Dairy-Free Thanksgiving recipes

Okay, I know many families worry that holiday meals just won't be the same if it isn't slathered in butter.  But you know what?  It's actually very simple to adapt a big fancy Thanksgiving meal to your allergy needs.

Here are some recipes and suggestions that work for us.

Turkey
12 lb turkey
Olive oil
2 Tbsp salt (I actually use a little less)
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp paprika

1. Mix seasonings together.
2. Rub olive oil and seasonings on turkey.
3. Stuff with stuffing (recipe below) if you want.
4. Bake per directions on packaging. (18 minutes per pound at 325 degrees)

Sausage Stuffing
3 Tbsp Olive oil
2 Tbsp dairy-free margarine (I use Earth's Balance)
2 medium onions
2 cloves of garlic
4 stalks of celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
salt and pepper to taste
1 bag of stuffing crumbs (I like Brownberry Herbed Seasoned Stuffing)
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp sage
1/2 pound pork sausage, browned and drained
2 cups chicken stock (homemade recipe here)

1. Heat olive oil and margarine in large skillet.
2. Add onions, celery, carrots.  Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 to 8 minutes. Add garlic for 30 seconds before removing from heat.
3. Combine stuffing crumbs, poultry seasoning, sage and pork sausage in large bowl.
4. Stir in chicken stock and cooked vegetables.
5. Stuff in turkey or bake in casserole dish at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.  I highly reccommend stuffing the turkey -- so good!

Mashed Potatoes
6 potatoes, diced
5 cups chicken stock (and more water if needed)
Pepper
Garlic, keep whole

1. Boil potatoes and garlic in chicken stock for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
2. Drain potatoes, but save a couple cups of the stock in separate bowl.
3. Slowly add chicken stock to potatoes as you mash them.

**You can add soy or rice milk, but you don't need to to have some good flavor.**

Gravy
Brown bits from turkey
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken stock
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp thyme (optional)

1. Take brown bits from turkey and heat in skillet.  Add flour and mix together.
2. Slowly add chicken stock and cook on medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes until desired consitency.
3. Season with salt and pepper.


Cranberry Sauce
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
4 cups cranberries

1. Boil water with sugar.
2. Add cranberries and cook on medium heat until thickens.  About 10 minutes.

**Canned cranberries are dairy-free, too.**

Corn

I always save corn from the summer and freeze it for a simple dish.  I just heat it up and add a little dairy-free margarine and salt.  

**Personally, I don't see anything wrong with just heating up corn or green beans (either frozen or canned).  Why not have an easy dish?**

Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie (sorry, not egg-free)
Last year I made two pumpkin pies.  This one and the recipe from on the back of the pumpkin can.  I had never made pumpkin pie before.  While the taste was a little different, we concluded that the dairy-free version was very, very good.


Crust
I cheat and buy Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust -- no dairy or soy

Pumpkin filling
16 oz can pumpkin
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 slightly beaten eggs (not sure if egg substitute works here, sorry)
2/3 cup rice milk

1. Bake pie crust at 375 degrees in pie plate for 10 minutes before adding filling.
2. Combine pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.  Add eggs.
3. Beat until just combined and stir in rice milk.
4. Pour filling into pie crust.
4. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes
5. Cool on wire rack.