Gluten-Free Shepherd's Pie Two Ways

Cooking light- gluten-free shepherd's pie with lovely gravy, two ways.

A spring rain is rolling through Los Angeles, interrupting a fine, damp mist with sudden bursts of stinging wet drops. The skies are steel gray, gloomy and low. It's the kind of day that calls for comfort in the form of food. Something baked in a crock. Something hot and old fashioned. Something with mashed potatoes. Creamy buttercream gold mashed potatoes.

A savory pie, I said out loud, standing at the kitchen sink, listening to the staccato of rain drumming the mail truck parked just outside the window.

Don't tease me, said my husband, looking up from his latest screenplay.

I wouldn't joke about a thing like pie, I assured him. Seriously. No chance. I'm thinking a shepherd's pie. But not the usual shepherd's pie. No beef. No onion. No peas.

Please, he said. No peas.


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Pinon Rice Bake with Artichokes and Goat Cheese

Brown rice with artichokes, roasted corn, chiles, pine nuts and goat cheese.

Here's a favorite make-ahead rice dish recipe with Mediterranean flavors- artichokes, plum tomatoes, pine nuts and goat cheese. Entertaining made simple. And there are never any leftovers.

Having someone new over for dinner always sends me into a flurry of activity fueled by nervous energy and worry. I obsess over obscure details (like an iTune playlist), change my mind about the menu (wait- enchiladas or lasagna?), forget ingredients (dagnabbit! the green beans are still in the car). So I've learned (yes, the hard way) to always make a few key dishes ahead of time. Then dinner is basically done.

And I'm not stuck in the kitchen spilling olive oil on a new silk shirt.

I can relax (well, sort of). And- goddess willing- I won't set the oven on fire because I'm too busy discussing the yummy Anderson Cooper and sipping my second vodka martini to a Diana Krall tune.

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Gluten-Free Spanish Rice Bake

Like Spanish rice? Try using brown rice and kick up the nutrition.

One of the more popular recipe searches here at Gluten-Free Goddess is brown rice. And why not? It's naturally gluten-free. It's an excellent grain choice for the Mediterranean Diet and the South Beach Diet. It's good source of fiber for both sensitive tummies and hearty omnivore appetites. And it's a complementary protein for earthy vegan tastes.

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