Yes. It is true. Now that Halloween is over Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Hard to believe. Hosting or visiting family and friends over the holidays can send anyone into a tailspin. Don’t let it get you down this year. Keep it simple!
The stress can be increased when you, a family member or a guest have an allergy or celiac disease. I tend to host. That is because I like to and also because it is the only way to completely take the stress out and guarantee that my son is safe. We don’t have to worry about whether something was prepared safely for him at someone else’s house, even if they very kindly and thoughtfully try.
I’m going to be sharing recipes that are versatile. They can be brought with you or served to a crowd in your home. The best thing…no one will even know that its gluten free! Don’t tell them until after they rave about it.
Holiday Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
5 pounds of Yukon Gold (or any potatoes you like), chopped
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 Tablespoons of salt
½ cup of whole milk or cream (a little more or a little less depending on how smooth you like your potatoes)
¼ cup of butter
8 ounces of mascarpone cheese or cream cheese
1 teaspoon of salt
¼ teaspoon of pepper
Directions
Wash and chop your potatoes. (I don’t peel mine, but you can if you want to take the time). Drop the potatoes and garlic into a large soup pot. Pour enough water to cover the potatoes. Add the salt. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the potatoes can easily be mashed with a fork. Drain water, return potatoes to pot and add remaining ingredients and mash. Add more salt or pepper to your taste.
TIP: After you finish the potatoes in the pot, put them into slow cooker and cover with a thin layer of milk, put on warm or low until ready to serve! This can be made early in the morning and kept warm in a slow cooker, so it is easy to serve and/or travel with.
When you are making your holiday meal, take some help from the store for items you do not want to cook. There are great gluten-free (GF) items that will make your holiday meal simpler. If you don’t have time or energy to make mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes, Wegman’s has great pre-made options that are GF in the refrigerator section near the butter.
I love Aleia’s GF stuffing mix and have found it at the Big Y and Roche Brothers locally. It is also available on Amazon. I’m also testing recipes for my own stuffing, so I’ll keep you posted if I find a good one! If you have one, please share!
I freely admit that I do not make my own cranberry sauce. Ocean Spray’s canned cranberry sauce is one of my favorite parts of the feast. I don’t know if it is nostalgia, but Thanksgiving just isn’t complete without it.
Cooking the turkey in pieces rather than whole, is also great time saver on the day of. Buying turkey in pieces is not necessarily cheaper if you are cooking for a large crowd, so find a butcher who will separate the pieces for you for free or do it yourself! I learned by watching YouTube videos 🙂
Enjoy the holidays, bring your GF holiday meal with you or enjoy watching people eat your delicious creations without even knowing its GF! Please let me know if you have any requests for recipes or have a non-GF recipe you want adapted. Comment below or send a message to mammascooking@gmail.com. More holiday tips coming up in the next few weeks as well as some ideas for some simple 10 minute dinners. Stay tuned!!
Links to past holiday meal posts (again with the disclaimer: All of these posts are from before our family started eating gluten free):
Lessons Learned from Thanksgiving
Pre and Post Thanksgiving Ideas
I need to make something on Tuesday, transport on Wednesday and eat on Thursday- do you think the potatoes would hold up??? Was thinking more a casserole type thing
Definitely! You can make them Tuesday and keep them in the fridge in the crockpot and then transport, keep in the fridge overnight and reheat in the crockpot Thursday morning. You could try my Quinoa Butternut Squash Risotto and also reheat in the crockpot Thursday or if you have rice cooker you could also use that to keep it warm on Thanksgiving Day.