Pepperoni Polenta Pizza Recipe

For today's gluten free kitchen adventure, I decided to make mini pizzas using polenta slices instead of regular crust.

Unfamiliar with polenta?  It's basically just ground and cooked cornmeal that you can buy in tube-form at any major grocery store.  I like it because it has a surprisingly creamy flavor to it, and that's exactly what it adds to these little pizzas.  Don't expect them to taste the same as regular pizza; they are their own (delicious) animal.

This recipe yields 8 mini pizzas and takes 20 minutes to make (only 10 of those minutes are hands-on).

Ingredients:
1 tube polenta
8 tbs spaghetti sauce (I used Classico four cheese)*
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 of an onion
1 clove garlic
16 pepperoni slices (I used Hormel Natural Choice uncured pepperoni)*
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

*The brands I used are gluten free. Other brands of these products may contain gluten, so check their labels before you use them.

Directions:
- Cut 8 thin 1/4 inch slices from the polenta, place them on an ungreased cookie sheet, and bake them in a 350 degree (F) preheated oven for 15 minutes.

- While the polenta is in the oven, mince the pepperoni, onion, and garlic.  Place the pepperoni aside for later.

-  Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil in a small sauce plan.

-  When the polenta is finished baking, remove the pan from the oven and layer the toppings onto each polenta slice in the following order: a spoonful of spaghetti sauce, a pinch of garlic and onions, several pinches of cheese, a sprinkling of pepperoni pieces.

-  Put the pan back into the oven to bake for 5 more minutes.

-  Remove from the oven, serve, and enjoy!

If you make these, let me know what you think of them!  I really hope you like them as much as I did.

Happy cooking!
xoxo
Laura

Gluten Free Macaroni and Cheese

October is National Celiac Disease Awareness month, so I decided to share my favorite gluten free recipe with you today: macaroni and cheese!  This recipe is my favorite because my dad made it up for me a long time ago, and it's incredibly simple, and it tastes cheesy and delicious in exactly the way good comfort food should taste.

Have you ever wondered why all my recipes on Creating Laura are gluten free?  I wrote a post about why I'm gluten free on the new lifestyle blog (Two Buttons and a Blog) that I co-write with my best friend, Karleen, so you can check it out if you're interested.

Macaroni and Cheese Ingredients:

1. 1 bag Tinkyada Pasta Joy gluten free brown rice elbow pasta
2. 1 tbsp butter
3. 1 tbsp gluten free flour (I used Deby's gluten free flour)
4. 1 cup milk
5. 12 oz mild cheddar cheese, shredded
6. salt

Directions:

1. Boil the gluten free pasta, following the directions on the package, and wait until the noodles have only 10 minutes left to cook before you begin making the sauce.
2. Start the sauce with a roux by stirring the butter and the gluten free flour together over low/medium heat.
3. Slowly add the milk and the cheese, stirring the whole time, until an even consistency is achieved.
4. Add salt to taste to complete the sauce.
5. Drain the pasta and transfer it to a large bowl.
6. Pour the sauce onto the pasta and stir until it is evenly coated.

When I serve the macaroni and cheese, I like to top it with a pinch or two of grated cheese just for fun.

Also, because I use the entire bag of pasta, this makes a huge batch.  I like to put the leftovers in the fridge and eat them for lunch for the rest of the week.

What's your favorite comfort food?
xoxo
Laura