With the holidaze fast approaching, I have been making plans for feeding friends and family with the goals of:
1) providing everyone with tasty, healthy(ish) meals, and
2) not making anyone sick.
With both in mind, I recently came across two gluten-free packaged goods that I thought might very well round out our feast daze menus, and, not make anyone sick.
And, you know what? With a few wee, tiny tweaks, they were pretty darned good!
Important Note: this is not one of those sponsored posts; the fine folk at Hodgson Mill and Trader Joe’s have not provided me anything. This is just me 
testing out products I’ve come across on my loving husband and myself before serving them to family and friends.
So.
That taken care of, let us talk cornbread, croutons, and creamy tomato soup.
We do not *have* to eschew gluten, but many of our family and friends do, so, when I find options that look as though they might be good, I am gonna try them.
First, Hodgson Mill Gluten-Free Cornbread Mix. It was easy to toss together, and baked up into a nice pan of cornbread.
But. We both thought it could be a tad sweeter; so, next time I make this, I will add one tablespoon of honey to the measuring cup before adding milk to make up the amount of liquid called for on the box directions. Still and all, the thought of Gluten-Free stuffing and… dare I say it? Croutons! will make some in our circle very, very happy!
For the croutons:
Heat your oven to 400º, and cut the baked cornbread into cubes and arrange on a foil lined baking sheet.
Seasonings:
•1/2 cup melted unsalted butter or olive oil
•1/4 tsp Seasoned Salt
•1/4 tsp garlic powder
•1/4 tsp dried parsley
•1/4 tsp dried basil
•1/4 tsp Aleppo pepper
Stir the seasonings into the butter or olive oil and pour over the cornbread cubes on the baking sheet. Stir gently to coat each cube.
Bake for ten minutes, then remove from the oven and flip the cornbread over.
Return to the oven and bake for another six to ten minutes, until the croutons are nice and crispity, and loaded with flavor.
Set aside to cool, then strew over soups and salads with abandon, in the knowledge of a job well and gluten-freely done.
Next, the soup:
Who knew that Trader Joe’s had an organic, low sodium, gluten-free creamy tomato soup? Not I, that’s for certain.
So. Croutons made and cooling, I set about to see how this was warmed up on top of the stove.
Hmmm. Not too, too bad, but…
Add ins:
•32 oz organic tomato soup
•2 tbsp chopped basil
•1 tbsp Sherry Peppers Sauce*
•2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
•1 tbsp sherry vinegar
•Freshly ground black pepper
*No Sherry Peppers Sauce? No Problem! Simply add a bit of decent sherry (none of that “cooking” stuff) and a dash or three of your fave hot sauce, to taste.
Much better!
Served with the cornbread croutons, we most certainly did not feel as though we were missing out on anything at all.