side dishes (Gluten Free) | Gluten-Free Gusto Blog

broccoli-cakes If you’re having a hard time getting someone you know (not me, of course … riiiiiight) to eat their vegetables, here’s the cure.

Going in I thought they might be a little light on flavor, so I was standing by with some Litehouse OPA Bleu Cheese dressing, but these little cakes are robust enough on their own. I wasn’t expecting them to be as hearty as they are, either, as they were a bit smaller than I expected.

As I ate them (2 cakes per serving per the packaging), the pepper started to build up in my mouth, eventually burning my tongue. Of course, you normal people won’t have a problem with it. I started out eating with a fork, but they are sturdy enough that you can just eat them with your hand, like an English muffin. Continue reading →

Step One – bake the cornbread.

At the holidays, it’s always a bummer when gluten-free folks can’t have stuffing. I’m a big fan of stuffing, so I decided to give it a shot. Of course, you can add whatever you’d like to stuffing – giblets, nuts (I usually add pecans), chopped apple, etc., but since I’m kind of broke right now, I used what I already had in the house, which wasn’t much. I wanted to see how it tasted without herbs and spices, and I only put the parmesan on 1/2 of the dish for the same purpose. This recipe would make a good base for more complex stuffing recipes (or dressings, as some people call them). The Hodgson Mill brand of cornbread was not as dense as the Bob’s Red Mill brand, so this stuffing ending up being very light and fluffy, which I’m not used to. I made the mistake (I know, can you believe it?!) of putting some cranberries in the stuffing. They were just too bitter and overpowering for the light flavor. I won’t do that next time. Go ahead, experiment and enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

1 stalk of celery, chopped small
1/2 medium size onion, chopped & sauteed (I used olive oil)
2 cups g/f cornbread, loosely crumbled (I used Hodgson Mill)
1 cup cooked white rice
1 container g/f chicken broth or stock (I used Costco’s brand)
Italian-style shredded cheese for garnish (mozzarella, Parmesan, etc. blend)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first five ingredients in 9×9 glass baking dish (I’m sure metal is fine, I used Pyrex). Mix well, with hands. Do not flatten or compact. Pour chicken broth just until you can see it come to the top of the mixture. Sprinkle a thin layer of the cheese over the top. Bake for 20 minutes at 350. Turn oven up to 400. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is browning on top.

The rice and cornbread should have absorbed almost all the chicken broth, making them moist and fluffy. This is hot, hearty comfort food that can be tweaked to your preferred level of moistness. Leftovers can easily be reheated in a bowl – fill bowl with the amount you want, then pour a little leftover chicken broth in. Microwave for about 2 minutes on 70%, stir, then an addition 30 – 60 seconds on high for one bowl. It should absorb the additional chicken broth as it sits.