THANKSGIVING TREASURES TWEAKED

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and when I think of what I want to see on my plate, I think of dressing and green bean casserole more than I think of turkey. Since I am a vegan with seafood exceptions, the turkey is the farthest thing from my mind. Because I am trying to find things that are gluten, dairy, and egg free for my daughter (and I am also dairy free) I had to think outside the box for my favorites. I used to make my stuffing (dressing) from scratch. I would save heels of bread for months in preparation. The only 2 things I have to tweak for the dressing are: the bread and the eggs. I bought 1 loaf of G.F. bread and dried it out and today the little ones and I broke it into small pieces getting it ready to turn into dressing. (if you like eggs in your dressing, substitute 1 Tbl. of ground flax seed and 3 Tbl. of water for each egg. I did not use eggs in my dressing this year as it seemed moist enough without them)

If you have never made dressing from scratch: Make up 2 cups of bouillon water. Add one cube of vegan butter to the bouillon. and melt. You may not need all of this but you’re looking for a moist look before putting this in the oven.

Add: 3 stalks of chopped celery

1/2 chopped onion

1 TBL.sage (you may have to add a little more if you like more sage flavor.. I easily added 2 Tbl. )

1 large can of mushrooms with juice

Salt and Pepper to taste… start with 1/2 tsp each

Bake at 350 for 1 hour

side note: My dressing was a little too wet and the G.F bread does not hold its cubed appearance. It takes on a corn meal texture. The taste is good and a little less moisture and a little more time in the oven would give me exactly what I need in my dressing. Is it Stove top worthy? Not quite but it’s close and it makes dressing with your turkey dinner a possibility.

2ND FAVORITE: GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

The two things that must be tweaked for this Thanksgiving standard: The cream of mushroom soup and those yummy crunchy onions on top.

For the soup:

8 oz. of fresh mushrooms (chopped) and sautéed with 1 Tbl. olive oil, 1 tsp garlic and a couple slices of onion. Sauté till onions are translucent.

Melt 4 Tbl. of dairy free butter and add 1/4 c. Gluten free flour

Add: 3/4 c. veggie broth (whisk till smooth)

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/2 c. almond milk or your favorite Dairy free milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook till it thickens. (if you want it a little thicker, you can add some cornstarch and just enough water to mix it and then add to above mix) Grease a casserole dish and add your drained beans. Pour soup over 2 cans of French style green beans, stir to mix.

Onion toppers:

sauté 1 chopped onion in 1/4 c. dairy free butter. Sauté till onions are translucent. Add 1-1 1/2 c. rice crispies, stir and add to the top of green beans. bake at 350 for 40 minutes.