Gluten-Free Pantry Spaghetti

My oldest niece Shauna, has Celiac Disease. Her body doesn't have the ability to digest Gluten.  Normal pasta and bread contains loads of the stuff, so she must avoid them.  Since she is known to pop in around supper time on Sunday's, I figured it would behoove me to learn how to feed the kid. 

Here in my take on one of her favorite meals. If in a hurry, I start with a commercial canned sauce.   Brand names are listed, but I'm not in any way being compensated for using them. 

Spaghetti Sauce:
1-1 1/2 pounds of lean ground beef (we like meat, I use 1 1/2#)
2 TBSP. diced dried onions
 1/4 cup dried mushrooms
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
2 rounded TBSP. Spaghetti Sauce seasoning
2 bay leaves
1 TBSP. Olive oil (may need more)
A few hearty grinds of Black Pepper
1 jar prepared Spaghetti Sauce (Francesco Rinaldi Tomato & Basil is GF)

1 pkg. BARILLA gluten-free spaghetti *


In a two cup measure dump the dried onion & mushrooms.  Cover with hot water and set aside. When veggies are re-hydrated, drain off the water. 

In a deep cast iron skillet (I use an Erie chicken fryer!) Heat up the skillet, then add the oil to coat the bottom.  Brown the ground beef until no longer pink.  Drain off the grease and dispose of it. Add the seasoning, garlic, bay leaves, black pepper and drained onions and mushrooms.  Stir fry until the spices are fragrant.  Add the jar of spaghetti sauce.  Turn the burner down to simmer.  Boil the Spaghetti according to package directions. If the sauce is too thick, ladle a little of the spaghetti water in it to thin it out. 

* Barilla just came out with a line of certified gluten-free products. They are delicious!  Some of the other brands I have tried have been less than satisfactory.  They were tasteless and had a gummy, nasty texture.  Not so with the Barilla pasta. Their spaghetti cooks in a little over 10 minutes.  It's firm, holds together well and has a really nice texture. I can't recommend this brand highly enough.  Get some and try it!