Dairy Free Thanksgiving

I have always LOVED cooking which is a good thing considering the allergies in our family. Kaleigh our oldest daughter is allergic to dairy and I am allergic to ALL nuts. Although Kaleigh's reaction to dairy has become less severe it is important for us to keep any form of dairy out of her diet. My allergy to Nuts consists of hives and blisters in my mouth...trust me NOT fun. I have seen conflicting opinions but I believe allergies run in a family. My mother is also allergic to ALL nuts and Catherine (the C in ACE sisters) is also allergic to dairy. My other two girls have not shown an signs of being allergic to dairy or nuts but it is still early days.

This Thanksgiving we had a treat of having Catherine come to visit us! This was her first time seeing Abigail (the newest member of the family) and our new house here in Arkansas.






Because now we had two people in the house that needed dairy-free food I decided to make everything dairy free for Thanksgiving. On the list of food for the feast included: Ham, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, bread rolls, cranberry sauce, brown gravy, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. Each adult made a part of the meal Curtis made the pumpkin pie with the children, Catherine made the green bean casserole, and I did the rest.


Most dishes can be made dairy free with a simple substitute like milk for a milk alternative (soy milk, almond milk, or coconut milk) and/or butter for a dairy free fat (dairy free butter, oil, or Crisco).
Dairy-free Pumpkin Pie

• 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1/4 Cup White Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
• 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg or Allspice
• 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 2 Large Eggs
• 1 15-ounce Can Pumpkin Puree
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 Cup Soymilk
• 1 Pie Shell 

Mix the sugars, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg or allspice, cloves and salt in a small bowl.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the sugar mixture, pumpkin, and vanilla until smooth (if you are using vanilla Soymilk do not add vanilla . Stir in Soymilk
Pour the filling into the pie crust and bake for about 50 to 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out clean.
Allow the pie to cool for 2 hours.

This tastes as good as regular pumpkin pie!! 

Dairy-free Green Bean Casserole

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 8 tablespoons butter (non dairy)
• 10  mushrooms sliced
• 3 tablespoons flour 
• pepper to taste
• salt to taste
• 1 1/2 cups of soymilk (could use chicken broth)
• 16 ounces green beans(we used fresh but could be canned or frozen)
• 1 container of French-fried onions

If using fresh green beans:

Snap ends of green beans (I never cut my green beans with a knife). Cook in boiling water for 5-10 minutes. 

In a sauce pan add oil and "butter" and heat until melted. Saute mushrooms in oil and "butter" mixture for about 5 minutes or until mushrooms darken and shrink.
Remove from heat. Add three tablespoons of flour and mix together. 

Slowly add the Soymilk, salt, and pepper. If the mixture is too thin add additional flour for a thicker.

Pour over green beans. Add half the can of french-fried onions and mix.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Sprinkle french fried onions on top and bake an additional 5-10 minutes

 Here is our feast!! Yum Yum