Tuna Noodle Casserole

Cheese.

Since casseroles are often meaty and not often healthy, I don't make many of them. However, tuna noodle casserole is the perfect post-partum meal to have in the freezer. Aside from the obvious benefits of casseroles post-baby (easy to make, freezes well, cheap and quick to make in large quantities), I had been avoiding tuna during pregnancy for its mercury content and I was eager to start eating it again. This isn't the most healthy way to indulge in tuna, but it is delicious and easy, and I lightened it up as much as possible.

I used this recipe as my guide, but I sauteed the onions, added other veggies, and seasoned the veggies. I also have no idea whether I followed their quantities of each ingredient, because I just did what looked right.

The Recipe:

1 box whole wheat noodles (I used rotini)

3 cans tuna, drained

1 onion, chopped

1 bag frozen peas

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 c milk (I used almond milk)

6 tb cheddar cheese, shredded

Optional additional fresh vegetables, chopped (I used celery and carrot here. Broccoli or mushrooms would be good too.)

Cook noodles to al dente
Sautee onion in olive oil over medium-high heat. When softened, add other fresh vegetables and sautee until soft and slightly browned. Add frozen peas and season the veggies generously with salt and pepper.
Combine vegetables, cooked noodles, mushroom soup and milk.
Pour into a 9x13 casserole dish and top with cheddar.
Bake at 350 uncovered for 45 minutes.

The Verdict:

Overall grade: B-

Overall reason: It needs some oomph, but it's a good start. I will keep experimenting.

Time to prepare: 20 minutes plus baking time

Husband quote: "Yum! I would gladly eat this again, given the oppor-TUNA-ty."

Comments

Curry Fried Rice

Excited for these leftovers. One of the things I wanted to try with my new jar of curry powder was fried rice. Years ago, Miles got fried rice at Korea House and it was the best fried rice I'd ever had. I suspected there was curry powder in it, but at that time I had never really cooked with curry powder, so I tucked that knowledge away for a later date. After reading a few recipes, I went rogue on this one. I couldn't even begin to effectively guess at what proportions I ended up with, so the recipe below is more of a rough guideline of ingredients. The "Recipe" (sorry no quantities; follow your heart): leftover jasmine rice tofu, cubed and crisped in the oven with avocado oil and salt vegetables: garlic, onion, cabbage, red bell pepper salt curry powder (I used a Vietnamese one) soy sauce sugar sesame oil future topping ideas: runny egg, sesame seeds, green onion Saute the vegetables in avocado oil until softened, and salt them to taste Add the tofu and toss to...

Samosa Burritos

Imagine a pile of plain yogurt and some Indian pickle for dipping I saw a Pinterest recipe for samosa-filled quesadillas, which led me to this recipe from Nadia's Healthy Kitchen for baked samosas using tortillas, which led me to just use the giant tortillas I had in the fridge and make them into full-sized burritos. They were a hit! I largely followed the recipe from Nadia's Healthy Kitchen, but I added some potato, omitted the chana masala powder and just added a bunch of cumin instead, added bell pepper and fresh chilies, didn't bother with the "sealing paste," and basted them in a little bit of melted butter (omit for vegan version). Everyone except the 5-year-old liked them! The Recipe (adapted from Nadia's Healthy Kitchen ) 2 cans (30 oz total) cooked garbanzo beans, rinsed (I eyeballed the equivalent from dry beans) 1 small onion, chopped 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 thai chili, minced 1 bell pepper, chopped 1 potato, baked until soft (or microwaved for...

Kitchen renovation!

BEFORE: AFTER: Still to come: a beautiful new induction range and some wood shelving on the left side, above the backsplash. And maybe the shelving unit on the wall facing the cabinets should be green, but we're going to live with a while before making that decision.

Adventures of a healthy-ish pseudo-foodie

Search This Blog