22

Well here we go...it's the first big family holiday meal that I have to spin gluten free. Since it's just the 4 of us, I'm actually scaling back and simplifying a little bit this year. I've (gasp) purchased pumpkin pie for Jonathan and the boys, and a flourless chocolate cake from Trader Joe's so that I can have a little dessert action as well. The rest of the week I'm keeping relatively simple as well so I can put my energies toward Thursday. I'm really looking forward to a 4 day weekend!!

We feed 2 adults and 2 elementary aged boys, price breakdowns are included- this is the price I've paid with coupons, etc. Your price may vary. My 7 dinners, including Thankgiving, comes in under $45.

Monday-
smoked pulled pork with Vaunted vinegar sauce on the side- $3.50
super sweet white corn- .75
roasted potatoes w/ rosemary- .75
salad w/ homemade French dressing .75
$5.75

Tuesday-
totchos (nachos on tater tots...requested by Ry for weeks)
$3.50

Wednesday-
pulled pork sammies- $2.00
(no bread for me)
french fries- .75
spinach salad $1.50
$4.25

Thursday- Happy Thanksgiving!

Breakfast- gluten free pancakes, bacon and fruit smoothies
snacks- potato chips with french onion dip, fresh fruit and veggies, spinach dip with king's hawaiian bread for hubby and boys.
Dinner-
turkey ($4.00 for the whole thing, plus about $1 for stuff to prep it)
mashed potatoes and gravy $1.75
sweet potato casserole- $1.50
GF green bean casserole- ( I am totally playing with this and will post the recipe after Turkey day with photos) $2.00
cranberry blueberry sauce-$3.00
pumpkin pie with cool whip- $3.00
flour-less chocolate cake-$5.00
olives, pickles- $1.00
$21.25

Friday-
leftovers

Saturday-
pork chops $3.00
roasted brussels sprouts $2.00
potato pancakes $.75 (using leftovers)
$5.75

Sunday-
spaghetti over rice pasta $4.00
salad .75
$4.75

My to do list- Part 2

Yesterday, I laid out the menu plan for Thanksgiving and started outlining my to do list for today and tomorrow here. Today the house smells of roast, turkey and pasta sauce. I have a lot of the cooking and chopping done for the quiche as well. If I get all done and ahead of myself, I may go ahead and do that today as well. We'll see how it goes.

Tuesday
Make mashed potatoes
Make cake bars
Make green bean casserole

Wednesday
Make stuffing
Make pumpkin pie
check turkey and make sure it's thawed

Menu Plan Week of 11/23

This weekend I'm working full steam to get meals done for early in the week so that I can turn my attention to Thanksgiving foods on Tuesday and Wednesday. This is a TON of food and I suspect we'll be eating off of it well into next week, along with extras that get stashed into the freezer.

Sunday 11/22

Steak $5.00

Potato casserole $2.50

Salad $1.00

$8.50

Monday 11/23

Italian pasta bake $3.50

Salad $1

Dinner rolls with butter .75

$5.25

Tuesday 11/24

Italian beef sandwiches $5.00

Fries .75

$5.75

Wednesday 11/25

Sour cream chicken quiche $3.50

Asparagus $1.50

Salad $1.00

$6.00

Thursday 11/26 Happy Thanksgiving!!

See this post for the menu plan

(cost of the dinner and desserts just over $28)

Friday 11/27

Leftovers .00

Saturday 11/28

Leftover pasta bake and Italian beef sandwiches .00

Sunday

Turkey croquettes $1.00

Potato casserole (in freezer from last Sunday) .00

Corn .40

$1.40

Grandma's Pumpkin Pie

This is my husband's Grandma Elsie's recipe.  It's the family favorite.  

1/4 stick butter melted
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
3 eggs
1 3/4 cup pumpkin (fresh or use 1 can)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon ( I use a little more)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 1/2 cups milk

Mix ingredients.  Turn into pie shell and cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  Reduce oven to 375 degrees 
and cook for 45 minutes.

Busy Week- My to do list, part 1

This is going to be one of those weeks where I have a LOT to accomplish, and I find that I have to write it all out day by day to stay on top of it and not feel stressed out. My in laws will be here on Tuesday, and R's buddy will be coming over for dinner on Monday, so it's even more important that I stay on task. Here's the Thanksgiving Menu:

Turkey
Sausage Stuffing
mashed potatoes
gravy
sweet potato souffle ( Nonny making)
cranberry and orange salad (Nonny making)
waldorf salad (Nonny making)
green bean casserole
rolls
pumpkin pie
chocolate chip cake squares

Here's the next couple of days...I'll post the to do list through Thanksgiving when I post my menu plan for the week.

Sunday-
Make Bakers, Walgreens and Aldi trips
bake extra turkey
cook italian beef in slow cooker for Tuesday
make pasta bake for Monday
make potato casserole
freeze turkey in portions
save carcass for Monday

Monday-

Make chicken sour cream quiche for Wednesday
make turkey stock

Sausage Stuffing

This is my favorite way to prepare stuffing. The recipe has evolved over the years and reflects both my mother's love for decadence and flavor, and my desire to trim excess calories and fat when I can, without losing flavor. You could cut back fat even more by using just egg whites or egg substitute.

I am cooking an extra turkey this weekend. With the carcass I will be making a ton of turkey stock for both this recipe and my gravy. You can also use chicken stock, either homemade or canned. (I have to say, though, it's worth making your own. More flavorful, and much less salt!) I will freeze the turkey for meals later this winter. At 29 cents a pound, it's worth stocking up.

I don't stuff the turkey because of health reasons, so you might be able to cut back the liquid just a bit if you plan to. I make this the day before, and it keeps just fine in the refrigerator.

1 french bread loaf from grocery store bakery, cubed
1 bag of stuffing mix, like Pepperidge Farm
3 eggs, beaten
7 cups stock
2T olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
8oz. mushrooms, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb. turkey breakfast sausage, crumbled and browned
1T dried sage
salt and pepper to taste

Place bread cubes and stuffing mix in large bowl, In skillet over medium heat, add oil, then saute onion, celery, mushrooms and garlic until onions are translucent and vegetables are tender. I like to sprinkle my sage in here, along with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Add veggies to bowl, along with sausage, broth and eggs. Mix together with spoon, or get in and get dirty with your clean, ringless hands. Place stuffing in a greased 9X11 casserole dish, cover with foil and put in refrigerator overnight, or bake in 375 oven for 40 minutes, removing foil for the last 15.

Here's a great way to use that leftover turkey carcass...

Yesterday, I got out the stock pot, broke apart the carcass, and placed that and the wings in the pot with 2 coarsely chopped onions, the leafy tops from my celery, 8 baby carrots, 2 bay leaves and about 8 sprigs of flat parsley. I added water to cover, brought to a boil, then adjusted down to just a simmer for 3 hours. Ran the stock through a strainer and chilled the stock overnight. Today I have two big containers of turkey stock. Part of it I will freeze in ice cube trays and then put the cubes in a ziploc so I have small amounts of broth handy anytime I need it. The rest is for soup tonight.

Ever since I was a kid, a big pot of turkey soup has been as much a part of Thanksgiving to me as the main meal. My dad always makes a big vat of turkey, mushroom and wild rice soup. YUM. My hubby isn't as fond of rice soups, so this year I took a cue from my chowder recipe, and came up with this recipe as a new twist on turkey soup.

Baked-Potato Turkey Chowder

4 medium red potatoes
3 slices of bacon, diced
1T olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
4 cups of turkey stock
2 cups of cooked, diced turkey
2 cups of milk
1 package of country gravy mix
½ package of light cream cheese
½ teaspoon of dried dill
pepper and salt to taste
chopped green onions, shredded cheddar cheese for garnish

Turn oven to 400 degrees. Wash and dry potatoes, pierce several times with fork, and place in oven until tender, about 40 minutes. Remove and allow to cool slightly. Peel if you like (I like the skins on), and chop into cubes.

In dutch oven, cook bacon on medium high until crispy. Remove to paper towels to drain and save for garnish. Add oil to drippings, adjust heat to medium and sauté onion, celery and carrots for about 10 minutes. Add broth, potatoes, and turkey. (using a fork, lightly mash some of the potatoes against the side of the pot for good texture) In separate bowl, stir milk and country gravy mix together, add to soup and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, add cream cheese, dill, pepper and additional salt if necessary (country gravy is pretty salty so taste before adding). Simmer for 10 minutes. Serve in bowls with cheese, onion and bacon for passing.