Thanksgiving Recipes

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! Mine went relatively smooth. However, I did wake up panicked on Thursday morning because I realized I had forgot to set the turkey out to finish thawing. Thankfully (no pun intended), the turkey was able to thaw out in a few hours in cool water in the sink. If you recall, I had planned my "clean" Thanksgiving meal. I am excited to say it all turned out GREAT! Thanks to some other bloggers and my mom, I was able to provide an amazing dinner. Below are the recipes I used with my tweaks.

Clean Sweet Potato Casserole

Adapted from He and She Eat Clean

Ingredients:

• 5 large baked sweet potatoes
• 2/3 cup of unsweetened almond milk
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/5 cup pecans

Directions:

To help with cooking time on Thanksgiving day, I did this part the night before.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Wash sweet potatoes and place on a cookie sheet ( I used a pyrex )

2. Once oven is heated, place sweet potatoes in the oven and bake for 1 1/2 hours or until sweet potatoes are soft. 

3. Remove sweet potatoes and baking sheet from the oven. Let cool and store in the refrigerator overnight.

Thanksgiving Day:

4. Remove the sweet potatoes from the refrigerator and let them warm to room temperature. If you are in a rush, then you can microwave them for about 1 minute.

5. Place the sweet potatoes in an electric mixer (I used my Kitchenaid Stand mixer). Add milk, honey, cinnamon and nutmeg to bowl. 

6. Mix for about 3-5 minutes, until all ingredients are combined and potatoes are fluffy.

7. Place the sweet potato mixture in a shallow ceramic dish (I used a Pyrex). Top with pecans.

8. Bake at 350 degrees farenheit for 10 - 15minutes, or until it is golden brown on top.

Clean Green Bean Casserole

Adapted from The Gracious Pantry 

Ingredients

Topping

• 2 slices clean, toasted bread (I used homemade gluten free)
• 1/4 cup roasted almonds (no sugar added)
• 1 tablespoon onion powder

Casserole

• 28 oz (2 bags) frozen green beans
• 2 cups Clean Eating Cream Of Mushroom Soup, warmed and thickened with: 2 tablespoons gluten free all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch or tapioca starch

Directions 

 

1. Prepare Clean Eating Cream of Mushroom soup. (see below)
2. Cut bread in to manageable chunks.
3. Place bread, almonds and onion powder in to a food processor (I used the Magic Bullet).
4. Process (with Pulse) until the ingredients are mixed and have a rough crumb-like texture.
5. Set aside 
6. Place the frozen green beans in a large casserole dish and pour the soup on top. 
7. Sprinkle topping over the green beans. 
8. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the topping is golden. 
9. Cool and serve.

Clean Eating Cream of Mushroom Soup 

From the Gracious Pantry.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound mushrooms, sliced
• 4 cups chicken broth 
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup gluten free, all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 cups unsweetened original almond milk

Directions:

1. Saute the mushrooms in the oil. Stir frequently.
2. When the liquid comes out of the mushrooms, add the balsamic vinegar. Then, add the flour,
3. Add the chicken broth to a pot. Add mushrooms to the pot and combine with the broth.
4. Add milk.
5. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for approximately 10 minutes.
6. Allow to cool in the pot.

Clean Cranberry Sauce

Recipe adapted from The Gracious Pantry.

Ingredients:

• 12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon 
• Zest of one large orange
• 1 cup water

Directions:

1. Add all of the ingredients to a pot at medium high heat.
2. Cook for 30-45 minutes. When much of the liquid has gone, turn the head down to low. 
3. Stir frequently.
4. Serve and enjoy! 

Mom's Old Fashioned Bread Stuffing

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

Ingredients

• 3 stalks chopped celery
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup butter (the recipe called for a 1/2 cup, but I used less. I bet you could get away with 2 TB. I didn't want to change it too much for my dad. :) )
• 1 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 12 cups dry bread cubes (I used gluten free homemade bread)
• 2 cups chicken broth (if you like a drier stuffing, then you can use 1-1 1/4 cup)

Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat the butter. Cook the celery and onion in the melted butter until they are tender.
2. Remove the mixture from heat and stir in seasoning and pepper.
3. Add the bread cubes to a large bowl. Add the onion mixture to the bowl.
4. Drizzle chicken broth over the bread until it is moistened as desired. Toss lightly to coat.
5. Use this mixture to stuff the turkey and place any leftovers in a casserole for baking. Bake the unstuffed portion at 325 for 30-45 minutes. 

Mashed Potatoes

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

Ingredients

• 3 large potatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tb butter
• 1/4 cup skim milk or unsweetened, original almond milk

Directions

1. Cut potatoes in to quarters and place in a pot of water. Add salt and boil for 20-25 minutes, or until tender.
2. Place cooked potatoes in a bowl and mash with a potato masher or whip with an electric mixture. Add butter and milk.
3. Continue beating until potatoes are light and fluffy. Serve.