Tuna Noodle Casserole-ish

I say -ish because this isn't your mother's tuna noodle casserole... or at least, it's not MY mother's tuna noodle casserole. ;)

I've mentioned before that I grew up with a stay-at-home mother who had dinner on the table for the family every night like clockwork. Being a single income family, we tended to eat a lot of budget friendly meals of what I refer to as All American Classics. Tuna noodle casserole was one of those dishes that made a regular appearance and I have to admit that I still like it, although my version is very different from my mother's recipe. To be fair, she followed a pretty standard recipe which included canned tuna, canned cream-of-mushroom soup, milk, peas, and egg noodles. Mine? A wee bit different... more like a homemade mac & cheese with tuna and veggies; much more flavorful, and a whole hell of a lot healthier. Making a roux will thicken the sauce and you can get away with using only a small amount of milk (dairy or non-dairy, dealer's choice) because of the creamy cheeses used. Cooking the pasta directly in the sauce (using a mixture of broth and water to give it room to groove) releases starch which further thickens the sauce. The addition of the veggies is just good nutrition... not to mention pretty tasty.

Tuna Noodle Casserole-ish

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. butter

1 lg. shallot, diced

2 cups steamed cauliflower, roughly chopped

1 Tbs. AP flour

1/2 tsp. lemon pepper

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. dried dill

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

salt & pepper, to taste

2 Tbs. milk (I used plain soy milk cause that's what I have in the fridge)

1 cup broth (chicken or veggie works well and I usually have an open carton in the fridge)

1 cup water

4 oz. dried pasta (I used medium whole wheat shells)

4 Tbs. neufchatel (that's the lighter version of cream cheese)

1/4 cup ricotta cheese (I used the part-skim kind cause that's what I have in the fridge)

1 (5-ounce) can of tuna packed in water

2 oz. extra sharp white cheddar cheese, finely grated (because I used such a small amount of cheese, I wanted to use a strongly flavored one)

2 cups steamed broccoli florets, roughly chopped

2/3 cup steamed edamame, shelled, roughly chopped

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare baking dish by spraying with cooking spray and set aside. And yes, I used my old-school Corelle baking dish that I've had for 20+ years. ;)

In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the shallot and cauliflower in butter until slightly soft, about 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle on the flour and spices, stirring to coat, and continue cooking for another minute to cook out the raw flour taste before adding the liquids and dried pasta. Raise heat slightly to bring the mixture to a simmer, then stir in the neufchatel, ricotta, and tuna (with the water it's packed in). Continue to simmer until the pasta has absorbed 75% of the liquid, about 6-8 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheddar, edamame, and broccoli. Pour the pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish and top with panko bread crumbs. Spritz the top with more cooking spray (of course, you could use melted butter or olive oil but I wanted to keep this on the healthier side of things) and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the remainder of the liquid has been mostly absorbed and casserole is set. Great straight from the oven, and even better as leftovers.

Enjoy!

Summer Veggie Mac & Cheese

If you're American, chances are pretty damn good that you grew up eating mac & cheese. Whether it came from the box (my personal favorite when I was a kid and even well into college and beyond) or it was homemade on the stove top, or baked in the oven, everyone I know loves mac & cheese.

Once I started making it from scratch, I learned just how easy it is to tweak the "recipe" to suit whatever mood you're in and with all the different shapes/sizes of pasta as well as the number of great melting cheeses available... well, the possibilities are practically limitless!

So, after lots of experimentation, I've learned that I prefer a baked mac & cheese with a crunchy topping as opposed to the creamy/soft stove top variety. And, rather than the traditional elbow macaroni- which is perfectly good- I prefer to use medium shells... all the better to trap the cheesy goodness in each bite. This particular variety also includes my favorite summer veggies: squash, zucchini, and tomatoes. Like most of the dishes I make, it can be scaled up or down to make as much or as little as you want; that's why there are no measurements listed.

Summer Veggie Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:
olive oil or butter, dealer's choice
onion, finely diced
squash, diced
zucchini, diced
(mushrooms, sliced, would be really good here too... if you like 'em, which I don't)
dried herbs of choice *optional (I used basil, parsley, and a pinch of nutmeg)
salt & pepper to taste
AP flour
liquid of choice (I used equal parts veggie stock and soy milk, but the traditional would be all milk)
cheese(s) of choice, shredded (I used equal parts sharp cheddar, guyere, and colby jack)
pasta of choice, cooked shy of al dente (I used whole wheat shells)
ripe tomato, sliced
panko bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese
extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a baking dish by spraying it with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large pot of heavily salted water, boil the pasta a few minutes shy of al dente.

Meanwhile, in a saute pan over medium-low heat, cook the vegs and dried herbs in your fat of choice until slightly softened, about 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle on an equal amount of flour as fat (to make a roux) and cook for a minute before adding your liquid(s) of choice. Raise the heat to medium-high and stir until the sauce has thickened slightly but still pretty loose. (Yes, I know that was pretty ambiguous. You need to keep in mind that the pasta will continue to cook and absorb liquid as it bakes in the oven so the cheese sauce needs to be almost liquidy before it goes in the oven.) Drop the heat to low and add your cheese(s) of choice a little bit at a time, stirring between each addition until all of the cheese has melted into the sauce. Toss the par-cooked pasta in the cheese sauce before pouring everything into the prepared casserole dish. Cover the pasta with the sliced tomatoes before sprinkling on the bread crumbs and Parmesan. Drizzle lightly with the extra virgin olive oil and bake at 350 degrees until the pasta is cooked through, the cheese sauce has thickened considerably, and the top of the casserole is golden brown and delicious, about 30 minutes or so. Allow to cool slightly before diving in.

Enjoy!

Vegetarian Meat(less)loaf

Vegetarian Meat(less)loaf
based on recipe from Food.com, Really Good Vegetarian Meatloaf (Really!)

Ingredients:
2 cups veggie stock (I suppose you could use water, but why not take the opportunity to add more flavor?)
1 cup lentils
1 shallot, minced
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup grated parmesan (fresh is best, but the stuff from the green can would work in a pinch)
1/2 cup shredded cheese (white cheddar or jack)
1 tsp. ground flaxseeds
2 Tbs. sun dried tomatoes, diced
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup marinara (plain tomato sauce would work, but I had an open jar of marinara in the fridge)
1 tsp. garlic powder (yes, the powder- not fresh)
1/2 tsp. onion powder (or dried onion)
1 tsp. dried basil
1 Tbs. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. sweet paprika
salt & pepper, to taste
pinch of cayenne

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.

Bring the veggie stock and lentils to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the lentils have absorbed the liquid, about 25-30 minutes. (The original recipe says to add salt to water while cooking the lentils, but I've already learned NOT to do that to avoid tough lentils.) Set aside to cool slightly.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the remaining ingredients before adding in the cooled lentils, lightly mashing them as you fold them into the oat mixture. Pour the lentil mixture into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until the top is golden brown and slightly cracked. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before turning the loaf out onto a board to cool completely. Serve with mashed potatoes and green beans for that all-American comfort food classic.

Enjoy!

Cheddar Broccoli Soup

Cheddar Broccoli Soup

Ingredients:
4-6 heads of broccoli (stems included), chopped
1 small onion, diced
1 Tbs olive oil
6 cups veggie or chicken stock  *veg for vegetarian
dried herbs (parsley, basil, thyme, garlic powder)
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (low fat)

Directions:
Saute diced onion and broccoli stems in 1 Tbs. olive oil until slightly softened before adding stock, herbs, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes until broccoli stems are cooked through and soft. Add in broccoli florets and cover to steam, 5-10 minutes, until softened. Using an immersion blender, puree soup to desired consistency before stirring in shredded cheddar a little at a time to avoid clumping and promote even melting. Top with additional cheese or sour cream, serve hot.

I like making soups and this one is certainly easy. I actually added in some spinach just before pureeing because I wanted to have a bright green color to the soup; cooking the broccoli to the desired texture means it loses it's naturally verdant color. The spinach adds color without effecting the taste.

Enjoy!

Burger Creativity For The Lazy

Last night I found myself craving a good old fashioned cheeseburger and fries, but I didn’t feel like going out again in search of one or the proper ingredients to make one. Now, I usually have some sort of ground meat in the freezer and I just happened to have some lean ground sirloin on hand this time. We all know that the leaner the beef, the drier the burger, so I decided to get a little creative with my very lean beef and add in some diced turkey bacon… a sort of bacon cheeseburger with the bacon built right in adding both flavor and moisture. Then I figured, since I’m putting the bacon directly into the meat, why not put the cheese in there as well? So there you have it, my latest version of a bacon cheeseburger. Only problem was, I didn’t have any regulation hamburger buns or my favorite toppings like lettuce or tomatoes. And I had to nix the fries because I didn’t have any sweet potatoes left. *sigh* This is where me being lazy really caused me to get creative with this burger masterpiece…


Ingredients:
1 lb. lean ground beef
3 pieces of turkey bacon, diced (I suppose real bacon would be fine… if you like that sort of greasy stuff)
1 oz. cheddar, diced (I also like to melt a slice on the finished burger)
garlic powder
onion powder
pepper
choice of delivery system (bun, bread, pita, wrap)
choice of toppings (I like ketchup and dill pickle chips)

In a mixing bowl, combine the beef, turkey bacon, and cheddar, mixing just to combine. Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions and form into patties, pressing your thumb in the center to form a shallow dip (like a Life Saver). Set aside to rest and allow to come to room temperature (room temperature beef cooks more evenly) while you preheat a grill pan over medium heat.

*Note: If you’re one of those people that like to grill in any kind of weather, I don’t need to tell you that just about any kind of meat tastes better when cooked over an open flame. My old roommate, Chuck, is the quintessential grill man, and before he moved out he fired up the grill at least 5 nights a week. Well, since he moved out, I can’t be bothered to grill outside so instead, I use one of those stove top grill pans. Not quite the same, but it works for me.

Sprinkle one side of the burgers with the garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper. I don’t use salt because the bacon is salty enough for me, but if you want the extra salt then go for it. Place the burgers, seasoned side down, on the grill pan. Season the other side and cook to desired doneness, flipping once. Ok, here’s where most people I know cringe: I like my beef cooked well done. A sacrilege some might say, but if I’m going to eat it, I want it damn near leather consistency. So for me, after I put the burgers on the grill pan, I cover them to help speed the cooking process as well as keep them from drying out, and cook them for about 4-5 minutes each side. Now, you may be asking why I bothered to press a thumb print into the center of the burger. Here’s why: As the burger is cooking, the juices inside get rockin’ and rollin’, creating steam inside the meat. This creates a bulge in the center of the patty so by creating a dip in the middle of the burger, when it starts to bulge it evens out with the rest of the burger. And you thought I was crazy.

Now here’s the other draw back to being lazy (give me a break… I put in 10 hours at work yesterday and I was tired!) and not going out to the store at the last minute: No hamburger buns. So, what to serve this burger on? In my case, I may not have had any of the traditional burger buns available (and when I do, my first choice would be a soft potato roll), but I did have some whole wheat wraps in the fridge. With a little creative folding, this makes a fantastic burger “bun”… maybe even better than the original because toppings don’t drip or fall off. Maybe I’ll start a new trend in burger construction? Anyway, I melted a slice of white cheddar on my burger and topped it with ketchup and dill pickle chips. While lettuce and tomato would have been my first choice (along with the ketchup and pickles), I was still happy with what I ended up with. They say necessity is the mother of all invention, and that was certainly the case with this burger creation.

(In case you were wondering, I served this burger with some mixed grilled vegs which included eggplant, potatoes, peppers, and zucchini as well as some broccoli topped with shredded parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes. If I hadn’t run out, I would have made baked sweet potato fries or chips… ‘cause what’s better with a burger than fries?)

Enjoy!