Baked Macaroni and Cheese (Gluten Free)

Macaroni and Cheese (gluten free) with raw veggies

1. Prepare pasta.

2. Prepare sauce.

Stir pasta and sauce together and turn it out into an oven dish sprayed with non-stick spray.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes...

... but if it's in the oven with something else, there is lots of leeway in this recipe. The oven can be hotter or cooler. Your dish can be uncovered all of the time or covered part of the time (but uncover at the end so the top will brown.)

For a good look and some discussion about variations, see this set on flickr, which shows two separate batches, both made with rice penne but with differences in the sauce and in the baking.

Baked macaroni and cheese is a good way to use up dairy products.  I'll use milk, buttermilk, plain yogurt, canned milk... whatever needs using.  And the same goes for the cheese!  Whatever needs using up.  The dish will turn out different every time and always delicious.


This recipe is # 81 on Baker's Dozen Challenge Countdown.

Rice Pasta

For someone who loves pasta and can't safely eat it any more, rice pasta is a great blessing.  Welcome back, comfort food!  Macaroni with Cheese is better than ever.

Rice Penne with Butter

There are various brands and blends. As we are focusing on rice now, we have bought "DeBoles" brand which is made entirely from rice.  In the small print we see that DeBoles is a division of the Hain Celestial Group.  We have the product in two forms, spaghetti and penne.  (Other shapes are available but not at Walmart.)  Note that each box contains only 8 ounces. The typical package of durum wheat spaghetti contains twice that.

Rice pasta is an acquired taste, but only because it doesn't taste, as one is expecting, like wheat.  I now like it as well as I do wheat pasta, because it is tender and has a delicate flavor.

Start with:

Large potful of boiling salted water

Pour in the pasta, stir, and allow the water to return to a full boil.  Then turn it down so that it continues to boil but not violently.  Do not cover the pot.

Rice pasta requires close watching as you boil it, because it is a bit too easy to go from underdone to overdone!  Test often for doneness.  You'll notice that rice pasta emits a lot of starch into the water. As soon as the pasta is done, but still firm, drain off the hot water and then add cold water to the pot in which to rinse some of the starch off of the pasta.  (If you have drained by pouring it all through a colander, return the pasta to the pot to rinse.)  Cold water will also stop the cooking so it doesn't become overdone.  Swish it around a bit and drain again.

Your pasta is now ready to serve or to use in a recipe.  I usually add a small amount of oil to the cooked pasta if it isn't used right away to stop it from sticking together.

If your intention is to make oven-baked macaroni and cheese, it's better to take the pasta off of the heat when it is still slightly underdone as it will of course cook more in the oven.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Red Sauce with Carne Picada

Red sauce with carne picada beef over gluten free penne

A simple pasta and meat sauce recipe using ordinary spaghetti sauce from a jar, some dried spicy spaghetti seasonings, and carne picada, small bits of sliced beef, rather than hamburger.

Modify to suit your household's preferences!  What is featured here is use of beef in a form other than hamburger. It doesn't really change the taste, but the difference in texture and appearance of this everyday food makes it interesting.

2 pounds carne picada beef
1- 24 ounce jar prepared sauce for pasta
Dry spaghetti seasoning blend, to taste

Brown meat in a pan in small batches, then put the browned meat into a 2-quart slow cooker. Skim off fat and add meat juices to the cooker.  Pour in the sauce, and cook on "low" until the meat is very tender. (Several hours.)  Stir in seasonings and turn off the heat, leaving sauce in the hot pot.

Bring a large potful of water to a boil and add gluten-free pasta.  Watch the pasta carefully because it will go very quickly from uncooked to overcooked!  Drain.  Serve sauce over pasta with some simple sides.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

This dish is #94 in the Baker's Dozen Challenge Countdown!

Pasta Primavera

Start with "soffritto" which is celery, carrot, and onion in about equal amounts diced and sauteed in olive oil. Garlic and other flavorings may be added if wanted.

1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic

Heat thin-sliced garlic slowly in oil until it begins to darken. Then add:

1/2 c. diced carrot
1/2 c. diced celery
1/2 c. diced onion

note: experiment, but in the end you may decide to go heavy on the onion and light on the celery. Celery can be very dominant.

When the soffritto is well softened, lift it out of the pan to a holding dish, allowing the oil to drip back into the pan.


Prepare Vegetables

Any vegetable can be used in pasta primavera though colorful Spring vegetables are more usual. ("Primavera" means springtime.)

Carrots, zucchini, yellow squash, and red onion slices

Cut vegetables in a shape to reflect the shape of the pasta you plan to use. Because on this occasion my pasta is spaghetti, I cut the vegetables in longish strips. For vegetables I used what I had on hand: yellow summer squash, zucchini, carrot, and red onion.

Turn up the heat to medium-high, wait for the pan to get hot, and add 
the vegetable strips. Allow it to cook unstirred for 3-4 minutes,
then turn with a spatula and give it a couple of minutes more. Fast hot cooking gets the veggies done while leaving them colorful and crisp.  If you have starchy pasta water nearby, toss in a quarter cup of it to 
stop the cooking (it will all boil off quickly) and to give a sheen to 
the vegetables.

Toss soffritto with your pasta, in the frying pan if pasta has become cold.

Slide the spaghetti into a plate or bowl and top with a generous amount of vegetables and some Parmesan cheese.

Pasta Primavera with gluten-free rice spaghetti

 

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

This dish is #97 on the Baker's Dozen Challenge Countdown.

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce (gluten-free)

Gluten-free spaghetti with meat sauce, parmesan cheese, and cold okra

 Spaghetti Sauce

This doesn't bear much discussion - it's just ordinary
every-kid-likes-it American spaghetti sauce.

1 lb hamburger, browned in a pan
1/2 chopped sweet onion added to the burger in the pan
Spoonful of jarred garlic bits
Brown some more, turn out into 2-qt. crockpot.
Add 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
Generous spoonful light brown sugar
Some kind of spaghetti seasoning
Water to fill pot (not too much)

Cook on "high" until it's boiling, then turn to low and cook a couple of hours.

Serve over pasta.

Optional additives: any vegetables chopped up fine
parsley
dry red wine
mushrooms
other meats

Gluten-free Spaghetti

16 ounces (2 boxes) gluten-free spaghetti.  There are choices; I used rice pasta.

Potful of boiling water.  Directions on the box want 4 quarts for each 8 ounces of pasta.  Who has a pot that large, and who wants to heat that much water?  Do your best with what you've got.

Put the pasta into the boiling water, stirring carefully so the strands don't get stuck together.  (Rice pasta produces a lot of starch in the water.)  Observe timing directions on the box, and watch and test frequently.  Rice pasta is easily overcooked and then it falls apart.

Drain, rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process and to wash off the excess starch.  I like to add a few drops of oil to the mass to keep it from sticking together.

Serve sauce over spaghetti and with Parmesan cheese available.

Rice pasta rinsed with cold water and draining.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

This is #99 in the Baker's Dozen Challenge Countdown.