I’m so honored to be taking part in the Gluten-Free Holiday “How-Tos” Blogger Campaign put on by the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) and sponsored by Crunchmaster. As I’ve shared previously, I’m a big fan of the NFCA and its daily, widespread efforts to get those with celiac/gluten intolerance both diagnosed and living well gluten free. I was so excited to finally meet Alice Bast, NFCA’s founder and director, earlier this month. I met Alice in Dallas at the Intestinal Health Institute’s conference, “The Gluten Truth Meets the Circle of Life.” Alice’s presentation was Turning Celiac into Service: Unleashing Your Passion and Life Purpose. Hers was definitely one of the very best presentations of the conference.
Now Alice and the NFCA are sharing their expertise and teaming with gluten-free bloggers and Crunchmaster to ensure that you have an especially great holiday season. You can follow along at the NFCA’s holiday headquarters here, but you’ll also want to sign up for a special email from me sharing my holiday “how-to’s.” These are key tips to get you through the holiday with some of my favorite gfe recipes to help you along the way.
UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed.
Everyone who signs up for the special email will be eligible to win the weekly Crunchmaster giveaway AND be entered to win the Crunchmaster Grand Prize: $100 cash plus $40 worth of free Crunchmaster crackers. Note that you must sign up by tomorrow, Nov. 22, at 12 noon ET, to get my tips and be entered into the giveaways. Sign up here.
When I happily agreed to make a recipe using Crunchmaster crackers for this event, I got excited. First, I’m a fan of Crunchmaster products and second, I knew exactly which recipe I wanted to make. One of my good friends/co-workers, Tavie, makes a wonderful long grain and wild rice dressing/stuffing/casserole. Tavie typically uses crushed gluten-full crackers as she herself is not gluten free. (However, she knows the diet well as her late husband had celiac disease.) Last year she wanted to make this recipe for our group’s Christmas luncheon. She loves the Crunchmaster crackers on their own merit, so she had some on hand and used those for her recipe as she knew I could safely eat her dish then. Everyone loved how her recipe turned out, including me and Mr. GFE. Mr. GFE didn’t attend the luncheon, but happily accepted the leftovers Tavie sent home!
This dish is so easy to make and so flavorful. The crunchy rice and Crunchmaster crackers add an unexpected, but wonderful dimension. If you already have your Thanksgiving meal planned, I’d like to suggest that you could make this dish the day after Thanksgiving and add in some of your leftover turkey—what a lovely meal that would make! Mr. GFE just piped in … “that would be perfect, absolutely perfect!”
Crunchy Long Grain and Wild Rice Dressing
Adapted from my friend Tavie’s recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups chicken broth/stock (or vegetable broth for vegetarian/vegan option)
- 1 1/3 cups long grain white rice
- 2/3 cup wild rice
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- ½ tsp poultry seasoning (more or less to taste)
- 1 ½ tbsp coconut oil plus 1 ½ tbsp olive oil (or equivalent amount of butter; I prefer the oil though)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 tsp or so minced garlic
- A couple tbsp or so of colorful sweet bell peppers of choice, diced (with strips for topping, if desired)
- 2 cups broken Crunchmaster crackers (see notes; choose vegan flavors if needed)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease average-sized casserole dish.
- Add water and broth to large stock/soup pot. Bring to a boil. (While water is coming to a boil, skip to next step). Add rice. Simmer over medium-low to medium heat, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes. Add additional water in small amounts, if needed. Rice will not be completely done cooking when the 20 minutes is up and there may be liquid still left in the pot; that is all fine. Drain rice, saving any liquid and setting aside.
- Add coconut oil and olive oil to preheated skillet. Add in onion and sauté until transparent. Add garlic, peppers, and broken crackers. Stir all well and sauté until garlic and crackers are golden and fragrant and peppers are somewhat soft.
- Add both the rice mixture and cracker mixture back to the pot you cooked the rice in. Stir in parsley and poultry seasoning. Add about ½ cup of the reserved leftover broth/water mix. Stir well.
- Transfer mixture to greased casserole dish. Top with pepper strips for a festive look, if you wish.
- Bake for about 30 minutes or until desired doneness and crunchiness.
Shirley’s Notes
- Feel free to use other varieties of rice instead of ones shown, if you have them on hand, e.g., basmati versus long grain wild rice.
- I prefer using a sweet onion.
- Consider adding additional ingredients of your choice, like mushrooms, dried cranberries, pine nuts, and/or sunflower seeds. If the additional ingredients need sautéing before baking, add them when sautéing the onions, garlic, and other ingredients.
- Ingredients like cranberries, pine nuts, and sunflower seeds may be added to the pot and mixed in right before transferring all to the casserole dish.
- There are many varieties of Crunchmaster that will work well in this recipe. The original Multi-Grain crackers or the newer Multi-Grain crisps will make this recipe super crunchy. Note that those are the only two vegan options (I believe). Rosemary and Olive Oil crackers would be lovely. However, as I avoid soy, I prefer some of the newer soy-free flavors, like the Sea Salt, Cracked Pepper and Herb, and White Cheddar.
- I loosely pack my 2-cup measuring cup and just crunch my crackers using my hands, but if you prefer smaller crumbs, you can place your crackers in a Ziploc bag and use a rolling pin or hammer. (Great task for the kiddos by the way … or stressed out adults!)
- With the inclusion of chicken broth and salted crackers, I didn’t feel that this recipe needed any additional salt. However, taste the mixture after you’ve incorporated all the ingredients, but before you place it in the casserole dish. Add salt or other additional seasonings of choice, if needed.
- Finally, sometimes wild rice by itself can be hard to find. In a pinch, you can use two packages of Uncle Ben’s Long Grain and Wild Rice Original (Very Important: DISCARD seasoning packet as that is not gluten free) or two packages of Zatarain’s gluten-free rice mix choices, like Long Grain & Wild Rice, Wild Brown Rice Mix, or even Dirty Brown Rice Mix. These mixes are “free of gluten ingredients” and they contain A LOT of other ingredients, so please be sure to check them out to see if they fit your requirements before using.
Stay tuned to the NFCA’s Gluten-Free Holiday “How-To’s” Blogger Campaign! Please join us … and happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating!
This post is linked to Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Wellness Weekends, and Saturday Night Fever.
Mary says
Good Morning Shirley! I love Crunchmaster crackers, some of the best GF crackers available. The recipe looks delicious!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Mary
Shirley says
Hi Mary–I agree on Crunchmaster! I really love their newer flavors. 🙂 I’ve got leftovers of this recipe (with some turkey!) today for lunch. Can’t wait! I think you’ll enjoy it. 😉
Thanks so much and Happy Thanksgiving to you, too, dear!
Shirley
Ina Gawne says
Shirley – this looks delicious! Thanks for sharing, and Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Shirley says
Thank you, Ina! Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, too … I know it will be delicious judging by all the amazing recipes you share daily. 🙂
Shirley
Melissa @ glutenfreeforgood says
I’m a crunchy rice fan, so this will be right up my alley. Sounds like a nice twist to what is normally a basic dish. And love the photo of you and Alice. Yes, her presentation was definitely the highlight of the conference. Good stuff, indeed!
Melissa
Shirley says
Melissa–You know, I did think about you when I was making this recipe. I thought about you and your love for your “rice bowls.” 😉
Thanks re: the photo. It was so wonderful to meet Alice and hear her complete story as well as hear all the details on everything good that the NFCA is doing! 🙂
xo,
Shirley
Alta says
This is so unique…sounds delicious!
Shirley says
Alta–I think it sounds more unique than it actually is. It is delicious and sort of addictive … like you say you’re only going to take one bite and then … well, you know? 😉
Shirley
Melissa C. says
I never would of thought of adding these crackers to a dish like this, they are so good on their own or with cheese or other toppings. I will have to try this dish.
Shirley says
Hi Melissa–I have to thank my friend Tavie for the concept, but we love it and I think you will, too. Please let us know if/when you give it a try! 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving!
Shirley
InTolerant Chef says
What an interesting dish!
Shirley says
InTolerant Chef–That’s what everyone is saying! LOL But it’s quite good if I do say so myself. Well, hubby and at least 30 co-workers agree, too. 😉
Shirley
Diane-thewholegang says
I would never have thought of adding crackers to rice. Very cool!
Shirley says
Diane–I know you have the rice issues, so if you can try a crunchy rice-free cracker with a quinoa version, I think you might be pleased. 🙂
Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving, my dear!
Shirley
Angie says
Hi Shirley, Thanks for posting this! I’ve been looking for a gf stuffing recipe and this sound perfect. I’ll be making it Thursday morning!
Shirley says
Hi Angie, it’s so great to hear from you! I hope you and your family are doing well. 🙂 I do think you’ll enjoy this one for sure! Another stuffing option is the “Surprise” Tortilla Chip Stuffing here on my site.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Hugs,
Shirley
Nancy @SensitivePantry says
This recipe is a keeper for sure, Shirley. I love all the variations and the idea of making it into a one dish meal with the addition of a protein. Have a very wonderful Thanksgiving!
Shirley says
Nancy–You always leave the nicest comments—thanks so much! 🙂 This recipe is great in the basic form, but I love the flexibilty of all the variations, too.
Hope your Thanksgiving is grand, too!
Shirley
Carol, Simply Gluten Free says
I, too, love Crunchmasters! Great recipes. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving my friend!
xo,
c
Shirley says
Hi Carol–I knew you were also a fan. 🙂 It’s fun to have a safe gf product to get a bit creative with, isn’t it? 😉
Thanks so much for the Thanksgiving wishes! I know you’ll have many around your table this year (including one new little beautiful face) … so much fun! xo,
Shirley
Alisa says
Oh my goodness Shirley, this recipe is genius! You should be doing more recipe creation for GF companies! They NEED you.
Now, if only Crunchmaster would make more of their products dairy-free, I would be so happy.
Crunchmaster Guru says
Alisa, You will be pleased to know that we now have 9 dairy free items in our Crunchmaster brand including…
3.5oz (100g) Toasted Sesame Baked Rice Crackers
3.5oz (100g) Hint of Sea Salt 7 Ancient Grains
20oz (567g) 7 Grain Multi-Grain Crackers
20oz (567g) Original Multi-Seed Multi-Grain Crackers
20oz (567g) Original 5-Seed Multi-Grain Crackers
28oz (793g) Original 5-Seed Multi-Grain Crackers
4.5oz (128g) Original Multi-Seed Crackers
4.5oz (128g) Original Multi-Grain Crisps
4.5oz (128g) Sea Salt Multi-Grain Crackers
Enjoy!
Shirley says
Hi Crunchmaster Guru–Thanks so much for popping in to provide this info on Crunchmaster’s dairy-free crackers. I’ve enjoyed most of these flavors before, but there are a couple I still need to try. 😉
Shirley
Shirley says
Alisa–Oh my goodness, thank you so much! I hope someone’s listening. 😉 Crunchmaster crackers are really perfect in this recipe. 🙂 I’m so happy that their guru just shared all their varieties that are dairy free as well as gluten free, too!
Shirley
Wendy @ Celiacs in the House says
What a unique recipe. Big fans of Crunchmaster crackers at our house, but never thought of cooking with them. Well, they never last long enough to cook with in the first place, but this recipe may have me hiding a bag and giving it a try.
Shirley says
Hi Wendy–I hear you on the crackers not lasting long enough! I confess that I had to hide a few packages myself to be sure that I’d had enough to test the recipe and then make it twice more. 😉 On the normal occasion, any time that I open that bag of the Sea Salt flavored crackers, I’m in trouble!
I’ll be interested to see what you think if you give this recipe a try. It does sound very unique, but somehow it tastes just perfect. 🙂 Sort of a rice and stuffing vibe, you know?
Thanks, Wendy!
Shirley
Liz E says
Thanks so much for posting this recipe! I don’t know if they’re available nationwide, but my Costco in the Midwest sells very large boxes of Crunchmaster crackers in the five-grain flavor. So now I have a lot of them on hand!
Crunchmaster Guru says
Liz, Glad you enjoy our Crunchmaster 5 Seed Crackers sold at Costco. Current distribution in the Costco regions is as follows:
– NW has our Baked Rice Crackers & is adding our 5 Seed for Dec/Jan
– LA carries the 5 seed crackers in most clubs
– San Diego (includes AZ/CO) carries our 5 Seed and Baked Rice Crackers
– SE has our Hint of Sea Salt 7 Ancient Grains
– TX carries our Baked Rice Crackers
Another great option is Sam’s Club that carries our 20oz Original nationwide.
Enjoy!
Linda says
What a creative and lovely looking dish. I like your after Thanksgiving idea, and Mr. GFE’s comments! 🙂
Shirley says
Thanks, Linda! I have to admit that this is a dish that will grace our table other times during the year, too. It’s a new favorite. 🙂 And I can’t wait to try it with cut up turkey or chicken added. Oh, and Mr. GFE often provides great moral support on the recipe creation front. 😉
Shirley