Microwave Tuna Casserole

Ok, so before you shoot me down on this one, I'm hoping you'll take a look at the recipe and maybe even give it a shot.  Tuna casserole has a reputation; you either like it or you don't.  When I was little, if you asked me about this dish I probably said I didn't care for it.  I didn't outright hate it though; you could say I had a "meh" relationship with this casserole.  I think I was in high school when my mom came across a new tuna casserole recipe and that one TOTALLY changed how I feel about this classic dish.

Not only did I like the taste of this one better, but you also cook it in the microwave.  No oven necessary...wahoo!!

Microwave Tuna Casserole
Recipe from my mom

1 cup short-cut pasta, uncooked
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup frozen peas [if you're out of or don't like peas, just use another frozen vegetable]
2 cans of tuna, drained
1/4 cup diced onion
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can milk

Note: THIS HAS TO BE ASSEMBLED AHEAD OF TIME.

1.  Combine all ingredients in a casserole dish.  Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours.

Bowls are overrated; stir it up in the baking dish!

2.  Let come to room temp (if you've got the time).  Microwave on HIGH for 20 minutes.

Ready for a soak!

Yeah, that's really all there is to it.  Super easy to assemble.  Super easy to cook.  And I happen to think it tastes fantastic!

Broccoli Salad

I figure there are two groups of people on this one...you either know what I'm talking about, or you don't.  If you don't, please allow me to enlighten you.  This salad, though sounds like the epitome of healthy eating, is really just about anything but.  Yes, there's broccoli in it..........and cheese, and bacon, and a "dressing" that's really just lightly flavored mayonnaise. 

The first time I had this salad was at a family gathering.  The flavor was Ah-MAY-zing!! However that night, I was reminded that my stomach isn't like other peoples' stomachs.  It doesn't like excessive amounts of grease and fat.  So for years I have admired this salad from afar, too chicken to even have a bite or two, lest I offend my fat-sensitive Stomach.

But I've been learning a thing or two about cooking in the last 10 years or so.  One of my favorite tricks is substituting yogurt for sour cream or mayonnaise in recipes.  Ok Broccoli Salad....I'm ready for you.  Let's do this and see what happens.

Broccoli Salad
Recipe adapted from Paula Deen

6-8 slices thick-cut bacon
1 head of broccoli
1 small red onion, thinly sliced (I don't often have red onion; so I just use a little finely chopped whatever-onion-I-have-around)
2 tomatoes, chopped
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, cubed
1/2 cup (ish) dried cranberries
1 cup (ish, a little less probably) plain yogurt
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Lay bacon on a broiler pan in a single layer and bake until crisp, about 20 minutes.  Blot any excess grease with paper towels.  Let cool and crumble into bite-sized pieces.

Or you can use a cookie sheet for a little extra crispy bacon.

2.  In a large bowl, combine broccoli, onion, tomatoes, cheese, dried cranberries, and bacon.  Toss to combine.

Love those colors!!

3.  In a small bowl, whisk together yogurt (use Greek-style if you want a thicker dressing), mayo, sugar, and vinegar.

I am rarely without a giant container of plain yogurt in my fridge.

4.  Drizzle as much or as little dressing as you like over the salad.  Toss to make sure everything is lightly coated.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.


I dare you to try this and see if you can tell the difference in taste.  Bet you can't. ;)

California Club Sandwich

Have you ever watched one of those cooking shows and the person is explaining how they were inspired to make this particular (complicated) dish based on something they ate recently and some restaurant in a far-off city that normal people like you and me will never visit?  Yeah, me too.  I hate it when they do that.  I feel like I have no creativity when they do that because I'm soooo dependent on recipes.

And now I'm about to do it to you.  Crud.  Forgive me?

I have to say though that I wasn't "inspired" by a dish I actually ate; I flat-out wanted to duplicate a sandwich I saw listed on the menu.... and based on the description, which was essentially the ingredient list, I thought I could do it.  And if not, hey, there's bacon involved so it can't be that bad, right?

Honestly, because I didn't order the sandwich I have no idea if I succeeded in my duplication efforts or not.  Quite frankly I don't really care.  What I came up with is SO GOOD, I'm just going to keep making it as is.  So there.

California Chicken Club Sandwich
Recipe inspired by Bar Louie menu item


4 boneless, skinless chicken breast cutlets
1 yellow onion, cut into 1/4" thick slices
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 ripe avocados
Lemon juice
2 tomatoes, sliced
1/2 lb thick-cut bacon, cut in half and baked in the oven (baked bacon doesn't crinkle as much and is easier to eat in a sandwich)
4 slices pepperjack cheese
1/4 cup (ish) Ranch dressing
Multi-grain sandwich bread

1.  Preheat broiler.  Lay the chicken cutlets and onion slices on a broiler pan.  Drizzle both sides of everything with extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Broil about 6 minutes per side until onions are soft and chicken is cooked through.  NOTE: this step would be AWESOME on the grill!

I used a little Rosemary oil, just for an added flavor boost

2.  Because sliced avocado can be slippery (as are several other components to this sandwich), I decided to smash mine up with a little bit of lemon juice and salt.  I purposely left it pretty chunky though so it wouldn't feel like an "avocado spread."

I could've just had this for dinner and been deliriously happy

3.  Toast 8 slices of multi-grain bread.

4.  Rob and I each assembled our sandwiches a little differently.  I liked:

• Bottom toast, spread a little Ranch dressing
• A few pieces of onion
• Chicken cutlet
• 3-4 pieces of bacon
• Pepperjack cheese; toss under broiler for a few seconds to melt the cheese slightly
• 2 slices tomato
• Healthy dollops of avocado
• Top toast

Yes, I had to unhinge my jaw a little to eat this.  WORTH IT!!

The leftovers did not even last 24 hours.  Are we surprised by this?  Nope!

Bourbon-Glazed Ham with Strawberry Spinach Salad

I am not a whiskey person.  Rob has given me samples of several different whiskies in the past (BEFORE I was pregnant...don't look at me like that) and it always tastes like what I imagine lighter fluid would taste like.  Ew.

But to cook with it....oh man, magical things happen.  We are particular fans of what happens when bourbon meets pork.  And because we like the flavor combination so much, when I found this recipe as I was searching for what to make for Easter dinner, I was pretty sure this would work well.

I think it actually blows "well" out of the water.  "Fantastic" is probably a more apt description.

Bourbon-Glazed Ham
Recipe from AllRecipes

One 5lb ham
1/3 cup bourbon whiskey
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice
1/2 cup honey
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups water
1 (8 ounce) can pineapple rings

1.  Score the surface of the ham, making diamond shapes about 1/2-inch deep. Place the ham in a large, resealable bag (if you don't have a bag large enough, put in a casserole dish and baste the ham periodically).  Add the bourbon, brown sugar, crushed pineapple, honey, and garlic to the bag; refrigerate at least 8 hours, turning the bag over several times while marinating.  

Yummy marinade! And then I realized my ham was too big for the bag...

2.  Preheat oven to 350. 

3.  Transfer the ham and marinade to a large baking dish; pour the water into the dish. Attach the pineapple rings around the surface of the ham with toothpicks. 

4.  Bake in preheated oven until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, basting about every 30 minutes with the sauce in the pan, 90 to 105 minutes. 

Now, let's say you're a little distracted and you don't fully read this recipe until that whole 8-hour marinade time has been severely shortened.  Letting it sit in the bourbon goodness for 3 hours or so is perfectly fine too.  There's still enough flavor infused into the meat that your taste buds will be shouting for joy.


I also made sure to get a bone-in ham.  Not only does having the bone mean more flavor, but it also helps keep the meat moist.  I also like to make sure I have the ham bone to make a particularly beloved soup (oh don't worry...you'll hear more about that one later on).  If you're really not a fan of having bones in your meat though, getting a boneless ham is perfectly fine.  You may want to baste it a little more frequently to keep it moist.


A great, Spring-y compliment to this dish?  Strawberry Spinach Salad.  This one is so easy I'm not even going to give you a recipe because there really isn't one; everything is to taste.  

Take a bag of pre-washed baby spinach (don't feel like spending the extra $ on baby spinach? Get regular and give it a rough chop) and put it in a salad bowl.  Wash and quarter as many strawberries as you feel like using and toss in with the spinach.  Roughly chop and TOAST about a 1/2-3/4 cup of almonds; add these just before serving (yes, you want to toast them first.  Trust me).  Voila!  Basic Strawberry Spinach Salad. :)

Toasting brings out the oils and gives that crunch a special oomph

Doesn't this just SCREAM Spring time???

I like the salad with a pre-made, creamy poppyseed dressing.  However if you have another tangy-sweet dressing that you like, use that instead.  If I wasn't feeding a 3-year-old this salad, I'd also add a LITTLE BIT of THINLY SLICED red onion.  Not only for that onion zip but also for that gorgeous purple color.


Feel free to round out this meal with, oh say, Scalloped Potatoes. ;) And there you have my Easter Feast!

FYI, don't slice your potatoes too early; they'll oxidize. Lesson learned.

Scalloped Potatoes

Taking you back for another childhood recipe!!  I just love this one... and really, what's not to love?  Thinly sliced potato, baked in a creamy sauce, topped with cheese.  My mom always called this Scalloped Potatoes, which is how I think of this cheesy dish.  Others may want to call this Au Gratin Potatoes.

Call this what you will, it's just plain comforting goodness. :)

I could eat this right out of the casserole dish.  Yup, not kidding.

Scalloped Potatoes
Recipe from my mom


5 russet potatoes
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar, divided

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Melt butter medium-sized pot over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and saute for a few minutes, until softened. Whisk in the flour and let that cook for a few minutes.

I store extra chopped onion in little containers to save time.

2.  Whisk in the milk and let that slowly heat and thicken (yup, you're making a bechamel sauce).  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Once thickened, remove sauce from heat and stir in the cheese.

3.  As the sauce thickens, thinly slice the potatoes.  If you're feeling particularly domestic, feel free to do this by hand, it doesn't really take that long actually .  If you're in a hurry though, I strongly recommend doing this in the food processor.  Layer half the sliced potatoes in the bottom of a greased 2-quart casserole dish.

THIN (well, thanks to my food processor)

4.  Pour half the sauce over the potatoes.  Repeat layers.*  Bake, COVERED, at 350 for 45 minutes, stirring once.  Remove cover, sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake an additional 30 minutes.

*If you were making this ahead of time you can at this point cool, cover, and freeze the dish to bake later on.  Since there are only not-quite-4 in my family, I split this in half as I made it and baked one right away, putting the other away in the freezer for another time.  I will thaw before baking and then follow the normal baking instructions.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

So now you know my secret that sometimes I get bored with recipes, and sometimes I get stuck.  When this happens I like to ask Rob if there's anything he'd like for me to make that he hasn't had in a while.  Most of the time though he's so open and flexible to whatever I make that this doesn't work too well.  Occasionally I get a helpful response though, like the other day when he said he wanted Chicken Cordon Bleu.

*sigh*  I despise making Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Don't get me wrong I like eating it!  But I have remembering-to-defrost-the-chicken-ahead-of-time issues.  And then there's the whole pounding it out super thin, which I hate doing because raw chicken juice splatters everywhere and it's just a big mess for me.  Oh and the assembly of this....  Ack!!  Slippery raw chicken, recently beaten to death, topped with a just as slippery piece of deli ham and a usually less than flexible slice of Swiss cheese.  I end up using about 53 toothpicks just to get the thing to stay put, but then how am I supposed to get the breading on around all those picks poking out??

Yeah, do NOT love making this one.  But I love my husband and he really doesn't request dishes that often so, dang it, I'm going to make this.  I wonder if I can adapt this though to something that isn't going to drive me insane just in putting it together....hmmmmm.....  I've got it!! 

Chicken Cordon Bleu
Recipe from Jeanna's head

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4-5 thin slices of deli ham
1/2 cup (ish) shredded Swiss cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup (ish) flour
2 eggs
1 cup (ish) Panko breadcrumbs
1 tbsp EACH butter and olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Start a skillet heating over medium-high heat.  Stack the ham slices together and roll into a log.  Slice up the "ham log" so you end up with little ribbons of deli meat (yes, like a chiffonade); set aside.  Create a pile of shredded cheese next to the ham and have 3 toothpicks handy.

A meat chiffonade!

2. Using a sharp paring knife, cut into the side of each chicken breast, but NOT all the way through, making a nice stuffing space (use your fingers a little to gently stretch the space bigger if you like).  Put a little of the ham and cheese inside the chicken and close it with a toothpick.  Repeat with remaining chicken breasts.

Endless possibilities for that pocket...

Stuffed full of meat and cheese

See that one little unobtrusive toothpick?

3.  Setup breading station: pour flour into a shallow dish or plate.  Beat eggs in a separate dish.  Pour Panko into a third.  Season the chicken, flour, and Panko with salt and pepper.  Coat each chicken breast in the flour (shaking off the excess), egg, and then Panko.  If you like an extra crispy coating, repeat the egg and Panko steps.

Breaded chicken anxiously awaiting the skillet

4.  In the hot skillet, melt butter and oil together.  Add the breaded chicken breasts and brown on each side.  Transfer pan to oven and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Look at that crispy, golden perfection....

This variation on the usually rolled chicken dish is sooooooooooooo much easier for me to handle.  And with only using one little toothpick, I'm not creating a lumpy breading nightmare for myself either!  Yeah, I can do this. :)

[I have to interject at this point that I've really fallen in love with using Panko breadcrumbs.  For YEARS I have subconsciously resisted using Panko because it's a bit more expensive.  Plus all these chefs on TV keep making these "crispy" coatings using regular crumbs so the fact that I haven't been able to do it yet just means I'm doing it wrong, right?  Yeah.  If you like a great crispy crust, spend the extra pennies and get the Panko.]

Oh, and in case you're wondering, Gavin asked for thirds. ;)

Reruns

I have a hard time repeating recipes.  I'm not even really sure why that is exactly.... but once I get a recipe down, no matter how much I love it, it can be months, even a year or more before I'll make it again.  It's like I get bored with it or something.  And I'm not even consciously aware that I'm doing it!  A few months ago, when Gavin was getting pretty bad about eating dinners with us, Rob really made me aware that I was doing this.  At first I didn't quite believe I was that bad.  But then I went back through the calendar, where I write down our weekly meal plan.  Ho. Lee. COW.  He was right.  And let me just say that it's pretty hard to have a true Family Favorite if Mommy doesn't make it again for 8 months.

So in the last few months I've really tried to make an effort to repeat recipes more frequently, especially ones I know Gavin likes.  Mac & cheese now makes a monthly appearance on our table, if not twice a month.

You can never have too much goat cheese

I'm also trying to give in to my cravings more, like for flank steak that's spent the day soaking in a balsamic marinade.  Oooohhhhh yummy!

I could eat this picture.  Yeah, it's THAT good.

No matter what the day throws at you, when Chicken Azteca is waiting for you at the end of it, it's a good day.

Creamy chicken + hot rice + CHEESE = Happy Comfort

And I've noticed how much y'all like the Strawberry French Toast Bake.  I felt the need a couple weekends ago to refresh my memory on just how good it is. ;)

Aren't strawberries just about in season again?

I'm learning that it's ok to make things frequently.  Even if it bores me a little sometimes.  I'm taking more joy in seeing my son light up that I'm making pancakes for dinner.  Or Rob's obvious delight when I make some good, old-fashioned red meat dinner.  There's more to cooking than the flavor, texture, smells, and feel of the food itself.  It's also about making people happy.  And that's truly satisfying. :)