Mrs Leeper's Creamy Tuna Pasta

Mrs Leeper's Creamy Tuna Pasta
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

There are what seems like a hundred different "Helper" style meals in the average grocery store that combine some combination of meat (or fish), cheese and pasta into a big bowl with all sort of different seasonings included. Unfortunately, all of these hodgepodge style meals are such that wheat flour is a primary ingredient due to the noodles.

Without tripping too much on the toes of Betty Crocker and her legion of "Helper" meals, the Mrs. Leeper's folks have created a series of gluten-free pasta options that utilize corn pasta instead of wheat flour pasta as Betty has been so apt to do these many years. And the use of corn pasta is likely a good choice as the other option for such pasta dishes has usually been rice pasta and as anyone who is familiar with different types pasta is aware, rice pasta is rather delicate and corn pasta has a bit of strength to it.

Mrs Leeper's Creamy Tuna Pasta
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

If one were to compare "Tuna Helper" to the cloned version from Mrs. Leepers, the overall taste is a little different simply because corn pasta offers a different type of taste anyway, but the cheese sauce tastes different too, and this is likely on purpose as Mrs Leeper's probably needs to differentiate Creamy Tuna from Tuna Helper anyway for proprietary reasons.

Regarding the taste of the pasta as it was meant to be eaten with the added milk, butter and tuna, the meal is what one would expect for the combination of these particular foods and it would seem that the company's long history of offering gluten-free pasta in various formats has given them a lot of time to experiment with different recipes. The company also offers a variety of different pasta meals with combinations like Beef Stroganoff, Cheeseburger Mac and Beef Lasagna. 

Their Creamy Tuna recipe is a fun meal to try if you're willing to mix up all those ingredients and let it simmer for a year and a half (well, perhaps just twelve months as it likely depends on the type of pan you use and the quality of its heat transference). Such meals do tend to require very little preparation and a long amount of time spent on the stove so it's best to be patient when making such a meal.

Mrs Leeper's Creamy Tuna Pasta
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

As the back of the box would indicate, it's necessary to have some milk, tuna and butter on hand to mix in the pan although if someone were short the tuna, it might be possible to just make the plain pasta with the cheese (although, why would you? that would mean you were going to a lot of trouble to make a glorified version of macaroni and cheese)

Assuming you're patient enough to see this meal to its conclusion, these sorts of recipes do generally suggest that the cook allow the finished meal to settle for a bit in the pan after the pasta is at the desired consistency and this wait is a fairly important part of getting a good result out of this recipe as the cheese mixture will really firm up and adhere to the pasta much better if it's allowed to sit for just a short while after it's finished on the stove. Impatient cooks might find that the finished meal is too soupy. This is easily avoided by leaving it on the stove for a while without the heat on. About five minutes is all it needs.

The calories and fat in this particular meal aren't too out of line with one might assume the would be in a meal that was composed of a bunch of pasta, cheese and some tuna and so while it can be tempting to dump the entire batch into a large bowl and have at it, that's probably not an activity that anyone outside of a marathoner should consider.

Mrs Leeper's Creamy Tuna Pasta
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

Mrs Leeper's Creamy Tuna Pasta Report Card

The Good Stuff:

For anyone who has ever had Tuna Helper and had to switch over to a gluten-free lifestyle due to allergies, this particular Tuna Helper clone is a decent replacement and the corn pasta does hold up rather well to the rigors of boiling so the time that the mixture must simmer and settle isn't a problem and the end result has a pleasing consistency. 

What Could Improve:

The final verdict on this pasta is that it's a suitable replacement for the Betty Crocker style of tuna and pasta, but it could use a bit of extra kick with the seasonings that are included with the cheese mixture. It's also a good idea to toss some extra tuna in as the recipe seems to low-ball it on the amount that would work well for the overall mixture.

Conte's Pasta Cheese Ravioli

Conte's Pasta Cheese Ravioli
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

The allure of pasta certainly has made individuals in the world of Italian food and related genres get rather creative in the past several centuries and one of the more appealing types of pasta is probably ravioli as it is much more than a simple tube or flat piece of pasta. 

 Given the significant reliance on wheat flour for the standard pasta recipe, finding gluten-free versions generally has one looking for corn pasta or rice pasta (or even a combination of the two), it's quite difficult to find pasta that doesn't have an overwhelmingly different sort of taste overall from wheat flour style pasta.

Often people who must search for wheat-free or gluten-free pasta will have to settle with a type of food that has the general consistency of regular pasta, but does taste quite different. And this influences a number of decisions for meals that aren't just plain pasta. Choosing the right cheese and sauce for a standard pasta dish often requires a little creativity as does the general method of which someone must cook alternative pasta selections.

Conte's Pasta Cheese Ravioli
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

The calories and fat in this pasta are around what one would expect of pasta and not only is the pasta labeled as "all natural," but it's also got a fairly respectable level of sodium. Often gluten-free items and pasta dishes in particular will go a little overboard with the salt shaker, but this doesn't seem to be the case here.

Regarding Conte's Pasta Cheese Ravioli, the company has definitely appealed to the general need for a complex type of pasta and their recipe certainly has some successes, but it also has some elements which reduce the overall enjoyment of the pasta, depending on what choices might be made for sauce and other toppings.

The simple visceral pleasure of a piece of ravioli is a fairly attractive part of eating a piece of ravioli and the consistency of this particular type of pasta is one of its best attributes even if it does seem to be rather fragile at times. 

Conte's Pasta Cheese Ravioli
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

It's recommended that taking the pasta from the pot when it has finished cooking is done with a very delicate hand. Dumping the ravioli into a strainer will net you with a number of broken ravioli.

The cheese inside the ravioli, arguably one of its most important elements, could use a small amount of work regarding the classic taste of a ricotta interior although it's possible that the company who created the recipe for this ravioli was aiming for an extremely allergy-friendly type of dish. But this is the primary issue with the pasta in that it is a very plain base for the overall meal.

Depending on the type of marinara or tomato sauce that's used, the meal could be somewhat less flavorful than one might expect of a traditional ravioli dish. It is admirable that Conte's has crafted a type of ravioli that offers the right sort of consistency for such a pasta creation, but that doesn't mean that the recipe itself should be quite so plain.

Conte's Pasta Cheese Ravioli
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

Conte's Pasta Cheese Ravioli Report Card

The Good Stuff:

There are many types of pasta out there right now that come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and for pasta that doesn't have any sort of adornment such as macaroni or spaghetti, it's usually not hard to find examples that are made from a variety of ingredients such as rice or corn. Each type of pasta seems to offer a specific type of strength and consistency when cooked and topped with things like cheese or sauce.

Conte's Pasta Cheese Ravioli
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

But ravioli is a different sort of beast as it requires a bit more consideration regarding the actual architecture of the food. Conte's has definitely created a type of ravioli that satisfies the requirement of a pasta that won't fall apart in a pot because it's missing that all-important "glue" from wheat gluten.

What Could Improve:

This pasta is quite plain and while this could have been Conte's attempt to make the pasta as palatable for people with allergies as possible, it does make for a rather plain version of the pasta. The addition of a few herbs and spices could really plump up the taste without requiring the addition of specifically flavorful pasta sauce or marinara to spice things up.

Annie's Homegrown Gluten Free Rice Pasta and Cheddar

Annie's Homegrown Gluten Free Rice Pasta and Cheddar
Photograph Copyright 2012 Kelsey Wyatt

Macaroni and cheese is one of the most popular comfort foods out there and what do you know? It's full of gluten. Of course it would be. Anything that tastes good seems to be full of the stuff. (Did you know tomato soup has gluten? Who'd have thought...) 

And for some reason, making a gluten-free macaroni and cheese seems to be something that requires a degree in miracles as most of the time gluten free macaroni and cheese is a disaster. It's likely that there's simply nothing quite like wheat-based pasta for that perfect consistency for holding all that cheese.

Many companies have attempted to create a gluten-free macaroni and cheese and most of them have offered a product that tastes good as long as you like paying a lot of money and you enjoy hovering over the stove, plucking a few macaroni bits out every two seconds from the pot just to make sure the concoction doesn't turn to mush.

Annie's Homegrown Gluten Free Rice Pasta and Cheddar
Photograph Copyright 2012 Kelsey Wyatt

And that's what will happen to Annie's Homegrown Gluten Free Rice Pasta and Cheddar should you walk away from the stove for more than two minutes. The box might say this stuff is done in about eight minutes, but it's MUCH FASTER than you think. Once that water is boiling and you drop that box of rice pasta into the pot, you'd better be ready to stand there, because the moment you leave it, that pasta's going to mush town on the first available train.

Rice pasta really is a delicate flower of a pasta and requires special care and attention any time the word "water" is used in its general vicinity. But as long as someone is willing to pay attention to the pasta and not leave the stove (truly, this is imperative), rice pasta is indeed a worthy base for macaroni and cheese.

Annie's Homegrown Gluten Free Rice Pasta and Cheddar
Photograph Copyright 2012 Kelsey Wyatt

For "Annie's" version of macaroni and cheese, the directions suggest that while the pasta is cooling on the stove top that you should toss in the powered cheese and the quarter cup of milk the recipe calls for into a bowl and stir it up. This is actually a good idea as it means more cheese is on the pasta in the bowl when it's eventually mixed together instead of in the stove pot.

But one thing to note: I've made this pasta several times (at least a half dozen) and every time I've made the recipe to the box's specifications, the end result has turned out too soupy as the cheese just won't connect right and stay on the pasta - even if it's left to sit for a while. Your best bet is to back off on the milk a bit unless you like your macaroni and cheese a little soupy. You can also add a bit of butter for taste, but this is completely optional and the final result is fine with or without it.

Annie's Homegrown Gluten Free Rice Pasta and Cheddar
Photograph Copyright 2012 Kelsey Wyatt

Annie's Homegrown Gluten Free Rice Pasta and Cheddar Report Card

The Good Things:

As long as you keep an eye on the stove and aren't too liberal with the milk for the cheese mixture, Annie's is a great option for macaroni and cheese and does the job extremely well. 

The basic taste of this mac & cheese is very satisfying and is worth a try. You might have to make it just a few times in order to get the recipe just right, but the end result is worth it, especially if you've had a gluten version of macaroni and cheese in the past and remember fondly what it tasted like.

What Could be Better:

One guess as to what's always on sale at the grocery store and what's never on sale. That's right. You'll never find Annie's macaroni and cheese on sale in gluten free form. Or if it is on sale, the store's offering a paltry ten cents off the massive price tag (which can hover upwards of three and a half dollars!). This means that people who are fond of wheat can enjoy macaroni and cheese for about fifty cents while the gluten free crowd has to pony up their first born.

The consistency of rice pasta is also so delicate that making this macaroni and cheese seems like a more difficult operation than it should be. But this could be a general failing of rice pasta in general and not an issue for Annie's.

Tips for Great Mac & Cheese:

DO NOT LEAVE THE STOVE WHILST THE PASTA IS COOKING. This is absolutely important. Even if you think going into the living room to catch some television for just a few minutes is okay, it's not. This pasta must be eyeballed at all times.

It's also a good idea to back off on the amount of milk that the recipe on the box calls for. Just back it off a bit and you'll have a less soupy result for your macaroni and cheese.

Schär Naturally Gluten-Free Spaghetti

Schär Naturally Gluten-Free Spaghetti
Photograph Copyright 2012 Kelsey Wyatt

Pasta is available in a number of gluten-free forms and various types of pasta tend to taste better with different toppings. Rice pasta is generally the best pasta for a classic bowl of macaroni and cheese while corn pasta is often going to taste best with some marinara sauce for its topping. While it does come down to individual taste, the nice thing about pasta is that if someone has a gluten or wheat allergy, there are many alternatives and finding the best option for a pasta dish just takes some experimentation.

And for a plate of spaghetti, it is this author's opinion that one of the best options is going to be corn pasta due to the general strength of the pasta after it's been cooked. Any type of pasta might tend to get a little mushy if it's left in a pot too long, but alternative non-gluten based pastas are extremely vulnerable to becoming a mushy mess. This is where corn pasta shines as it has a strength to it that other pastas do not.

Schär Naturally Gluten-Free Spaghetti
Photograph Copyright 2012 Kelsey Wyatt

Of course, it should be noted that corn pasta does taste different than traditional pasta that is made from wheat. For Schär Naturally Gluten-Free Spaghetti, the strength of it is generally within expectations and covering it with a pile of marinara (or any sort of tomato-based sauce) along with some Parmesan (or even mozzarella) is a fine idea as the resulting taste is pleasing.

One of the benefits of this particular brand of pasta is the fact that it's made with words like "natural" on the package, which might be an attractive element for anyone who is interested in eating foods that haven't been through significant processing. Not only is the product gluten, wheat and lactose free, but it's also got zero cholesterol and is not made with preservatives. This is a great pasta to use if you're interested in making your own sauce and having a natural pasta to serve with it.

Schär Naturally Gluten-Free Spaghetti
Photograph Copyright 2012 Kelsey Wyatt

The one area where people who enjoy eating pasta might have to watch out is in the calorie column as just a single package of pasta (which is likely good enough for three people so long as there are sides involved) equals about 1200 calories. This means if you add cheese and sauce to the mix and perhaps some gluten-free bread with a little garlic and butter, you might very well be looking at thousands of calories worth of food for what might be just part of a full meal. 

Schär Naturally Gluten-Free Spaghetti w/Marinara & Parm
Photograph Copyright 2012 Kelsey Wyatt

It's advisable that anyone seeking to eat a healthy amount of calories each day be careful not to toss the entire package into the pot unless they're interested in seeing the number on the scale jump up or they've got some friends over to share the meal.

The nice thing about this pasta is that it's not going to need an extreme amount of babysitting at the stovetop as would rice pasta (which is generally a type of pasta that cooks at a lightning pace). 

Of course, that doesn't mean that it can be left on the stove for a half hour and come out just fine. As with any gluten-free types of pasta, it's always best to cook it just a few minutes less than you might cook pasta that was filled with gluten. But just a hair less when it comes to corn pasta as it does perform well when it's cooked right.

Schär Naturally Gluten-Free Spaghetti Report Card:

Schär Naturally Gluten-Free Spaghetti
Photograph Copyright 2012 Kelsey Wyatt

The Good Things:

Schär does generally make pasta that's tasty and this (mostly) corn pasta is something that should pair well with some traditional Italian toppings such as a type of tomato sauce and any sort of cheese that you might expect to see in an Italian restaurant.

What Could be Better:

There's not a lot that Schär could really change regarding their pasta as it performs well in cooking tests and does produce a tasty pasta experience when fully cooked. For anyone who has had the pleasure of eating regular gluten-filled pasta, the taste difference is certainly noticeable, but anyone who can't eat gluten shouldn't feel too deprived when they're forced to eat an alternative type of pasta such as this corn pasta.

A warning to anyone searching for a gluten-free pasta - as is the case with most gluten-free dishes, you'll likely pay much more for a small package of Schär Naturally Gluten-Free Spaghetti than you would pay for a run-of-the-mill pasta where "gluten-free" wasn't printed somewhere on the package. Expect to pay as much for a small package of Schär pasta as you might for a family size package of the regular wheat stuff.

Ancient Harvest Quinoa Mac & Cheese

Ancient Harvest Quinoa Mac & Cheese
Photograph Copyright 2012 Kelsey Wyatt

One of the most delightful foods from childhood is macaroni and cheese and it's one of those foods that manufacturers love to advertise since it's so eternally popular. And in the last few years there has been some movement from pasta makers to create macaroni and cheese options that are gluten free. One such type of macaroni and cheese is Quinoa and according to Wikipedia, it's a type of crop that offers edible seeds, but it's not technically a type of grain. 

The neat thing about the crop though is that it does have an unusually high level of protein for something that resembles a grain and scientists have actually determined through testing that it's a complete protein as well. The crop is something that NASA engineers have suggested might be a healthy source of food during long space flights.

But for those of us here on earth, Quinoa is a great alternative to wheat-based pasta because it offers a very nice, solid texture when cooked. Unlike rice pasta, Quinoa will not usually melt into a bowl of goo if it's left to boil on the stove too long. And the high nutritional value of the food is a huge plus for anyone following a wheat-free or gluten free diet since such diets tend to be deficient in some types of important vitamins and minerals.

Ancient Harvest Quinoa Mac & Cheese
Photograph Copyright 2012 Kelsey Wyatt

For Ancient Harvest Quinoa Mac and Cheese, the prospect of getting to eat macaroni and cheese that's not likely to turn into a mush bowl is quite appealing and anyone who has eaten Quinoa before will likely be quite aware of its suitability for cooking. But just because Quinoa acts great on the stove-top doesn't mean that it will necessarily accommodate absolutely any sort of topping or accompaniment.


This type of pasta does taste quite different from regular wheat pasta when it is cooked, although just because it's different doesn't mean that it can't taste good. In fact, when Quinoa is paired with a type of marinara sauce and some Parmesan, the taste combination is fantastic. 


But it's this author's opinion that Quinoa is not necessarily something that lends itself well to a macaroni and cheese presentation.

Ancient Harvest Quinoa Mac & Cheese in the Pot
Photograph Copyright 2012 Kelsey Wyatt

Or perhaps it's simply because Ancient Harvest Quinoa Mac & Cheese has such an incredible amount of salt in it. Though anything with cheese is going to have some serious salt, macaroni and cheese is always one of the biggest offenders for anyone who wants to lower their salt intake. And Ancient Harvest Quinoa does seem to have a high salt content and might be extremely salty at first taste. 


But there are some options to lessen the significant salty flavor.


To take some of the salty bite out of the meal, adding some butter seems to do the trick. The directions for preparation don't require anything but milk to be added, but it's fine to add your own ingredients. In fact, the "variations" on the back of the box do suggest that the flavor can be enhanced with the addition of some butter.

Ancient Harvest Quinoa Mac & Cheese in the Bowl
Photograph Copyright 2012 Kelsey Wyatt

One of the interesting things about Quinoa is that it stays together terrifically after it's cooked and therefore allows for a nice, solid meal, but for macaroni and cheese, the use of much more delicate rice pasta seems to lend itself better to the concoction. 


Quinoa has a great taste to it and it's definitely got some amazing nutritional components, but the addition of cheddar cheese in traditional macaroni and cheese just isn't the perfect presentation. 


It is by no means something that tastes bad, but for pure taste, going through the hassle of cooking rice pasta (which tends to turn to goo if you don't stare at it and rip it from the stove almost immediately) might result in a better overall macaroni and cheese experience.


For true macaroni and cheese aficionados, it might be best to consider going with Annie's Homegrown Gluten-Free Rice Pasta & Cheddar Mac & Cheese instead even though proper preparation of that particular manufacturer's rice pasta does take a close eye on the stove.

Ancient Harvest Quinoa Mac & Cheese Extreme Close-Up!
Photograph Copyright 2012 Kelsey Wyatt

Ancient Harvest Quinoa Mac & Cheese Report Card


The Good Stuff


Quinoa has an amazing texture and consistency and is truly a wonderful alternative for pasta for anyone who requires gluten free food as it doesn't have nearly the problems that rice pasta does in staying firm after it's been cooked. It can actually be prepared in an "al dente" style if the cook prefers a firmer style of pasta. Quinoa also has better nutritional value than rice pasta or even simple corn pasta.


What Can Be Improved


As stated above, this particular type of Quinoa does have an amazing amount of salt in it and it's very noticeable in your first bite. While many people do love salt, it's often a good idea to add some butter to the finished product to lessen that salty blow.


Tips for Great Mac & Cheese


If this particular type of Quinoa is too salty or the taste isn't just right, do consider making macaroni and cheese with rice pasta, as the results are usually better as far as pure taste is concerned. For anyone who is already familiar with Quinoa and loves it, Ancient Harvest Quinoa Mac & Cheese will probably be a great option for getting that pasta fix.