It’s been a while since I’ve done a Gluten Free Friday post, but I hosted my very first big gluten free holiday meal last week for Thanksgiving, and I wanted to share the menu in case you were looking for ideas.

There were things missing (I didn’t make GF rolls or stuffing), but we had plenty of food and it turned out pretty darn yummy. I don’t have a lot of pictures, but I would like to link to some of the recipes I used because they were really, really good.

We had a turkey breast as the main dish, and the sides we served were these (if you’re on Pinterest, you can see these plus a lot more on my Gluten Free Board):

–These Green Beans with Bacon were DELICIOUS. I don’t normally like the crispier green beans, but I used frozen like the recipe called for, and they were really, really good. I could have licked the sauce out of the bowl.

–The Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes got RAVE reviews from my Father In Law. I followed the recipe, except I used half water and half GF chicken stock instead of all water, and I didn’t even need to add milk at the end.

–I had a great recipe from a friend for gluten free brown gravy, but I ended up making my own gravy last minute. I sauteed 2 TB butter and 2 TB brown rice flour for a couple of minutes until they were cooked together. Then I poured in about 3/4 cup of the chicken stock and about 1/2 tsp seasoning salt and heated it (stirring often) over medium heat until it thickened up. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, but it was good (and easy)!

–I also made Crock Pot Corn (my hubs’ favorite). I tossed a large bag of frozen corn, a stick of butter, a regular package of cream cheese, salt, pepper, and a TB of sugar into the crock pot and cooked it on low for about 4 hours, stirring occasionally.

–I ended up forgetting to serve this Cranberry Sauce, but the baby and I enjoyed it the next day on our leftovers. Again, really simple and really yummy. Oh, and I didn’t have any orange peel so I left it out and I couldn’t even tell the difference.

–For dessert, I made a very easy pumpkin pie. Literally, the day before Thanksgiving, I saw this recipe on Don’t Speak Whinese for a pie crust made with Chex. I used the Honey Nut Chex, and the recipe off of the Pumpkin Pie Filling can and it was incredibly easy and really delicious. I actually baked the whole thing the night before and then heated it back up for a few minutes in the 350 degree oven while we ate dinner, and it was still fantastic.

Last but not least, I found a recipe that is my new favorite for holiday and lazy weekend breakfasts. This Betty Crocker Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake was so popular that I made it for everybody the day before Thanksgiving and again that weekend. It calls for gluten free Bisquick, but I used Pamela’s Baking Mix because that’s what we’re always stocked up on. Yep, even the little square yellow guy enjoyed it.

What are your favorite gluten free sides for holidays?