Better Green Bean Casserole

1 lb. fresh green beans, cut in 2-inch pieces or slivered

8 ounces white button or cremini mushrooms {your choice}, washed* and chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 tablespoons non-dairy margarine

3 tablespoons white rice flour {or substitute cornstarch}

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup gluten-free mushroom or vegetable stock

1 cup plain soymilk

1 recipe Crunchy French-fried Onion Rings

It's holiday time and what's more traditional than everyone's favorite dish: green bean casserole--made better!


To cook the green beans, you may either steam them in a steamer or drop them in boiling water. Cook them until crisp-tender and drain in a colander. {Or, if you prefer, you may substitute cooked frozen green beans or--if pressed for time--canned green beans.}

Pre-heat oven to 350°F.  Spray a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet or Dutch oven until the point of fragrance.  Add mushrooms and shake the pan, cooking them for about 8 minutes.  Do not cover the skillet or Dutch oven or it will draw out the moisture in the mushrooms.

Add margarine, cooking and stirring until melted.  Add salt and sprinkle with flour or cornstarch.  Slowly stir in stock and milk and cook until thickened. Remove from heat.  {If your sauce is too thin, you may need to add a little more flour or cornstarch; if it's too thick, thin with a little plain soymilk.}

Add green beans to sauce mixture.  Add about half the recipe of Crunchy French-fried Onion Rings and reserve the rest for topping.

Bake 25 minutes.  Add the reserved Crunchy French-fried Onion Rings to the top of the casserole and bake 5 more minutes.

YIELD: 4 to 6 servings

*Mushrooms--cremini mushrooms, in particular--are grown in manure or manure-enriched soil, so please wash your mushrooms!  {Please note I said "wash," NOT "soak" the mushrooms.  A quick rinse under the faucet works fine.}  The difference between these popular varieties of mushrooms {white button or cremini} is just age. The white button mushrooms, those very familiar kitchen staples, are simply the youngest variety. They have been cultivated, too, for that white color and soft texture. In the wild, these mushrooms are usually browner.

Crunchy French-fried Onion Rings

2 small onions {or go for broke and slice bigger ones!}

1/2 to 3/4 cup plain soymilk {depending on how many onions you intend to fry}

1/2 cup white rice flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

{If you like your onion rings with a little kick, add 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.}

1 cup oil, olive or vegetable

Line a shallow baking tray with paper towels to drain fried onions.

Slice and separate onions into rings. Soak rings in milk while you mix coating ingredients.

Combine rice flour, cornmeal, salt and pepper {red pepper flakes} in either a shallow dish or a large re-sealable food storage bag and mix well.

Heat oil in either a large heavy skillet or electric deep fryer until a heat-proof thermometer reads 300°F. to 325°F.

Remove onion rings from milk and dip or shake in coating mixture.  Add onion rings to oil in small batches and fry until golden brown.  Using tongs or slotted spoon, remove onion rings to paper-towel lined tray to cool.

YIELD: about 1 1/2 cups {or one generous serving}

You may also use these onion rings in recipes.

{Be Forewarned! I "sampled" an onion ring to taste-test...and ended up making more because they were dee-lish!}

Cranberry Relish

1 pkg. fresh cranberries

1 orange, peeled and seeded, or 1/4 cup orange juice

1 cup dark raisins, plumped in hot water

1/4 to 1/2 cup nuts, if desired

1 cup sugar +

Wash and rinse cranberries well.  Hand grind or use food processor to process cranberries and orange.  Add sugar and allow cranberry-orange mixture to stand for about 15 minutes to blend and to make juice.  Taste-test {the best part!} and add more sugar to your own taste.  Add raisins and nuts, if desired.

Store tightly covered in the refrigerator for several days to ripen.

YIELD: 3-4 cups relish

Yummy Cornbread

Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Grease 9 x 9 inch non-stick pan or 12 standard [2 1/2 inch] muffin cups.  You may line the muffin cups with paper baking cups instead.

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup gluten-free baking mix (see recipe)

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder [gluten-free, of course!]

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum*

1 cup plain soymilk

4 tablespoons non-dairy margarine, melted**

2 eggs***

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients.  Add wet ingredients and mix well, using a whisk. {I just used a tablespoon.}  The batter will be thick, but you can pour it into the baking pan or spoon it into the muffin cups.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean.

Serve warm.

*Xathan gum, a thickener added to baked goods, helps to hold them together.  You can find it in the baking goods aisle at your local grocery store.

**You may substitute regular margarine or butter, if you are not dairy intolerant.

***You may substitute a liquid egg product or egg replacement product for the eggs.

Gluten-Free Baking Mix

1 cup white rice flour

1 cup soy flour

1 cup tapioca flour

1 cup cornstarch

1 cup almond flour

Sift all ingredients into a large bowl.  Whisk or stir until the flours are combined well.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Substitute this baking mix cup for cup when a recipe calls for "flour."

YIELD: approx. 5 cups

You may double or even triple this recipe, proved you have a large enough container and the room in your fridge!