Turkey

Baking a turkey may be a somewhat daunting task, but this method is both easy, and makes a deliciously tender bird.

Broth has been removed for Turkey Tortilla Soup

Ingredients
1 turkey, thawed*
3-6 stalks of celery
1 onion, sliced
olive oil
salt
pepper
thyme
rosemary (optional)

Directions
Heat oven to 450°F.

Remove guts from inside of turkey, including neck, organs, and any gravy packet that may be included.

Sprinkle in salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary to desired taste.

Stuff bird with onion and celery.

Place in roasting pan, rub turkey with olive oil, then fill pan about 1/3 of the way with water.

Bake for 13 minutes per pound.

Remove from oven, let rest. Then carve.

ENJOY!

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*NOTE: Thawing a turkey takes awhile, so plan ahead. It takes about 30 minutes per pound, to thaw when immersed in cold water. Check out this calculator by Butterball to see how long your turkey will take.

Dairy Free Sour Cream

Buying dairy/casein free sour cream can get pricey when you want to use larger quantities for a recipe. But this quick and easy fix, originally from Cassidy's Craveable Creations, is not only excellent for cooking but also for all of your other sour cream needs.

Ingredients
1 6oz. cup coconut Greek yogurt*
3/4 tsp. lemon juice

Directions
Mix lemon juice into Greek yogurt.

Cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes prior to use.

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*NOTE: We found So Delicious Greek Yogurt at Woodman's for 99¢ per cup.

Snyder's Gluten Free Pretzels

Finding gluten free pretzels that taste like the gluten ones I remember has been a challenge. I have probably bought every brand on the market... but these take the cake. Even my gluten eating family members (other than Jeremy) say these are almost better than their gluten counterparts.

I will admit finding the different kinds has been difficult. Woodman's seems to carry all of the flavors: plain sticks and twists, hot buffalo wing, and honey mustard & onion, and the cost about $3.50-$4/bag. However, Wal-Mart carries only the sticks (which are my favorite) for slightly less at around $2.98/bag. We also have them available in our store.

We highly recommend these pretzels to everyone - gluten free or not!

A Taste of Thai: Peanut Noodles

These noodles are not necessarily what you would call health food, but they are incredibly delicious. I like to have them on hand when I'm running out the door and don't have time to pack a lunch. They are ready to eat in about 5-6 minutes, and are quite tasty with some veggies added in.

I have found them at select Wal-Mart's, Target's, and Woodman's grocery stores. We also have them available in our store, or you can use the links on the right.

I would highly recommend giving these a try, as well the Coconut Ginger Noodles.

Aldi GF Baking Mix

We like to use Aldi's Gluten Free Baking Mix (shown in the blurry picture above) as an easy go-to mix for biscuits and waffles. However, it is a seasonal item, so we highly recommend that you stock up when you see it.

The mix is, from what we can tell, identical to Bisquick's version, except that it costs about half the price, at about $2.50 to $3 a box instead of $5 to $6.

We have bought, but not tried, the brownie mix also shown in the picture

Chili Seasoning

We use this mix of seasonings for our chili instead of buying the packets. This also ensures that it is "friendly". Feel free to adjust as desired for more or less spice. This recipe yields spice mix for 1 pot of chili.

Ingredients
2 Tbps. chili powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. oregano
3 tsp. cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Mix all seasonings together.

Add to chili, or store in an air tight container.

Tofutti American Slices

Finding dairy free cheese that doesn't contain casein, doesn't get soupy when heated, tastes good, and isn't just plain weird can be difficult. But Tofutti has done a pretty decent job. This is my go to cheese for American slices. It runs about $4-5 dollars for a pack of 12 slices but for dairy free cheese that's pretty average (and when you want cheese it's definitely worth it, especially these slices).

We highly recommend these for burgers (like the Black Bean Burgers), ham and cheese sandwiches, etc. We haven't tried it on grilled cheese, but I'm not sure this cheese can tolerate the heat long enough to make a grilled cheese without getting weird.