gluten-free thanksgivigHere comes the holiday gorge! For those of us who are either trying to be healthy or on a restrictive diet, this is the most challenging time of the year. Albeit wonderful, joyful, and fat-full. If you're on a gluten-free diet, you may think that means skipping the stuffing. But oh no, my fellow wheat-avoiding foodies. There are ways of indulging in all the goodies without all of those things that are bad for you. Many, many, delicious ways.

Let's start with the most amazing stuffing you'll ever eat -- the gluten-free part is simply a bonus. While chorizo is basically the best sausage ever, I used an andouille to give mine a Cajun kick. Choose the sausage the love, and enjoy this original, super yum, gluten-free stuffing on Thanksgiving.

Gluten-Free Tortilla Chip-Chorizo Stuffing

adapted from FoodNetwork.com

The key to keeping this recipe gluten-free is four-fold: One, you must only buy gluten-free tortilla chips. Either look for a gluten-free label, or read the ingredients list and make sure there aren't any sneaky items such as soy sauce included in the recipe. Two is to watch that chicken broth. Many chicken broths you buy in the store contain gluten. It HAS to have a gluten-free label or you can assume gluten is contaminating that broth. Three is to make sure your sausage is gluten-free. Chorizo is usually naturally gluten-free, but some sausages are not. And four is, of course, buying gluten-free bread for the bread cubes.

Prep time: 30 minutes Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients

9 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces dried chorizo, chopped
4 bunches scallions, chopped
4 (4-oz.) cans chopped green chiles, drained
2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 cups gluten-free chicken or turkey broth
2 large eggs
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional, as some people hate it)
1 (13-oz.) bag gluten-free corn tortilla chips
8 cups stale gluten-free white bread cubes
2 cups cubed queso fresco cheese
Salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and butter a 3-quart baking dish. Melt 8 of the 9 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat.

2. Add chorizo, scallions, chiles, and cumin to the melted butter and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Add the gluten-free broth and simmer.

3. Whisk the eggs and cilantro into a large bowl. Add the tortilla chips, bread, and cheese. Season with salt and pepper then pour chorizo and broth mixture into large bowl and combine.

4. Pour the mixture into the baking dish and dot with the last Tablespoon of butter on top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 30 minutes.

Makes: 12 servings