gluten free stuffed shells with herbs

I don't usually splurge on 'specialty' gluten free pastas, I stick to the basics: spaghetti, linguine, and occasionally elbows, but when a local health food store closed recently, I had the chance to try out all sorts of fun gluten free pastas, and one was Tinkyada's brown rice pasta shells. At a steep 60% off, I stocked up on a few boxes. And my first challenge? stuffed shells! I had ricotta on my grocery list for months and I finally had the right shells to use it on.

for the size of these shells, they took only slightly longer than other Tinkyada pastas to cook. they came out to a great consistency, not too sticky or tough, and not a single one tore in the boiling/draining/colander process. hoorah! and I was even more satisfied with the end result! shells still in tact, tomato sauce gently bubbling, and all the cheese melted to heck.

I'm a happy lady with this one.

gluten free stuffed shells with herbs

• 1 box Tinkyada's brown rice pasta shells
• 2 c ricotta cheese
• 8 oz mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 c parmesan cheese
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup spinach
• 1 tsp minced or powdered garlic
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 sprig fresh oregano

               preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit
               cook pasta shells according to directions, drain and set aside           
               combine in bowl parmesan, cottage cheese, half of mozzarella, egg, garlic, and half of herbs
               spread 1/3 of tomato sauce on the bottom of a small baking dish
               stuff shells with cheese mixture and place on dish close together, open side up
               top with remaining sauce, herbs, spinach, and mozzarella cheese
               bake for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly

enjoy!

x danielle

pierogi and sausage on sorghum rolls

since finding out about my hereditary celiac over two years ago, I've conquered almost all of my favorites in the gluten free kitchen: grilled cheese, hot wings, fried chicken, tortilla, baked mac and cheese, cakes, pies. but one very important food way way at the number one spot of my faves has been neglected: pierogi. if you're not familiar with pierogi(thank you being born in pennsylvania dutch country), they're little doughy dumplings that can be filled with a number of things but the absolute best being garlicy cheesy creamy mash potato. they are then baked, boil, or fried to perfection.

I've held off attempting these babies for a number of reasons. one, I've homemade other types before and pasta is Hard! even with wheat-based flours! two, I've never made my own pierogi! I had no idea where to begin. and three, I didn't have a pasta machine so how the heck was I supposed to make em nice and evenly and properly?? so after getting over my fears of one and two and miraculously being gifted a beautiful marcato atlas(these things are the best!! get one!!!): I felt ready. I got a lovely length of sausage from a local farmer and was ready to make the best damn gluten free pennsylvania-dutch meal I could!

after making the pierogi I chopped up yellow onions, sweet peppers frozen from my summer garden, and button mushrooms, lightly sauteed them in evoo and fried my sausage cuts up! they were deliciously complimented by gluten free sorghum rolls I baked the morning before. in the leftover oil I chopped a few more onions and fried my pierogi on medium high heat until they were nicely browned and crispy, my favorite way to prep them.

everything turned out far better than expected, and even my pierogi went further than anticipated: over five dozen in my first batch, with some left over still months later.

gluten free pasta recipe referenced is from Gluten Free Baking with the Culinary Institute of America (my favorite, and go-to book for baked goods recipes)