Tuna Casserole

Years and years ago we used to get together on a regular basis with friends and have Trivial Pursuit championships - to give you some idea of how long ago I'm talking about, we used to have the 1988 version of the board game!  During these, sometimes very competitive, games we would either order in pizza or on occasion we would make a delicious tuna casserole that everyone loved and would be more than happy with second helpings.  Now, all these years later, I have absolutely no idea of the exact ingredients or quantities that went into it and I can't find the recipe anywhere :o(

So here I am, starting from scratch to find a tuna casserole that lives up to our wonderful memories - or at least one that comes close - and this one is wonderfully creamy with a little spice kick (which we love), so I think we might have a new winner :o)

Tuna Casserole
6-8 servings

2 cups dried pasta (penne or elbow)
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 tsp dried garlic (or 1 clove, chopped)
2 cans (284ml) condensed mushroom soup
2 cans (170g) tuna chunks in water (1 drained, 1 undrained)
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups cheese, grated (divided) - I used a nacho mix
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 can French's fried onions

• preheat the oven to 400 F.
• cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling, salted water until just under al dente; drain and toss in a splash of olive oil to stop the pasta from sticking together.
• heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan or frying pan over medium-high heat, and saute the onion and garlic until softened;  set aside.
• in a large mixing bowl put the onion/garlic mixture and all the other ingredients, except 1 cup of grated  cheese and the can of French's fried onion.  Mix everything well to combine.
• add the cooked pasta and mix thoroughly.
• divide the mixture between two casserole dishes that have been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
• open the can of French's fried onion and pour into a small ziploc bag - crush until they're the consistency of breadcrumbs..
• sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of cheese and the crushed fried onions evenly over the casseroles.
• bake for 20-30 minutes until the cheese has melted and the edges are bubbling.

 Tuna Casserole ingredients.

as the pasta is boiling, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil.

place all other ingredients (except 1 cup of grated cheese and fried onions) into a large bowl....

 ....and mix well.

add the 'soup' mixture to the pasta and combine.

put into two casserole dishes and sprinkle evenly with the remaining cheese and crushed fried onions.

bake until golden brown and bubbling.

deliciousness in a bowl :o)

Veggie Pasta Salad

I came across this recipe on a wonderful food website that I'm constantly perusing called Tasty Kitchen and just knew that a variation of it would be wonderful alongside some beautiful salmon fillets that we bought.  I know it's the middle of winter and believe me we will be having the rib-sticking, like-momma-used-to-make, warm, winter casseroles and stews also this week, but when you've got deep red pacific salmon on your plate you want something light and simple beside it.  This is perfect - and believe me, it will also be coming back out in the middle of summer next to those barbecue ribs and steaks that my hubby (the BBQ master :o) rustles up outside.

Veggie Pasta Salad
6-8 servings
(adapted from this 'Summer Pasta Salad')

dressing
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbs dried parsley
1 Tbs garlic powder
1 Tbs black pepper
3/4 Tbs salt

salad
2 cups dried elbow or penne pasta (to give you approx 4 cups)
1 large tomato
1 green bell pepper
1/2 cup baby carrots
4-5 green onions

• place all the dressing ingredients into a lidded jar and.....shake, shake, shake :o) - store in the refrigerator until you're ready to use.
• cook the pasta in boiling, salted water as per package instructions.
• meanwhile, chop the tomato, pepper, carrots and green onions to uniform size (I wanted mine fairly small) - these were just the veggies that I had on hand, but use your own favourites.
• when the pasta is cooked, drain and run under cold water to cool and stop it cooking any further.
• in a large bowl, mix together the cooled cooked pasta and veggies until well blended.
• pour about half of the dressing over the pasta and toss well - add more dressing if you want.
• keep covered in the refrigerator.

Veggie Pasta Salad ingredients.

dressing ingredients.

place all the dressing ingredients into a lidded jar.

pop on the lid and give it a good shake; put in the refrigerator until you want to use it.

cook the dried pasta in boiling water.

run the cooked pasta under cold water to stop it cooking further and cool it down.

chop all the veggies.

mix all the veggies and cold pasta together.

pour some dressing over the pasta and mix well - I couldn't resist spooning out a small bowl of it to eat straight away - I promise the rest went into the refrigerator ready for dinner and left-overs :o)

Creamy Fettuccine Alfredo

A couple of weeks ago hubby and I met a good friend of ours for dinner at a local restaurant that we hadn't been to before called the Fluid Bar & Grill.  We'd had a couple of good reviews from other friends, so when the opportunity arose, this was a good choice for us.  Now I'm a very indecisive person when it comes to menus - hubby often jokes that even if there were only three things on a menu, I'd still be the last one to decide what to have.  Of course, if there were only three things, I'd probably order all three just so I wouldn't miss out on anything.  Unfortunately I can't do that in most places - although I'm sure they wouldn't object as long as I paid for them - I think hubby might have an issue with that though,don't you :o).

Anyway, in the end I ordered a delicious bowl of smoked chicken fettuccine alfredo, and I have to admit it was one of the best pasta dishes that I'd ever had at a restaurant.  I don't usually order pasta when I'm out, basically because I just can't comprehend the cost of them most of the time, knowing how economical they can be to make at home, but that particular night the alfredo dish just kept leaping out at me from the page.

Ever since then, I've had a hankering for that rich, creamy, cheesy decadence again, but we haven't had an opportunity to get back to the restaurant, so tonight I thought I'd reproduce it at home - albeit without the smoked chicken (we had some deli turkey sausages that I used instead) - it came out pretty good too, if the wiped clean bowls were any indication!

Creamy Fettuccine Alfredo
serves 2-4 (depending on appetite!)

8oz  fettuccine pasta
4oz  (1/2 brick) cream cheese
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup milk
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried basil
pinch salt & pepper
1-2 deli, cooked turkey sausages (or other sausage / roast chicken - your choice)

• bring a large pan of salted water to a boil, and cook pasta as package instructions.
• meanwhile, combine all other ingredients, except the sausages, in a medium saucepan over low-medium heat and stir until smooth and creamy.
• add the sausage to the sauce for a couple of minutes to heat through completely.
• drain the pasta.  Add it to the sauce and combine well.
• serve in deep bowls to catch the sauce, with a little grated parmesan over the top if desired.

 Creamy Fettuccine Alfredo ingredients.

it's such an easy sauce to make - just throw everything in together and heat.

we had these flavourful turkey sausages from our local deli - slightly smoky, so a really nice undertone to the dish, but use anything you have or even nothing - the sauce and pasta are delicious on there own.

once the sauce is smooth and creamy, add the sausages (you can just make them out poking through the sauce).

mmmmmmmm.......

Coconut and Beef Curry with Noodles

I'll be honest, I had absolutely no idea what we were going to have for dinner tonight.  First thing this morning I searched through the freezer and got out some frying steaks to defrost, but even looking at them I didn't really have any inspiration at the time.  Shall we have some Philly cheesesteaks - no.  How about some steak and blue cheese mini roulades - no (mainly because I don't have any blue cheese!!).  Dilemmas, dilemmas, dilemmas....

...after a search from front to back of the pantry and a browse through some cookbooks to give me some ideas, I decided on this curry.  Even though it would, I'm sure, taste wonderful if I had the inclination to mix up all the authentic spices and herbs, the easier and quite frankly just as delicious route is the use of the ready made curry paste that I found in the pantry.

Coconut and Beef Curry with Noodles
4 servings

8 oz vermicelli (rice noodles) or angel-hair pasta
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 lb beef frying steak, cut into thin strips
1 red onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
2 bell peppers, thinly sliced
1/4 cup water
1 Tbs Thai red curry paste
1 can (14 oz) unsweetened coconut milk
1 Tbs lime juice

• bring a large pot of water to a boil; add a generous amount of salt and cook the noodles until tender; drain.
• meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high.  Season the beef and cook, turning, until browned on both sides, 4-5 minutes.  Transfer the beef to a plate and set aside.
• add onion, peppers and the water to skillet; season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are crisp-tender, 3-4 minutes.
• add the curry paste and cook, stirring, until paste is combined completely and fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
• return the beef and any accumulated juices to the skillet and add the coconut milk.
• simmer until sauce thickens slightly, 4-5 minutes.
• remove from heat and stir in the lime juice, and season with salt and pepper if required.
• serve over the prepared noodles.

 Coconut and Beef Curry ingredients

cut the beef into thin slices, and then fry off in the oil until browned.

cut the vegetables fairly thinly, that way they don't need too long in the skillet.

 once you've fried the beef and set aside, saute the vegetables until crisp/tender - the hand belongs to my hubby - it's always a pleasure to have such a handsome helper :o)

fry the vegetables until crisp-tender, then add the curry paste - the smell at this stage is amazing.

add the beef back into the skillet with it's juices.

it might seem very 'liquidy' when you add the coconut milk, but within a couple of minutes it will thicken up nicely.

I'm not a big drinker, but today our niece and her fiancee had their first little baby girl, so we opened a bottle of wine to celebrate :o)

Spaghetti Carbonara

The past couple of days have been a little hit-and-miss in the kitchen department to be honest, with late appointments for both myself and hubby so it's been take-out, a quick purchase from the store on the way home from work and last minute digging in the freezer, so tonight it was back to the pots and pans.  Saying that though, I still wanted something quick and fairly light, so here's just about one of the quickest pasta dishes you'll find.

Spaghetti Carbonara
2 servings

1/2 lb spaghetti
4 rashers of bacon (cut into inch pieces)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated + extra for sprinkling
1/4 cup half-and-half OR full cream
salt and pepper

• boil the pasta in a large saucepan of salted water until al dente.
• while the pasta is cooking, in a large skillet cook the bacon pieces over a medium heat until crisp; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate, and keep the skillet on a low heat to keep warm.
• meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cheese, and half-and-half / cream. Set aside.
• drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water in case you need to thin the sauce, and return the pasta to the warm skillet.
• working quickly, add the egg mixture and bacon to the pasta, season with salt and pepper and toss all to combine.  Add some of the reserved pasta water if you want a thinner sauce.
• serve immediately sprinkled with additional parmesan cheese.

 get that pasta boiling.

let the crispy bacon drain well.

eggs, cheese and cream - serious decadence.

smooth and creamy - yum.

Sausage Pasta Bake

This is one of those 'go to' dishes that I've changed so much over the years from it's original recipe and really depends on what you have on hand at the time that I feel a bit of a fraud for posting it - I remember it started out as a recipe on the inside of a condensed chicken soup label and I think that and pasta is about the only two ingredients that I still use from that original recipe.  So quite frankly throw whatever you want into this one - if you like something go for it.  Worse case scenario, put more cheese on top (lets face it, everythings better with cheese) and everything will be fine.

The quantities that I've stated usually comes out to 8-10 servings depending on everyones appetite, but even though there's only my husband and I in our household, I always make this amount because it's great as a cold pasta for the next day or two lunches and it also freezes pretty good - if I'm going to freeze it I don't put any extra cheese on top or bake it beforehand.

Sausage Pasta Bake
Yields 8-10 servings

200-250g dried pasta
1 Tbs olive oil (I sometimes use garlic flavoured)
4-5 mixed colour peppers, sliced
1 large onion, sliced
2 large garlic cloves, minced OR 1 tsp dried
1 can (369ml) diced tomatoes including juice
1 can (284ml) condenced chicken OR mushroom soup (I had chicken this time)
1 soup can of water
1-1 1/2 cups grated cheese
6-8 cooked sausages of choice, diced (anything from hotdog to gourmet works)
a few splashes of Tabasco sauce
salt and pepper

• preheat oven to 400 F.
• cook the pasta to slightly UNDER al dente - it will be cooking more in the oven later.
• while the pasta is cooking, in a large skillet on medium to high heat fry the peppers, onion and garlic in the olive oil for a few minutes.  Add the tomatoes, soup and 1/2 a can of water until bubbling.
• add half of the cheese and stir until melted, then add the diced sausages.
• at this stage if you think the sauce is too thick (you'll be adding the pasta next so you'll need it a little on the liquid stage), then you can add the other half of the water.
• season with salt, pepper and Tabasco sauce to personal taste, and simmer everything for a couple of minutes.
• add the drained cooked pasta and stir until all is combined.
• ladle into 2 or 3 casserole dishes (depending on size), sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes until casserole is bubbling and cheese is golden.
• if you're going to freeze some of it, let it cool in the skillet completely before you ladle into freezable containers and label.

 These are precooked beef weiners that I had in the fridge.

Pasta cooking on the back burner, a colour explosion on the front.

If you don't put the drained pasta in the sauce immediately,

toss it with a little olive oil just so that it doesn't stick together.

Brown, bubbling and bodacious!!!

Yummy, crunchy cheese topping - life is gooooood :o)