mrs. e's tuna casserole

the boyfriend requested this meal, & since he never requests anything, i pulled up my pants and made the phone call to his mother to get her recipe for this famous tuna casserole.
1/2 bag of wide egg noodlesboil and mix with:
1 large can of chunk light tuna in water
a touch of milk
1 can of stems and pieces mushrooms >(next time i will grill my own fresh ones) :)
16oz of sour cream
then for the topping:
melt 2/3 stick of butter in a sauce pan
add 1/2 bag of croutons
top and stir with 1/4 cup of parmesean cheese
top off the casserole with this buttery goodness and bake at 350 for around 30 mins.
although this is not graciously healthy-it does lack in the processed foods most tuna noodle casseroles have.
to cut some excessive calories and fat:
use dry croutons and top with parm cheese (skip the butter part)
use greek yogurt instead of sour cream
use fresh grilled mushrooms instead of canned.
we added salt and pepper before consuming, but i think it was best to leave them out and allow the consumer to utilize as much of each as they desired.

breaded pork chops

great meal to make right after a pasta night when you have leftover baguette.
oven to 375 please

breadcrumbs:
i cut the baguette into 1inch squares and put in a bag until i need them.
i add some garlic, salt, and pepper with some of the bread squares into my magic bullet, and pulse until the crumbs are coarse.

eggwash:
on a paper plate-add a few T of flour
in a bowl, crack and whisk 2 eggs and a teaspoon of dijon mustard.
on another paper plate-add the bread crumbs

with a mallot, tenderize and get your pork chops even (i like butterflied boneless chops)
dredge the chops in the flour, then the wash, then the crumbs.
in an olive oil heated pan, cook the chops about 1 minute on each side. put on a broiling pan and into the oven until centers reach 170, usually around 20-25 mins.
very tasty, very moist pork chops!

homemade mac n cheese!!

my favorite! i warn you, this is NOT good for you, but oh so tasty!
melt 2 T of butter in a medium sauce pan
add 1 can condensed milk (NOT sweetened)
on low setting, whisk in 2/3 bag of mild cheddar, 2/3 bag of sharp cheddar, and 1/2 cup of parmesean cheese. whisk until melted and blended (yes, keep whisking)
2 pinches of garlic powder, 2 pinches of chili powder, 4 turns of the pepper mill, and salt to taste.
combine with 2/3 box of noodle of your choice (i love medium shells the best!)
for leftover-put in a container with a splash of milk. heat 30 seconds at a time and stir. even better the next day!

miso soup

when there is no one to cook for....apparently, i just don't cook! miso soup is a great breakfast, lunch, and dinner-plus it lasts in your fridge for a while!
you will need to go to an asian market to purchase some of these things. you may find them at a regular store-but you will get ripped off.
3 cups of water-bring to boil
whisk 1 tablespoon of dashi (this is a granule. it is fish stock. it sounds gross-but it really gives it great flavor)
take off the heat and whisk in, 1 T at a time, 3 T of miso. i prefer yellow. (this is soybean paste) yellow is mild, red is a bit more bitter, black is much more bitter.
i personally like to add cubed extra firm tofu , mushrooms, and french fried onions.
stir this up good before you serve.

this soup is also excellent to throw in leftover chicken or turkey-and just about any vegetable. i also like to add in japanese noodles. beansprouts, brocolli, mushrooms, carrots, peapods, etc. you can also purchase wakame from an asian store (this is freeze dried seaweed) i personally don't like this-but it is a classic addition to miso soup!

campanelle pasta

oh yummy! and easy!
boil some campanelle noodles.
melt 1 T butter and crisp up 3 layers of prosciutto-or bacon. set aside.
in same pan-add 3 more T of butter and some cut up butternut squash. (cut in 1/2" pieces) and sautee for around 4 mins.
add 1 T of fresh thyme until is smells yummy :)
add 1/2 cup white wine and reduce in half (around 4 mins)
add 1 cup of chicken broth and boil for around 5 mins.
toss is your noodles and 3 handfuls of baby spinach. stir, cover and let sit for 2-3 mins. stir again-sprinkle some parmesean cheese and the prosciutto and serve.
i added shrimp to this pasta as well.
we rated it a 9-as we would order, and reorder this from a restaurant easy. it was colorful, semi-creamy, soft, crisp, sweet and salty!!

for next week

man does time get away from you when you go on vacation! we have another short week in my household, so this will be another light one. on the docket:
campanelle, prociutto, butternut squash, spinach and thyme with shrimp. lets call this "campanelle pasta"
balsamic, mozzarella, spinach salad
miso soup
vegetable lasagne

shrimp linguine with RED clam sauce

much the same with the white clam sauce....but not really.
cook the linguine.
in a pan, with olive oil, sweat some chopped onions out. add a can of stewed chopped tomatoes, (no salt added preferred) 1/4 can of V8 juice, some basil, garlic, pepper, and italian seasoning, and a longer splash of dry white wine. (add a 8oz tomato paste if you like a more tomatoey flavor) simmer this all together for mins. add a can of drained clams and a handful of fresh spinach. stir together and simmer again while you cook your shrimp-2 mins each side-in olive oil-seasoned however you like.
combine the fettucini, sauce, and shrimp together-sprinkle some parm cheese and serve. this should serve 4.

chopped salad

ooo yum. one of our household favorites.
chop up some romaine, add a chopped apple, red onion, chopped bacon, julienned turkey meat, dried cranberries, slivered almonds, fresh mozzarella (or gorgonazola-depends on my mood) toss with razberry vinagarette. oh so yummy and great for lunches too!
i have added variations of other things like walnuts, cucumbers, tomato, peppers, etc to make it a tad different.