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)

Cheesy Potato Bake

I couldn't decide what to make to go alongside the beef stew that I had put into one of our slow cookers first thing this morning.  Should I go with some crusty bread, or to pour it over some egg noodles, or maybe even some nice garlic mash potatoes - decisions, decisions.  In the end I figured that, seeing as I have two slow cookers I might as well get something going in the other one as well and have a really easy dinner - I might have some simple prep work to begin with, but when the time comes it's just take off the lid and dish up - and this yummy little potato dish is always a crowd pleaser.

Cheesy Potato Bake (Slow Cooker)
6-8 servings

1 1/2 lbs potatoes
1 cup cheese, grated (I used white cheddar)
1 red onion, chopped
1/2 brick cream cheese, cubed
1 jar Alfredo pasta sauce
2 Tbs Dijon mustard
1 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp dried garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

• cut the potatoes in half and then cut each half into 1/4 inch slices;  put the sliced potatoes into a 4-5 quart slow cooker.
• add the grated cheese, chopped onion and cream cheese to the potatoes and combine.
• in a medium bowl combine the Alfredo sauce, Dijon mustard, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper and blend together.
• pour the sauce over the potato mixture in the slow cooker and mix well.
• cover and cook on LOW setting for 6-8 hours.

 Cheesy Potato Bake ingredients.

half the potatoes lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch slices.

put all of the potatoes into a 4-5 quart slow cooker.

add the chopped onions.

add the cheeses and mix well.

put the Alfredo sauce, mustard, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper into a medium bowl.....

 blend well.

pour over the potato mixture in the slow cooker and mix thoroughly.

I served it with the rich beef stew that I had cooked in our second slow cooker....yummy!!!

Beef Stew

We woke up this morning to about an inch of snow - not much really for the area we live in (although we are forecast for more in the next couple of days) but enough that one of my first thoughts was......it's a slow cooker day.  Can you think of anything better than hunkering down at the end of a snowy day, with the fire blazing and a big bowl of beef stew on the table.....mmmm mmmm.

Beef Stew (Slow Cooker)
6-8 servings

1 kg stewing steak
2 cans condensed mushroom soup
1 can onion soup
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbs worcestershire sauce

• peel and slice the onion and chop the garlic cloves; set aside.
• into a 5-6 quart slow cooker pot empty the three cans of soup.
• add the onion, garlic and worcestershire sauce and mix well.
• add the stewing steak and mix to combine everything thoroughly (if you want you can brown the meat in a skillet before adding to the slow cooker, but I never bother and it always comes out beautifully tender and moist)
• cook on LOW setting for 6-8 hours.

 Beef Stew ingredients.

slice and chop the onion and garlic.

put the soups, onion, garlic and worcestershire sauce in the slow cooker and mix well.

add the stewing steak and mix - I admit that at this stage the colour especially doesn't look very appetising, but by the end of the cooking time it will be a deep brown, bubbling bowl of bodaciousness ;o)

what did I tell you about the bodaciousness.....yummy!!

(I got our second slow cooker going with cheesy potato bake to go alongside...mmmmm)

Crazy Cake

Have any of you heard of crazy cake?
I'm assuming that it must be a north American thing, because being originally from England I'd never heard of it until I came across it on the Tasty Kitchen website that I like browsing through.  It sounded so simple and I knew that I just had to try it - after all, who can resist finding a sponge cake recipe where it all gets mixed up in the pan you're going to bake it in!!!  Easy kitchen clean up - hooray!! :o)

Crazy Cake
8-10 servings

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp white vinegar
3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
2 cups water
3/4 cup chocolate chips

• preheat the oven to 350 F.
• sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder directly into an ungreased 9" x 13" baking pan.
• make three holes (indents) in the dry mixture (I'm not sure why exactly, I'm assuming just to keep the liquids separate until you blend them - I'm just following the original recipe :o)
• in one hole pour the vanilla extract, in another the vinegar, and in the last hole pour the oil.
• then pour the 2 cups of water over the entire mixture.
• using a fork, blend everything together gently until the mixture is smooth and combined well.
• sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the surface and bake for 40-50 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Crazy Cake ingredients.

sift all the dry ingredients directly into a 9x13 inch baking pan.

make three 'holes' and add the vinegar, oil and vanilla (the sides of my holes weren't high enough so it all started to mix together early - not that I think it made any difference!! :o)

pour the 2 cups of water over everything and mix gently with a fork until well blended.

once it's blended, sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the surface (looks yummy already doesn't it?) - of course, the only disadvantage of mixing everything in the same pan that you're going to bake it in, is that you don't have the mixing bowl to lick!!! :o)

it comes out fluffy and chocolaty and the kitchen smells divine.

slightly crunchy sides and top and moist fluffy sponge - it's 'crazy' good....

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)