our thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 2013 really tricked me! A few months back, my mom let me know that she and my stepdad would be spending thanksgiving in California with his kids. Um, but we always do thanksgiving here. I'm not so good with change, you see. This left Bradley and I stranded. Where do we go now? My dad's? His dad's? His grandparents? Our friends in SC? Stay here and eat with my brother? So many choices, but we couldn't decide. Then my stepdad had some health scares (no worries, he's all better now) about a week or so before thanksgiving, and they decided not to go to California. And one by one our family made it work to be here for thanksgiving. We had the whole crew! I just think it's so funny because none of us were going to be together and then it all worked out in the end :)

via

This past year my mom has also had some health issues that have led her to go gluten free and dairy free. We were so proud to say that our entire thanksgiving feast was gluten free AND dairy free! I mean, who does that?! And the best part... everything was SO GOOD! And I bet if you had been a guest at our table and I didn't tell you, you wouldn't have even known. 

I really wish I had photos of every dish to show you, but I guess we were all too excited! Here's what we had:

Turkey

Honey Glazed Ham 

Brown Rice with Pecans + Cranberries (this year's dressing)

Roasted Sweet Potatoes + Butternut Squash

Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan Cheese

Grilled Basil Corn

Sweet Potato Casserole with marshmallows

Maple Brussel Sprouts (Aaren's specialty! So freaking good)

Collards

Cranberry Salad (This weird jello that my Nana always made)

Deviled Eggs

And for dessert:

Mini Pumpkin Pies

Mini Chocolate Chess Pies

Chocolate Chewies

And more sweet potato casserole!

When planning this meal, we also decided to change some of the traditional dishes for healthier options, like instead of a greenbean casserole, we had the roasted asparagus. But we still had to have a sweet potato casserole! That is a thanksgiving staple! Roasting a lot of the veggies was so easy and fast! Just drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. And when it came to dessert recipes we just made a few substitutions. We used Bradley's Meme's Chocolate Chess Pie Recipe but just traded out the evaporated milk for evaporated coconut milk so it was dairy free. And my mom had already been trying some gluten free pie crust recipes, so she was all set. Instead of butter she uses ghee, which is clarified butter. This option still gives you that great flavor.

We had such a wonderful holiday and I am so thankful to have my family in my life. I hope you all had a great thanksgiving, as well!

gluten free cinnamon sugar waffles

How amazing do these look? I mean, come on. I grew up on cinnamon toast, and have been eating it regularly until now. I never thought that I would find something to replace it. Boy, was I wrong. My mom got the book Cooking for Isaiah, which is full of gluten and dairy free recipes. In the book, there is a recipe for pancake mix, but they can be made into waffles. My mom had already tried the waffles and made an "everything" waffle, similar to an everything bagel. Anyway, she made them and instantly loved them. If you are gf and have tried the bread options out there, you know they are less than impressing. These waffles became bread for sandwiches and I couldn't be happier that she found this recipe! To make the amazing waffles that you see above, you will need to make the flour and pancake mix. Both of these recipes make a ton so you'll have it on hand. I like this so I don't have to make it every time that I want waffles.

silvana's all purpose flour blend

makes about 4 pounds

 6 cups white rice flour (Bob's Red Mill)

3 cups tapioca flour (Shiloh Farms)

1 1/2 cups potato starch (Bob's Red Mill)

1 tbsp salt

2 tbsp xanthan gum (Bob's Red Mill)

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together. Store in an airtight container and keep in a cool, dry place or in the refrigerator. 

silvana's pancake mix

makes about 2 1/2 pounds

9 cups Silvana's All-Purpose flour 

1 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp baking powder

2 1/4 tsp salt

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together. Store in an airtight container and keep in a cool, dry place or in the refrigerator. 

Recipes from Silvana Nardone

cinnamon-toasted belgian waffles

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 cups silvana's pancake mix (above)

2 large eggs- room temp, lightly beaten

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups rice milk 

maple syrup

In a small bowl, combine both sugars and 1 tsp of the cinnamon. 

Preheat a waffle maker to medium- high heat. 

In a large bowl, mix together the pancake mix and the remaining 1/2 tsp cinnamon. 

In another small bowl, mix together the eggs, oil, vanilla and milk. 

Add this wet mixture to the pancake mix and stir until just combined. 

Grease the waffle iron with nonstick cooking spray (not the baking spray! it has flour!)

Pour a heaping 1/3 cup batter into each waffle iron quarter, spreading the batter to the edges.

Sprinkle generously with the cinnamon sugar.

Close and cook until crisp, about 4 minutes. 

Serve with maple syrup

**We thought that the waffles were amazing alone, so we didn't need any syrup, but a friend suggested that a cinnamon roll icing would be so good on these. I agree and will be trying it next time!

** Also, this recipe is gf and dairy free. My mom is doing both, so we made the waffles like the recipe. You could always use regular milk, but I'll say that I'm not dairy free and these were incredible!

Seriously? Does this not look delicious?! Somebody try it with the cinnamon roll icing and let me know how it is!