Tuna Noodle Casserole

This makes a LOT but it also freezes well.

Box of noodles, whichever are your favourites, cooked for about one minute less than the box recommends for al dente. It will cook more in the oven.
1 can of cream style condensed soup. I usually use mushroom as it is frequently the cheapest.
½ c milk
¼ c miracle whip/mayonnaise/creamy salad dressing(ranch)
½ t dry mustard-not essential but adds a really nice bite
1 c shredded cheese-use the stinkiest cheese you can afford
1 can tuna/salmon/crab whichever you feel like, drained and flaked
½ c to 3 cups chopped vegetables. I like to use frozen veggies because they are easiest and you can get some awesome blends. I heat them first so the casserole will cook faster.

In a big bowl, mix everything but the noodles together thoroughly.
Fold in cooked noodles(folding means gently stirring them in from the top to the bottom, not around the circumference of the bowl)
Turn into(dump into) a large casserole dish/ big cake pan/roasting pan and bake uncovered until heated through, 45-50 minutes.

Things you can fiddle with-the amount and kind of cheese, the fish you put in and the amounts, add spices and herbs as you like. It is a somewhat salty dish, so I like to rinse the fish and use low sodium products as much as I can. If I want onions, I tend to cook them thoroughly in a pan/microwave for a richer flavour. This does not lend itself nicely to beans and legumes.

hubby's sore mouth

DH had some dental surgery last Friday, and he is supposed to eat soft bland foods for the next little while as it heals. It has had an impact on what we are eating, which is too bad. The last few days have been awesome BBQ weather days, Thanksgiving is coming up, and well having to eat bland food has meant none of our standard fare-curries or chilies. Boo.
So far, we have had several different kinds of soup-cream of broccoli, pea soup and potato-corn soup, stuffed shells, texas hash, noodle-salmon casserole and last night we had green eggs and roasted vegetables. It should have been green eggs and ham, but DH cannot eat even sliced ham. I suppose I could have made the green eggs as a quiche, but then I would have had to make a pie shell from scratch. Not when the kids are grousing about, "I'm hungry."

Green eggs

1/4 c milk
1 c chopped spinach (I used fresh)
6 eggs
about 2 oz of cheddar
1 medium minced onion
1 t oil

Beat eggs and milk together in med bowl.
Heat oil in favourite non-stick skillet, saute onions till they are just the way you like them. Add the spinach, stir until wilted.
Add egg mixture, stirring often. When most of the egg has cooked, but it is still slimy (for lack of a better word) add the cheese, stirring it in as well. I suppose you could cook the egg a bit more and then just lay the cheese on top, but I like my eggs to be cheesy and I didn't want the kids to pick off the cheese and only eat that.

Served with roasted squash potatoes sweet potatoes and roasted garlic, it was a very colourful meal.

pasta pie

On the menu plan for tonight, it was supposed to be a veggie stir fry and rice. Then I looked in the crisper, and the main veggies for the stir fry were the same four that I had used in yesterday's meal and Monday's meal. The kids had already seen them twice and I wasn't taking any chances for rejection. I changed tonight's meal at 6 and it was on the table at 7, served with salad and crudites for the kids.

1 350 g WW spaghetti or other favourite pasta shape
1-2 c water
1 c chopped summer squash
1 c chopped carrot
1 c chopped green beans
1 c broccoli
1 c chopped fresh tomato
1 c cottage cheese
1 c shredded cheese
3 eggs
2 T bread crumbs

While the water was coming to a boil for the pasta, I started chopping up my veggies and throwing them in the pot with 1-2c water.
I put the noodles in the boiling water and started preheating my oven at 350F.
When the veggies were cooked enough that I could blend it up, that's what I did, with my handy dandy immersion blender.
As luck would have it, the veggies, noodles and oven were ready at the same time.
I drained the noodles and tossed them in the hot pureed veggies, then dumped the coated noodles in my 9*13 casserole dish. I could have greased the pan, I suppose, but it's a gorgeous ceramic dish that just doesn't burn.
In a separate bowl, I mixed the eggs and cheeses, then dumped that on top of the hot noodles and quickly stirred them together.
I sprinkled my crumbs on top to curb the "but mommy, I don't like crunchy noodles" crew and placed it in the oven for 1/2 an hour, uncovered.
I took it out of the oven and let it set for about 10 minutes.
It made enough for all five of us to have seconds, three of us for lunches tomorrow (at their request) and one extra serving for some lucky man's breakfast:)

Making this again, I would probably sub 1/2 the shredded cheese for a romano or parmesan; and added a cup of onions and a few cloves of garlic to my veggies pot. I may put in 1/2 a teaspoon of thyme and a pinch of rosemary and a few good twists of pepper next time as well.
Our cottage cheese was 1% mf and low sodium, and I don't add salt to my pasta water.

squash

It's that time of year when we seem to get more squash than we know what to do with. Thanks to Bryson's we generally get patty pans, crook necks and other super incredibly delicious little squashes each week in the summer. There are many recipes for squash, but our favourite is the easiest...

3 c sliced squash of your choice
1 med onion, sliced
1 T butter

Melt butter in medium skillet at medium heat. Add squash and onions. Stir occasionally, cook until desired doneness, about 10 minutes on medium low heat. I like al dente, BD prefers the squash a bit softer.

The kids still aren't big fans, but DD will eat the onions as they are 'sweet' coooked this way.

chocolate zuccini cake

Was given a large zucchini yesterday and wanted to make a cake with it. Decided on the traditional wacky cake with a twist. For those who don't know, wacky cake is one of those batters you can lick without fear-no eggs or dairy. Delicious.

my version...

preheat oven to 350F, line/grease and flour 9x9 cake tin

1 c flour
1 c ground flax
3/4 c sugar
4 heaping T cocoa
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

1 t vanilla
1 T cider vinegar
6 T vegetable oil
3/4 c water
3/4 c grated zuccini

combine all the dry in largish bowl.

combine all the wet in a medium bowl.

add wet to dry, until just mixed, dump into prepared cake tin and put into preheated oven. Give small children the bowl and spatula to lick. This is not a batter that sits well on the counter waiting to go in the oven, it tends to not rise well when that happens. 35-40 minutes later, a moist, dense flavourful cake will be ready to come out.

cauliflower

I had a head of cauliflower in the fridge and wanted to include it as a vegetable for last night's meal (pork roast, kale, salad). The other four members of the family like cauliflower soup, and can choke down one small floret if they have to. Other than that, they just don't like it. I got around it last night, though. Everyone had seconds, and a few (other than me) even had thirds!

1 head cauliflower floretted (means cut into florets)
1/2 c shredded marble cheese
4 T pesto from a jar

I steamed the cauliflower. It's one of those vegetables that will get really yucky when overcooked, so just after it was to the teeth/al dente cooked, I removed the florets from their pot and plunked them into a medium sized bowl.

Using my handy dandy pastry cutter, I mashed it to a granola type texture. I find mashing with a potato masher releases too much water and it just isn't as nice.

I added the cheese and pesto and stirred until it was evenly distributed through the cauliflower.

At this time, I suppose I could have put it in a casserole dish, sprinkled some more cheese on it and broiled it. That would have been fantastic, but I just brought it to the table in the bowl.

yeah baby, that's it. and they ate it!!!

basil dumplings

I love soup. When I make a broth based soup, I usually accompany it with bread, biscuits or dumplings. These dumplings are a family favourite. Last night, DS had three bowls of soup and dumplings, DD had two servings and BG just one.

I found the bones of this recipe in a magazine about a year ago. I've since altered it to reflect our preferences and this one goes very well with turkey vegetable soup...

1/2 c white flour
1/2 c whole wheat
1 t dried basil
1/2 t salt
3 eggs
4 T veg oil

In med bowl, combine the dry ingredients, stirring well.

In small bowl, beat together the eggs and oil until creamy.

Add wet to dry, stirring until smooth and sticky.

This part is important: drop by spoonfuls into BOILING soup. If the soup is not boiling, the batter will dissolve into the soup, resulting in a disgusting mess. trust me. Makes about ten T sized dumplings.

Cover and steam for 3-5 minutes.

Serve out in a bowl with the soup.

These are also fantastic with an Italian herb blend in a minestrone soup.