Being Gluten Free doesn't mean you have to skip out on some of your favorite Holiday Recipes. With Christmas just around the corner, here's some links to our favorite holiday yummies! 

A couple of years ago my sister-in-law made this dip for a family party...I have never seen something disappear so fast! The dip was sooooooo good it could only make a person wonder, "What in the world is in this?!" Would you believe only 3 simple ingredients? So apparently this recipe has been around for a while and to some it's well known, but for those who have never tried it...MAN. That's all I have to say. 

The thing about this recipe is it can easily be made A LOT healthier by just looking closely at labels. Typical recipes call for a can of Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilis. Be sure to find one that does not contain high fructose corn syrup. If there is any sugar in your tomatoes you'll want to make sure the ingredients label says only "sugar" and nothing else. The can I used actually didn't even have sugar. All the better! 

Next, is the sausage. You want to look for one that is first of all, gluten free, but also one that has no msg, nitrates or preservatives. (See the label below.) 

I can't stress enough how harmful MSG is to the brain! It can cause migraines, nausea, numbness, and even heart palpitations! Researchers say these side affects only are only "short term" but if it causes so much disturbance to the body, why eat it?!

Next is the the nitrates...Did you know expectant mothers are cautioned not to consume meats with nitrates? Why...because it can cause brain tumors in children! Yikes. Nitrates have also been linked to DNA mutations and cancer. 

So my intent is not to scare you but to educate you! Look for these simple BETTER ingredients and you have a wonderful & delicious dip (with no side affects!) ;)

(Gluten Free, Can be Dairy Free)
Adapted by jalene

Ingredients: 

• 8 oz of Gluten Free Ground Sausage (I used one with no Nitrates, MSG, or preservatives)
• 1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese (use Vegan Cream Cheese to make it Dairy Free)
• 1 (14.5 oz) can of Diced Tomatoes with Green chilies (I used Muir Glen's Organic Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes with Medium Green Chilies)
  

Directions: 

1. Brown the sausage. Add the cream cheese and heat while stirring until softened. Add the can of tomatoes and mix until it is well combined. Serve warm with gluten free chips. 

Store covered in the refrigerated. Can be made ahead of time and reheated just before serving. 

This next recipe is an early Christmas gift to my mom! 
Merry Christmas!! 

Whenever I think of orange rolls, I think of her and our Christmas mornings as kids. I know she LOVES them just as much as we did. It just wouldn't be the same without some this year! I've been determined to create a yummy gluten free version so we both don't feel like we're missing out. 

Hope you all enjoy them too! 

(Gluten Free, Can be Dairy Free)
Created by jalene

Makes 12
Orange Roll Ingredients: 

• 1 Tbsp yeast
• 1 tsp sugar or evaporated cane juice sugar
• 1 cup warm plain rice or almond milk (about 110 degrees)
• 1/4 cup sweet white rice flour (or blend your own from Calrose Rice)
• 3/4 cupbrown rice flour
• 1/4 + 2 Tbsp potato starch
• 1/4 cup tapioca starch
• 1 & 1/2 tspxanthan gum or guar gum
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp orange juice concentrate 
• 1 Tbsp orange zest

Orange Roll Directions:

1. Grease 12 muffin tins with coconut or olive oil and set aside. Whisk the yeast, sugar, and milk together in a 2 cup or bigger size bowl. Cover with a towel and allow to rise. (It is ready when it has doubled.)
2. In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients: white rice flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch,  xanthan gum, salt, and baking powder. 
3. In a large mixing bowl add the egg and beat for about 30 seconds. Next add the applesauce, honey, orange juice concentrate and zest. Pour in the yeast mixture and the flour mixture and mix until combined (scraping the sides if necessary) and then increase the speed to medium and beat for 3 minutes. 
4. Scoop the dough into your prepared pan. Oil a sheet of plastic wrap and cover the rolls. Let rise for 30 minutes. About 10 minutes before they are ready, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. 
5. Bake for about 15 minutes or until tops are starting to turn brown. While baking, prepare the frosting. 

Orange Frosting: 
Blend together 1 tsp orange zest, 1 Tbsp orange juice, 1 & 1/4 cup powdered sugar, 1 & 1/2 oz of cream cheese (or vegan sub to make it dairy free), and 2 Tbsp of butter (or Earth Balance to make it dairy free). Makes about 2 Tbsp per orange roll. 

I think there's two kind of people in the world...those that like ginger snaps and those that prefer a nice soft ginger cookie! I'm a softy kind of gal. My grandma was a ginger snapper. In fact, it was about the only cookie she would keep on hand in her cookie jar! I remember eating them as a kid because I was so desperate for something sweet at her place... ha ha. She was a pretty healthy lady and actually had an entire cupboard full of vitamins! We even coined her the vitamin grandma at one point. She lived to be a healthy 97 so she was doing something right! She was such a wonderful lady. I miss her this time of year!

One day I'll work on a ginger snap cookie in memory of her but until then you can join us on the softer side... ;) 

Starchy flours such as tapioca starch or potato starch you really want to use sparingly in your baking. They turn into sugar quickly and contribute to weight gain so we usually use them sparingly at our home. I love this next recipe because I was able to make it without any of those flours! It just has one- brown rice flour. And they taste amazing! In fact, my sister-in-law said you can't even tell they're gluten free! What a compliment. 

(Gluten Free, Can be Dairy Free, Soy Free, Nut Free, Can be Corn Free)
Adapted by jalene from a recipe off Allrecipes.com

Makes 18 (1 & 1/2 inch) cookies
Ingredients: 

• 6 Tbsp butter (or Soy Free Earth Balance to make it Dairy Free, Earth Balance contains corn)
• 6 Tbsp sugar or evaporated cane juice sugar + additional sugar for rolling
• 1 egg
• 1/8 cup molasses
• 1 & 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum (or guar gum to make it Corn Free)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp sea salt

Directions: 
You can refrigerate the cookie dough overnight in an airtight container or you can bake it immediately. I found the brown rice softened a little more from refrigerating but they taste wonderful cooking right away as well. 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (if baking right away). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. 
2. In a medium size bowl combine the brown rice flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Fluff and combine with a whisk. Set aside. 
3. In a mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the molasses and then the egg beating for about 30 seconds, scraping sides when necessary. 
4. Add all the dry ingredients in and mix until well combined. 
5. Using a 1 inch or 1 & 1/2 inch cookie scoop, scoop out the dough then roll in a little bit of sugar. Place on your prepared pan about 2 inches apart. 
6. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Do not over bake. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for about 2-3 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an air-tight container. 

Yum! I love these cookies! 

Every Christmas, this is a family tradition around my parent's house. Chances are, if you're a neighbor of theirs, you've probably received a bag of this yummy stuff! Now since we can't bring you a bag ourselves, I'd thought I'd share one of our favorite holiday recipes with you. 

The original recipe is slightly different then this one posted. Since we know a little more about corn syrup now a days I've altered this recipe NOT to include it. For those of you that are dairy free as well, I've also included how we made it DF so Audrey could enjoy it too! 

(Gluten Free, Can be Dairy Free)
Adapted by jalene from a recipe by her mom, Alene

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup butter (or to make dairy free use Earth Balance)
• 1/4 cup 100% pure maple syrup
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 quarts or 16 cups of air popped popcorn, kernels & small pieces removed

Directions: 

1. Pop your popcorn, measure, and set aside in a large bowl. 
2. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F. 
3. Bring to boil over medium heat the butter, syrup, sugar and salt while stirring occasionally and scraping down the sides. Continue stirring and boil for 5 minutes. 
4. Pull the pan off the heat and add the baking soda and vanilla. Stir well to combine and then pour the caramel over the popcorn. Toss until the popcorn is completely coated. 
5. Spoon the popcorn onto a parchment covered cookie sheet and bake for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Watch carefully towards the end so it doesn't get too dark. 

You know that part in Disney's Ratatouille when the food critic takes a bite of the ratatouille and gets flashed back in time to his childhood? I think I was having one of those moments today as I savoring bite after bite (after bite) ;) of these cookies. 

I seriously cannot stop eating these! Neither can my sweet daughter... 
I had to keep telling her today to stop sneaking them because I needed to snap some pictures still! These taste so incredible, I'm so pleased how they turned out! (It was my first attempt too! Hooray!)

I adapted them from a recipe by Better Home & Gardens. It used to be my go-to recipe back in college during my gluten days. All I can remember is my roommate would make these for boys she wanted to impress...Needless to say, it always got their attention! Ha ha. 

Anyways, I learned some great tips while rolling out gluten free dough so be sure to check that out too. 

(Gluten Free, Can be Dairy Free)
Adapted by jalene from a Better Home & Garden Recipe

Makes about 24-36 cookies, depending on how big you make them
Ingredients: 

• 1 & 1/2 cups brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 1/4 cup tapioca starch
• 3/4 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp butter (or to make Dairy Free use Earth Balance)
• 1/4 cup + 1 tsp shortening (I suggest using non-hydrogenated, see note at bottom)
• 3/4 cup sugar or evaporated cane juice sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 & 1/2 tsp gluten free vanilla

Directions: 

1. Combine the brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, and xanthan gum in a small bowl. Set aside. 
2. In a mixing bowl, cream together your butter (or Earth Balance) and shortening. Add the sugar and baking powder to the bowl and mix until fluffy- about a minute. 
3. Add the egg and vanilla. Blend well, then add the flour mixture and mix until well incorporated. 
4. Split the dough into 4 equal parts and wrap each section in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge to cool for about 1 hour or until the dough is harder and ready to work with.
5. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F about 15 minutes before you're ready to start rolling. 

I learned some great tricks that will make rolling out your dough super easy. 

1. Pull out 1 section of dough at a time from the fridge. After finishing with the dough, place quickly back into the fridge or even freezer if you need a quick cooling.
2. Roll out the dough in between 2 pieces of plastic wrap (NOT PARCHMENT). It peels off super easy from the dough, you can see through it, and it's less expensive!
3. Roll out your dough to 1/4 of inch thick. It will hold together better. 
4. If your dough doesn't come up with the cookie cutter, no worries. Just stick your fingers under the plastic wrap and peel the dough off. 
5. Place the cookies at least 1 inch apart to make sure they don't stick to each other. 
6. Always place cookies on a cooled cookie sheet before putting them into the oven. They will hold their shape better and cook correctly. 

TO COOK: Bake for 8-10 minutes. I like my cookies before they start to turn golden so I do the 8 but when they get a little brown around the edges, they're really good too! 

We don't use food coloring so we got creative with our decorations. See below: 

Meet Audrey's 2 best pals: Dolly and Frosty! Since the moment I pulled the snowman out of my Christmas decorations box, it was love at first site for Audrey. She carries him around EVERYWHERE and they do most everything together! She'll talk to him, show him around, make him watch her eat... Cute huh. In fact, every snowman Audrey sees is called "Frosty" and she talks to them too. So when we made these cookies today she couldn't even stand it! She called them "my cookie monster frosties." 

She absolutely LOVED helping put the chocolate chips on these! We used Gluten Free and Dairy Free chocolate chips (2 big for the eyes, and 3 mini for the buttons)

Of course 2 year olds have their own rules. This is Audrey's cookie. Not bad! She was eating one chocolate chip for every one she put on the cookie but at least she had some holiday fun with mom. 

Warning: I'm supposed to tell you (by orders of the Dr.  aka my husband) that these are only to be eaten sparingly. They're not the healthiest cookie ever made so try not to eat them everyday! ;)

Thanksgiving is just around the corner! Are you in charge of cooking the turkey this year?! We're sharing our family secrets to an AMAZING turkey that not only is extremely tasty but moist too! 

If your turkey is frozen, TODAY is a good time to start thawing! Typically you should remove your turkey from the freezer and place it in the refrigerator 2-4 days BEFORE cooking. We thawed ours 4 days and there was still just a bit of ice. If you haven't thawed your turkey by Thanksgiving morning, search online for other optional thawing and cooking methods. If you are using a free range turkey that has not been frozen, you can simply skip this thawing step. 

Be sure to watch the great video from my husband for some GREAT tips on how to cook your Turkey! He makes some of the best turkey I've ever tasted! 

(Gluten Free and super moist & tasty!)
Created by Dr. Brandon Nielsen

Ingredients: 

• Turkey, thawed (if frozen) 2-4 days in the fridge
• 1/2 tsp dried dill
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 large or 1 & 1/2 medium onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, coarsley chopped
• extra virgin olive oil
• garlic powder
• sea salt
• dried parsley
• 3 slices of orange (optional)

How to cook a turkey - Here are Dr. Nielsen's top 3 secrets to cooking the juiciest turkey ever!

Secret #1- Cook the turkey with the breast DOWN. 
Secret #2- Season not only the outside but the INSIDE of the bird as well.
Secret #3- Watch the bonus video for the third great secret.

Pumpkin pie is naturally gluten free, but did you know that you can make it dairy free as well?! This next recipe is just as tasty as the original (and between you and me, if you didn't tell anyone it was dairy free, they would never know!) 

This pie can be prepared the DAY BEFORE so it wont occupy your oven. Simply cover, and refrigerate it for a fresh taste on Thanksgiving Day! 

(Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Nut Free, Grain Free-see crust below)
Adapted by jalene

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar or evaporated cane juice sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp gluten free vanilla
  
• 1 can (15 oz) can pureed pumpkin
  
• 1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk  

I used this CRUST but made only a HALF recipe since it makes 2. See below for a GRAIN-FREE crust!
Directions: 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F. Roll out your GF crust or have your prepared GF crust ready. 
2. Combine the sugars, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in a small bowl.
3. In a mixer, beat the eggs. Add in the sugar mixture, pumpkin, and vanilla and mix until smooth.
4. On low speed, pour in your coconut milk. Scrap sides as necessary.  
5. Pour the filling into your unbaked crust. Bake for at least 60-75 minutes. Check by inserting a toothpick into the middle. You can also slightly shake the pan. If it is still pretty wobbly, it needs more time!  

Try this one from my mom: 

Ingredients: 

• 1 & 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
  
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
  
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
  
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  
• 2 Tbsp honey
  
• 1 tsp gluten-free vanilla

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda.  
2. In small bowl whisk together the oil, honey, and vanilla.  Stir wet into dry ingredients until combined.  
3. Press into a 9" or deep dish pie pan.  
4. Bake this crust until barely set. (You're not baking it the entire way!) You must cool completely before filling (otherwise it will burn). Then fill with your pumpkin filling and bake as directed for the pumpkin pie. Watch the crust, and cover with tin foil as needed so it will not burn. 
   

I know I've been sharing a lot of desserts lately... my husband would totally disapprove ;) but I want to help you be prepared for Thanksgiving! That's a noble cause right? So I'm posting this out of love! I promise I'll get back to some dinners after Turkey Day. 

Just look at that crust! That's a gluten free lattice crust! I was super excited for it. It was a lot of fun to do. If you're not into the lattice look you can also just roll out a top crust and use a small cookie cutter to "poke" holes in it. This is a great recipe to make the day before. The crust takes at least an hour to sit in the fridge so keep that in mind in your planning. 

(Gluten Free, Can be Dairy Free)
Adapted by jalene from a combination of all the many apple pie recipes out there! 

Gluten Free Pie Crust Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1 cup sweet white rice flour
• 3/4 cup potato starch
• 3/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 & 1/2 Tbsp sugar (I used evaporated cane juice sugar)
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 3/4 cup butter (or to make it dairy free use Earth Balance)
• 2 eggs
• about 4-6 Tbsp of water
• 1 egg white (for painting the crust before baking)

4.   Visit this website for great instructions and pictures on how to do the lattice crust. If one of your strips comes apart just piece it back together with your fingers. 
5.   Once your pie is completed, whip your egg white slightly and then paint the top of your pie with it. (This helps with the browning look.) Bake for about 50 minutes or until the crust is lightly brown.