How to Quick Brine a Gluten Free Turkey

I've never been a huge fan of turkey breast... until now. It wasn't until I decided to take the plunge and try a "brine" on a turkey breast did I understand what all the fuss was about.

It makes some durn good turkey!

I think the reason I never really liked turkey breast meat was because it was always incredibly dry to me. Dark meat has always been my favorite, but now I think that might just change.

Brining a turkey breast doesn't have to be a chore. Thanks to my friend Holly I learned a super quick & easy method of brining. You'll still need about 8-12 hours to allow the turkey to soak in all the goodness from the brine, but actually making the brining bath can be super easy:

Easy Brine for a 7-8 pound Turkey Breast:
1/2 cup sea salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
2-3 tablespoons peppercorns
2-3 tablespoons dried onion flakes
2 teaspoons dried garlic powder
Whatever other spices/flavors you want to add: apple cider, orange peels, bay leaves, etc...

Fill a large stockpot about halfway full of hot, filtered tap water. Add the salt and stir it up until the salt has dissolved in the water. Add all the other ingredients and then add several bowlfuls of ice to completely cool the water. Add your turkey breast to the stockpot. Add enough cold water to cover (if you don't have enough already. Place the stock pot in the fridge for 12-24 hours before cooking the turkey.

To Roast the Turkey Breast:
Remove the turkey breast from the brine. Rinse it off with cold water and pat it dry. Place in a large roasting pan, breast side up. Rub the meat & skin of the turkey with melted butter. Roast for 20 minutes per pound in a preheated 350 degree oven. (Some people say that's too high a temp to roast a turkey, but it's always worked fine for me! I'm a little nervous to roast it at a much lower temp due to food safety issues.) To help the turkey brown, make a basting mixture of 1/2 cup melted butter (I used ghee), 3 tablespoons maple syrup, 3 tablespoons soy sauce (or soy sauce substitute like coconut aminos or chickpea miso tamari -- this is what I used!). Pour or brush basting sauce over the turkey after 30 minutes of roasting and then baste the turkey again every 30 minutes or so until the turkey breast has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

The drippings & basting mixture make a really awesome gravy too! :-)

To Make Gravy:
Pour pan drippings/basting mixture from turkey into a medium sized pot. Whisk in about 1/4 cup of sorghum flour or brown rice flour. When the mixture starts to thicken slowly whisk in 2-3 cups of gluten free vegetable or chicken stock. Because the basting mixture uses maple syrup & the soy sauce (or soy sauce substitute like I used) it should be naturally a rich brown color. Whisking the gravy constantly will help you to have a smooth delicious gravy. If you need to thicken the broth more, mix about a tablespoons of brown rice or sorghum flour into about 1/4 cup of additional broth, until it's smooth and then add it into the gravy, so you won't have lumps!

For an excellent video gravy tutorial, visit Gluten Free Girl & The Chef!

Happy Gluten Free Thanksgiving Everyone!

Carrie

Menu Plan Monday - Thanksgiving 2010

Menu Plan Mondays! Here's something I haven't posted in ages.... when I first started my blog, I used to try to post my gluten free menus once a week. To be honest after a while it felt monotonous. We eat very simply during the work week and generally our meals are anything but memorable.

But I also know the value of planning meals and at least knowing what can be made easily and quickly. So here's to a Menu Plan Monday. This will probably not be a weekly feature but I'd love to see your menus too! Leave a comment, shout out your menu on the Gingerlemongirl Facebook page, send me an email. I'd love to hear from you!

What are you making this week? 

• Monday: 20 Minute "Turkey" Chili -- except I'll just be using ground beef from the freezer and if I have time I'll make "mock" gluten free cornbread to go with the chili. 

• Tuesday: Roasted chicken sandwiches on Udi's bread with a tomato & romaine salad. (I buy chicken from a local farm and it's usually in the form of basically a turkey breast, but it's chicken, so I roast the whole thing, and then use the chicken breast either by itself, or slice it for sandwiches, soups, salad, etc...)  -- I told you we were boring!

• Wednesday: RTFN -- Raid the Fridge Night. We're leaving bright & early on Thursday morning to see our family for Thanksgiving. So Wednesday night will be raiding the fridge to try to get rid of any leftovers that could spoil while we're gone. 

• Thursday: THANKSGIVING!!!! I have leftover gluten free dressing and gravy to take with me to eat at Thanksgiving, along with all the traditional favorites: mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, TURKEY, pumpkin pie! I will either be making Karina's pumpkin pie to take with us, or I'll make a traditional Libby's pumpkin pie with (my all-time favorite) Bette Hagman Pie Crust. The Libby's pumpkin pie tastes GREAT made with almond milk to make it casein free. I use original unsweetened almond milk and it's thick and creamy and works great as a milk replacement!

• Friday: Visiting with more family & friends, so we'll probably eat out. My favorite meal out of late (again boring) is steamed rice with steamed veggies from any Chinese or Japanese restaurant. 

• Saturday: A meal as un-Thanksgiving as possible: Gluten Free Spaghetti with Homemade Bolognese Sauce. To pretend it's healthy we'll make a salad and green beans to go along with it! 

• Sunday: Another Thanksgiving meal with Michael's family. Most likely I'll make my own food (maybe lots of cooked veggies -- butterbeans seem to be calling my name this time of year!) and bring it along to prevent cross-contamination. 

What are you making gluten free this Thanksgiving? Share your menu!

And if you need help planning a super simple & easy Thanksgiving meal, check out this little post that details my first gluten free Thanksgiving! 

Or if you'd like to see a few of my favorite gluten free holiday recipes, check out this list from 2009. 

Have a lovely holiday folks! Remember, as much as this holiday is about the food... Don't stress about it. Enjoy your friends & family and Give Thanks!! 

Carrie

A Gluten Free Holiday - Alta of Tasty Eats at Home

This week's "A Gluten Free Holiday" is being hosted by Alta of Tasty Eats at Home. Alta chose the theme of Gifts of Good Taste. What are good gluten free food items to share with friends and family over the holidays? 

My personal favorite food gift to make is cookies. Cookies are fun and relatively easy to make. You don't have to be an unusually gifted baker to make good cookies and they can be beautifully presented in any type of little bag along with a ribbon! 

Here are 3 of my favorite gluten free cookie recipes to give away for the holidays!

Gluten Free Double Fudge Walnut Cookies
A cookie I created for a local cookie swap I attended several years ago, it's a rich fudgy cookie, that you don't have to feel too guilty about eating. One of my favorites!

The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies
Michael's absolute favorite. I think he could live off these cookies. I make these every year on Thanksgiving  for people to munch on throughout the day, they are always gone before dinner!

Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies.
I love making cut out cookies and decorating them. This is one of my very favorite cookies and one we'll be making when my friend Angie comes for our yearly Holiday visit.  We also used this dough to make a gluten free gingerbread house last year. You'll love these cookies!

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As with our previous weeks of "A Gluten Free Holiday" you'll find a spectacular giveaway at Alta's! The books this week are 5 COPIES of  Free For All Cooking by Jules Shepard of Jules Gluten Free and 2 copies of Kelly & Peter Bronski's Artisanal Gluten Free Cooking! 

To find out how to enter for a chance to win one of these great gluten free cookbooks, please make sure to visit Alta of Tasty Eats at Home! 

Next week "A Gluten Free Holiday" will take a break for the Thanksgiving Holidays, the previous posts are listed here:

• A Gluten Free Holiday 1 - Staying Healthy over the Holidays hosted by Diet Dessert and Dogs. 
• A Gluten Free Holiday 2 - Thanksgiving Favorites hosted by gluten free -- easily. 

Gluten Free Dairy Free Pao de Queijo -- "Cheese" Bread Recipe

Last week we had a potluck at work. I needed something quick to share that I could also eat. We have a small deli/sandwich shop where I work and they are constantly making garlic bread and rolls. The aroma is killer and really makes me crave garlic bread!

I decided on Pao de Queijo, a Brazilian cheese bread. It's super easy to make, only uses one flour and a few simple ingredients. The problem was the cheese. I really don't need to eat cheese. Dairy just doesn't like me and as much as I miss it, I know better.

I wondered how these rolls would turn out using a cheese alternative like "Daiya", a soy free, dairy free
"cheese" product. In general I think it's best just to stay away from processed foods, but sometimes it's nice to still feel like I get to eat cheese! Daiya is the only "cheese" alternative I've found that doesn't contain soy and it melts and gets gooey, just like real cheese. It makes an awesome grilled "cheese" and it's what I put on my homemade pizzas at home.

Turns out it works like a charm in these rolls too! I altered my friend Jaime's recipe to make them casein free and they were a hit. Make these with cheese or with Daiya. Either way I think you'll love them! :-)


Pao de Queijo aka Gluten Free "Cheese" Rolls 
adapted from Just a Gluten For Punishment , by Carrie Forbes at Gingerlemongirl.com
free of gluten, dairy/casein, soy, and grains
printer-friendly recipe

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups tapioca starch
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder (optional -- good, but not necessary)
2 cups shredded cheese -OR- Daiya "cheddar-style" or "mozarrella-style" shredded "cheese"
2 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter, ghee, or melted coconut oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat. In a large bowl whisk together tapioca starch, baking powder, and garlic powder (if using). Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add shredded Daiya "cheese", eggs, and melted butter or oil. Stir together with dry ingredients until you have a thick, wet batter. Using an ice-cream scoop or large spoon scoop 12 balls of dough and drop them onto the lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. (Alternatively you could scoop them into paper-lined muffin tins). Bake for 8-10 minutes or until they are crusty and golden brown. Serve hot.

Carrie's Notes:

• This is one of the few recipes using tapioca starch that I actually like. I think the shredded cheese & eggs, and oil remove the tapioca starch flavor. And tapioca starch is probably key in the crispiness of these rolls. If you try the rolls with another starch please let me know how they turn out! 
• This dough would also make a REALLY good pizza crust patted out and baked. Granted you'd use a lot of cheese just in the crust, but if you wanted a super easy, low maintenance, crispy, yeast free pizza crust, this dough would be awesome! Just roll it or pat it out onto parchment paper and prebake it for about 10 minutes before adding your toppings!! Enjoy!
• I buy my Daiya cheese online from Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe out of Mariette Georgia. Cosmo's has wonderful customer service and fast shipping. They are super nice folks, tell 'em I sent ya!

A Gluten Free Holiday - Shirley of Gluten Free Easily

This post is about 5 days late! I've been battling a sinus infection and just haven't had the energy to get online. Last Thursday Shirley or Gluten Free Easily hosted the 2nd post in Amy Green's series "A Gluten Free Holiday." Shirley shared a recipe for a super easy "pat-in-the-pan" gluten free pie crust and she has a wonderful give-a-way still going on!


Now head over to Shirley’s & win a gluten-free cookbook!

She’s got a Gluten-Free Easily No Roll, Never Fail Press in Pie Crust for you.
While you’re there, share your favorite Thanksgiving dishes and make sure to enter to win these great books:

Make It Fast, Cook It Slow by Stephanie O’Dea (A Year of Slow Cooking) and The Spunky Coconut Cookbook by Kelly Brozyna (The Spunky Coconut)

Gluten Free Beef Italian Skillet Meal (Goulash) Recipe

Here's another favorite recipe from my college days. I'm sure we all grew up eating a basic ground beef casserole like this either with rice or noodles. As a child, I remember from a cookbook that was published by my local elementary school they called this "goulash." I thought that was a really cool name!

My friend Susan shared this recipe with me when I was in college. I remember she came over to my apartment and we made this along with a salad and just enjoyed cooking together. I still have the index card that she wrote the recipe on for me.

This is a super simple, hearty meal that my husband loved. It's easy with just a few simple ingredients and gluten free noodles.

For a casein free topping, I sprinkled blanched almond flour on the top of our servings!

Susan's Beef Italian Skillet Meal
free of gluten, casein/dairy, soy, corn, and eggs
Adapted by Carrie @ www.gingerlemongirl.com
printer-friendly recipe

1 1/2 cups gluten free pasta of your choice (I used these rice noodles from a local Asian market -- they don't get mushy!)
1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, finely diced
1 stalk celery, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce + 1/3 cup water
3 tablespoons blanched almond flour (or parmesan cheese) to sprinkle on top of each serving

Directions:
Cook gluten free noodles according to package directions until "al dente" or still slightly firm. Rinse with COLD water to completely stop the cooking process, drain and set aside. Brown ground beef in a large skillet or dutch oven. Add onions and celery and saute for about 5 minutes until onions are soft and transparent. Add garlic, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Mix tomato sauce with water and add to ground beef and vegetables. Simmer for 10 minutes until mixture is bubbling and heated through. Add cooked pasta to skillet and stir to coat noodles with sauce. Simmer for additional 5 minutes and serve. Sprinkle servings with blanched almond flour or parmesan cheese. Serve with green beans or a salad! Picky kid & husband friendly! Enjoy!

Healthier Gluten Free Holiday Recipes

Today starts the beginning of a series of posts hosted by Amy Green of Simply Sugar & Gluten Free, entitled "A Gluten Free Holiday." Each week will feature a different roundup of gluten free recipes just for the holidays!

Ricki Heller, author of the blog Diet, Dessert, and Dogs is the first hostess of 2010's "A Gluten Free Holiday." Ricki's focus today is on gluten free holiday recipes made a little bit healthier.  Please head over to Ricki's blog today to see the wonderful list of healthier holiday recipes.

Ricki also has a FANTASTIC giveaway today featuring several copies of two wonderful gluten free cookbooks:

A  copy of Cybele Pascal’s wildly popular cookbook, The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook:

AND THREE signed copies of Ali and Tom’s amazing cookbook, The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook:

TO enter to win, please visit Ricki's blog to learn how! 

A few of my personal tips for making recipes healthier are:

• Cut the sugar. Just because a recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar doesn't mean you have to use a whole cup. I often cut the sugar by half in most recipes and I try to use 1/3 cup of a sweetener or less in most of the recipes. If you've never tried other sweeteners this is a good time to use them. Try agave nectar, honey, palm sugar, or molasses. Give stevia a try. I love using liquid forms of stevia in my hot tea every day. Add spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and mint to baked goods. It brings out the natural sweetness in many foods. 

• Opt for a healthier fat. Coconut oil. Olive oil. Nut oils. Palm oil. Try to stay away from "vegetable" oils which are often soy based and highly processed. Natural oils like coconut oil, olive oil, and nut oils do not contain unhealthy trans-fats (which you will find in artificial foods like margarine & shortening products.) My favorite oil to use is Tropical Traditions coconut oil. I use it in most of my baking and everyday cooking. 

• Limit the salt. As Americans who often eat processed foods, we can overdo salt nearly every day. I have high blood pressure and I've learned that salt can be hiding in nearly every food we eat. It's recommended to consume no more than 2300 mg of salt daily for a "normal" person, and no more than 1500 mg. of salt daily if you have a history of high blood pressure, that's less than a teaspoon of salt. (And those numbers may be changing soon, as many health professionals still feel those amounts are TOO high!) If you're buying ready-made, processed foods check the food labels carefully for the amount of salt, and make sure you are only eating the recommended serving. 

Some of my favorite gluten free healthier holiday recipes:

Almond Joy Impossible Pie:
A healthier holiday pie that has a ton of flavor from coconut and chocolate! It's also a super easy dessert recipe that does not require making a crust. A reader favorite! 

Cranberry Cobbler:
My mom's recipe made a little bit healthier. This is my favorite holiday side dish that combines the tartness of cranberries with the sweetness of pineapple and oranges. 

Pecan Pumpkin Pie Bars:
Pumpkin pie made a little bit healthier. With less sugar, more spices, and the wonderful crunch of pecans, these naturally gluten free bars are a healthier traditional favorite!

Sweet Potato Apple Casserole: 
A healthier take on one of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes. Less sugar, a little less fat, but still a fantastic crispy crust on top of sweet potatoes & my favorite apples & cinnamon. 

Gluten Free, Vegan Millet Bread (Mock Cornbread) Recipe

I realized several years ago that my body doesn't tolerate corn well. I used to make fun of my grandmother for complaining about the same ailment. She would always say that she loved popcorn, but it didn't love her. I thought she was just being fussy... and now I completely get it. She wasn't being fussy... she just doesn't like the side effects of corn. And neither do I. 

Yet, one of my favorite foods is cornbread. I really hated having to give up cornbread. It's naturally gluten free. A few months ago I really wanted cornbread. I wanted to find a safe, gluten free, side-effect free recipe for a non-corn "cornbread." 

Enter millet flour. I've used millet flour since I started a gluten free diet. Natalie told me about millet flour and ever since I've been a fan. Millet flour is finely ground hulled millet grains. It's a light yellow color, very similar to corn actually. It can be finely ground or coursely ground and has a light texture. It's wonderful in gluten free baking because it has a very mild taste and does not overwhelm baked goods. It's also a very lightweight flour and helps to create very light & fluffy gluten free baked goods.

Millet flour not acid forming and is considered one of the least allergenic gluten free flours. Therefore it is easy to digest and is a great option for baking.

I am so impressed with this flour as a substitute for corn. I made this millet "cornbread" last night and I think I could have eaten the entire pan. The millet flour created a just slightly dense cornbread (mostly due to the fact that I made it egg free) and it had a perfect "cornbread" crumb & crust. We ate this with a bowl of chili and it was a perfect "cornbread" side. If you try it, I would really love to know what you think!

Gluten Free, Vegan Millet Bread (Mock Cornbread) Recipe
free of gluten, soy, corn, rice, dairy/casein, and eggs
created by Carrie Forbes of Gingerlemongirl.com
printer-friendly recipe.

Dry Ingredients:
1/3 cup sorghum flour
1/3 cup arrowroot starch
1 cup millet flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum  guar gum -or- just leave this out altogether
2 teaspoons corn free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar

Wet Ingredients:
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted (or other oil of your choice)
1 tablespoon EnerG Egg Replacer + 1/4 cup warm water -OR- 2 eggs
1 cup unsweetened almond milk + 1 tablespoon lemon juice -OR- 1 cup buttermilk

Directions:
Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a mixing bowl whisk together all dry ingredients. In a small bowl mix together all wet ingredients, it's okay if the coconut oil clumps up a bit when added to the cold ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together thoroughly with a fork into a wet batter. Place a heavy-bottomed oven-safe skillet or cast iron pan with 2 tablespoons of coconut oil or butter in it into the preheated oven for 5 minutes. Allow the oil to get hot enough to sizzle when a drop of water is flicked into the pan. Holding the hot pan with an oven mitt pour the millet bread batter into the pan and spread it evenly around the pan. Place back in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.


Carrie's Notes:

• I love using a cast-iron pan for this type of quick bread. It gives the millet a super delicious crispy crust! 
• This would also be delicious if it were made with eggs, but I am out of eggs this week, so it was great to create an egg-free alternative. The bread still rose well and had a great texture. 
• Any type of oil, other than olive oil would be great for this bread. I don't recommend olive oil because it might have too strong a flavor for the light tasting bread. 
• Any type of non-dairy milk should work fine for this bread. I recommend mixing the lemon juice with the non-dairy milk and letting it set for about 3-4 minutes before adding it to your wet ingredients. It will thicken up like a buttermilk.