Gluten Free Holiday Entertaining Fast and Easy!
Estelle's Holiday Recipes with Trader Joe’s...
Based on the
CURRENT GLUTEN FREE LIST! As of 11/05/09
BE SURE TO READ ALL LABELS AS WELL!!!!!!!
Appetizers:
Trader Joe's Polenta sliced thin ¼ inch rounds and lightly fried til crispy in a light vegetable oil. Can be topped with cooked chicken sausage, mozzarella and sun dried tomatoes in olive oil and put under the broiler until the cheese just melts. artichoke hearts, olive tapanade, sautéed mushrooms and Trader Joe's Organic Marinara sauce are also good.
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Applegate Farms Sliced Turkey:
Soft Cheese (cream or a GF spread softened just a tad) or Boursin Herbed Cheese Spread, Celery Sticks, Chopped Cold Spinach, Slivered Almonds
Carefully open the meat of your choice and pat dry with a clean paper towel.
Spread with the soft cheese add a few thin slices of celery, or the cooled chopped spinach or slivered almonds. Roll into a log shape and place on a plate. Repeat with all the meat and set plate in fridge for 10-15 minutes until they are firm.
Using a sharp knife slice into ½ rounds…serve plain or on top of a GF Cracker!
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Trader Joe's Crinkle Potato wedges can be lightly sprayed with a vegetable or olive oil and baked until just crispy and topped with sour cream and chives, also sour cream and caviar, cheddar cheese, or a bit of smoked salmon. Spinach dip on top sprinkled with parmesan cheese is tasty!
Be creative and try a few of your own ideas at home! Serve with Trader Joe's Blue Corn Tortilla Chips, Vegetable Root Chips or Red Bliss Potato Chips.
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Sides:
Sprouted fully cooked brown rice mixed with Trader Joe's Chunky Salsa is a quick Spanish rice. Follow package directions for the rice and then stir in some salsa. Serve it with Grilled chicken strips in plain or the mesquite Smoked Turkey Breast.
You can also add grilled vegetable Bruschetta instead of salsa and serve it with the Balsamic and Rosemary Grilled Chicken Strips or with some Baked Salmon.
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Trader Joe's Wild & Basmati pilaf mixed with Fire Roasted Peppers is an attractive and flavorful side. Add a bit of garlic and chopped shallot along with any seasoning of your choice.
Trader Joe's Rice Pasta & Cheddar cooked and tossed with steamed broccoli is also a tasty treat. You can add left over cooked ham or smoked turkey.
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Desserts:
Trader Joe's Flourless Chocolate Cake sliced in ½ lengthwise and filled with whipped cream and chilled is also great. I also use the Mordello Cherries strain the cherries and save the juice. As there may be a pit or two. I carefully crush them with a fork on a plate to make sure. Put the juice into a sauce pan and simmer until it is reduced by ½. Allow to cool. Mix the cooled juice with the cherries in a bowl.
Cut the cake into wedges top with ice cream or whip cream add the cherries and serve.
We served it with Whip Cream and Sliced Strawberries! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Treader Joe's Gluten Free Ginger Snaps can be crushed up into crumbs and be mixed with butter and a bit of sugar foe a quick pie crust and filled with Lemon or Mango Tangerine Sorbet. Or the Mango Vanilla or Raspberry Vanilla Ice cream or Soy Creamy Organic Vanilla frozen ice cream. You can also use my " No Bake Pumplin Souffle" as a filling for the Guten Free Ginger Snap Crust!
For the crust you will need: 1-1/2 cups of crushed Gluten Free Gingersnaps
1/3 cup melted butter
3 tablespoons of sugar
Mix the sugar and crumbs in a bowl drizzle the melted butter over this and blend with a fork. Using the fork press this into the bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie pan. Saving a bit to sprinkle on top. Fill with the filling of your choice and sprinkle with remaining crumbs. Chill 15 minutes til firm and serve with the filling of your choice. If you are dairy intolerant check the labels and use a non non-dairy margarine.
No Bake Pumpkin Souffle':
2 Cups Canned Plain Pumpkin (
NOT the Pumpkin pie pre-mixed pumpkin)
6-8 Packets of Stevia OR 1/3 cup of sugar
3 Teaspoons of Ground Cinnamon
Zest of one orange
3 Teaspoons of Gluten Free Vanilla
1 Cup Ricotta Cheese Gluten Free
Blend Stevia or Sugar with pumpkin with orange zest, cinnamon and vanilla stir well.
Fold in ricotta cheese. Chill 4 hours or BEST RESULTS CHILL OVERNIGHT
Spoon into Ginger Snap crust and chill another 15 minutes. Serve.
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Trader Joe's Cream Brulee in Chocolate Cups topped with a Trader Joe's 70% Belgian Dark Chocolate Seashell is a fast and elegant dessert!
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Trader Joe's Sparkling Juice Beverages Blueberry, Cranberry, Pomegranate served in a tall glass with a small scoop of Trader Joe's Sorbet in “Chocolate, Lemon or Mango Tangerine” floating in the glass is another elegant and simple dessert or beverage. Use a melon baller to make small round balls and freeze on a tray or sheet till firm. Fill the glass 2/3 of the way full and add 3-4 of the balls just before serving. You can also use champagne!
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Quick and Easy Dinners:
Trader Joe's ready to salads mixed (
Do not eat the crutons) with a cheese or grilled chicken strips of your choice, or smoked salmon.
Serve with a soup Trader Joe's “Butternut Squash, Chicken Chili with Beans, Garden Patch Vegetable Soup or Creamy Tomato Soup.
Serve with a Lundberg “Brown Rice Cake or Rice Crackers”
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Trader Joe's Blue Corn Tortilla Nachos use the cheese of your choice of Grilled Chicken Strips in plain serve with “Black Bean and Corn Salsa, Chicken and Bean Chili add Guacamole” and dinner is served!
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Trader Joe's Instant Rice Noodle Soup “Roasted Garlic or Spring Onion”
With sautéed spinach or broccoli, add some “Applegate Farms sliced meat of your choice or some leftover cooked Salmon, vegetables or meats or a hard boiled sliced egg.
Copyright Estelle ETC Design 2009
