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.

Amy's Gluten Free Cheddar Cheese Burrito

Amy's Gluten Free Cheddar Cheese Burrito
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

Burritos are a tough sell when they don't have a tasty flour tortilla wrapped around the beans, cheese or whatever ingredients might have been part of the maker's recipe and when considering the alternatives are usually wraps like corn tortillas, sometimes it's a better decision to just go with some enchiladas or tamales as those foods always have corn tortillas and can be made without the influence of wheat flour.

This means that for a company to create a burrito that doesn't otherwise taste like a poor substitute for the real thing, a good amount of creativity must go into the recipe for a gluten-free burrito because it's really easy to tell when the ingredients just don't approximate a wheat flour tortilla well enough. 

Amy's Gluten Free Cheddar Cheese Burrito
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

Individuals who might not consider themselves true burrito connoisseurs and fans of the popular Mexican food might not care too much whether a gluten-free burrito tasted just like the "real thing," but as the wheat flour tortilla does often provide a rather specific type of taste, it's important that whatever recipe is used that it can stand well on its own or in comparison to a wheat flour version. 

 For Amy's Gluten-Free Cheddar Cheese Burrito, it would seem as though looks can be deceiving because this variety of frozen burrito is definitely not the most attractive when it comes out of the wrapper (it sort of looks like a sponge up close). Of course, after it comes out of the oven the taste is certainly more impressive than the appearance would lead anyone to believe.

Regarding the preparation of the burrito, it's recommended that (like most frozen burritos) the best experience to be had for the finished product is through about twenty minutes in the oven instead of two minutes in the microwave as it will be less likely to be mushy on the outside and frozen on the inside if it spends time in a regular oven. Be aware that if the temperature is wrong in the oven that one of these burritos will probably split apart, but this doesn't negatively impact the taste.

Amy's Gluten Free Cheddar Cheese Burrito
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

Frozen burritos are definitely something that people tend to eat in mass quantities when they're just not interested in making a full dinner since it doesn't matter whether the time is taken to put the burrito in the oven or nuke it in the microwave as there's zero preparation and the cleanup is usually just a single plate. 

But since the majority of frozen burritos are filled with a great deal of gluten, this simple snack is often out of reach. Fortunately, gluten free food companies and manufacturers who delve into gluten free products have started to get with the program with new gluten free burritos.

The nutritional content of this particular burrito is fairly respectable although nobody expects a burrito to be that healthy. Some people might suggest the beans are healthy, but more often than not the beans are fried anyway, so the health content is hidden behind a mask of sodium, cholesterol and fat. 

For this particular burrito, eating more than one might get you in trouble with the sodium gods, so it's probably best to pair the burrito with some rice or perhaps a cooked vegetable. It's also a good snack in the afternoon when lunch wasn't enough or perhaps if there's a toaster oven you can employ at work.

Amy's Gluten Free Cheddar Cheese Burrito
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

Amy's Gluten Free Cheddar Cheese Burrito Report Card

The Good Stuff:

The Amy's crew has done a pretty great job with their recipe and while the consistency of the burrito when it comes out of the freezer might be a little odd as far as visuals go, the end result after it's cooked in the oven (even if it explodes as mine did) is really good. 

The package says "burrito" and that's exactly what you get when you eat one of these things and the great thing about eating one is that it doesn't seem to matter that it's gluten free as it doesn't taste like anything is "missing" from the finished product. And really, the number one recommendation that a gluten-free food might earn is that it doesn't taste like it's missing something. And this particular burrito just happens to taste great as well.

Things to Improve:

There are no major flaws with this particular gluten-free food and it likely rates much higher than the similarly marketed Glutenfreeda Gluten-Free Burrito as it's less expensive and just tastes better. Amy's Gluten-Free Cheddar Cheese Burrito is definitely recommended if you like burritos and want one that's easy to make and delicious to eat. Just don't feel weird that you're eating something that looks like a sponge.

Crunchmaster Multigrain Crackers Roasted Vegetable

Crunchmaster Multigrain Crackers Roasted Vegetable
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

When walking down the snack aisle, which will be filled with tons of different cookies and crackers, the one thing that shoppers can count on is that just about every item on the shelf will have made friends with wheat or gluten. And this is a shame since there are so many delicious flavors out there for crackers these days that just look like they should be ripped off the shelf and immediately devoured. 

For the gluten intolerant among us, this has required a search through various gluten-free boxes of crackers to try and find a snack that was a good approximation of a wheat-filled version. Most of the time the substitute ingredients used in such crackers (such as flax or even beans) are rather strong in and of itself and this can make various gluten-free crackers taste just a little bit too different to be an actual gluten replacement.

Crunchmaster Multigrain Crackers Roasted Vegetable
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

Sure the crackers might have some value on their own as a snack, but they still taste different enough from a wheat variety that if someone isn't a flax fan or isn't a big proponent of various alternative ingredients, they might not like some of the chips out there. Fortunately, this sentiment does not apply to Crunchmaster as these folks have seemingly made some terrific varieties of their chips and the flavors are a perfect partner for the gluten-free cracker varieties that are on the market right now.

It's worth pointing out that there are several different varieties of these crackers and they each seem to have a different strength and aroma when it comes to their flavor versus the actual taste of the cracker itself. Depending on the ingredients, sometimes it's an experience that tastes a lot like various grains while other varieties will seem to focus much more on the additional flavor such as cheese or white cheddar.

For the purposes of this review, the crackers chosen are the Crunchmaster Multigrain Crackers Roasted Vegetable variety and these crackers are definitely very flavorful and present a terrific option for a delicious snack. There's a really good balance between the taste of the basic cracker and the vegetable flavoring upon it so the cracker overall is a nicely balanced and crunchy experience.

Crunchmaster Multigrain Crackers Roasted Vegetable
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

The nutritional content on these crackers is pretty decent as well since the manufacturer goes out of its way to let buyers know that the crackers are free of saturated fat and have a fairly low overall amount of fat in each serving (which is a really good thing since it's way too easy to just toss an entire bag back in one sitting!)

Overall, these crackers are really good and they're a great option for someone who wants to provide a snack to guests but doesn't want to have to put up with a snack that is so obviously gluten-free that someone doesn't even have to look on the front of the cracker box (or bag as it were) to realize that they're gluten free. 

These crackers simply have a terrific taste to them and for anyone who puts these out in a bowl at a party on the snack table, it's likely that these crackers will disappear in seconds if people get a whiff of them or are lucky enough to have a taste. These crackers do stand well on their own and don't really need and accompaniment, but they'd probably be a great addition to a few slices of cheddar cheese (or any sort of snack cheese) and might be a great part of a snack spread at a small party that would include some grapes, cheese cubes and other basic snacks. 

Crunchmaster Multigrain Crackers Roasted Vegetable
Photograph Copyright 2012 by Kelsey Wyatt

Crunchmaster Multigrain Crackers Roasted Vegetable Report Card

The Good Things

On every front that counts - taste, texture and aroma - these crackers deliver. They're a zesty vegetable flavor that just tastes terrific. Out of all the varieties that Crunchmaster makes, these crackers are probably a little more zesty than the other varieties, but that's not a bad thing. If you're looking for a snack with a subtler taste, there's the white cheddar variety to check out as well.

Honestly, there aren't a lot of gluten-free crackers that can match the awesome taste of these crunchy, square snacks. If you're at all a fan of vegetable flavored snacks, these suckers will definitely be worth a try.

What Could Improve

There isn't anywhere to go when you're at the top. These crackers are tasty and would be a great way to satisfy that snacking urge.