Tuna Broccoli Casserole

Tuna Broccoli Casserole

This is good, quick, cheap, makes a lot, and, if you substitute gluten-free soup for regular and go with the brown rice pasta, it's gluten-free.

• 8 oz. uncooked brown rice shell macaroni (or any macaroni you like if gluten is not a concern)
• 2 12-oz. packages frozen broccoli-cauliflower mix 
• 2 12-oz. cans tuna in water, drained
• 2 10-oz. cans Campbell's Heart Healthy Cream of Mushroom Soup OR 1 can ready-to-eat Progresso Gluten-Free Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 3 tsp. McCormick's Perfect Pinch Vegetable seasoning (you may need more if using the Progresso soup, and if you're watching your salt, any Mrs. Dash seasoning you like is fine)
• 2 cups shredded cheese (can be any kind you like -- I use Velveeta because the Mister likes it)
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta in boiling salted water until al dente.  (Don't you dare tell me you don't know what "al dente" means.  Look it up.)  Steam broccoli-cauliflower mix in microwave according to package directions.   In a 5-quart casserole, combine rinsed and cooled pasta, tuna, broccoli-cauliflower mix, soup, all but a handful of the shredded cheese, and 3/4 C. of the Parmesan; sprinkle with a bit more of your seasoning.  Bake at 350F for 50 minutes, top with remaining cheeses and bake an additional 10 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown.  And that's it.   Serves at least 4 very hungry people.

Mukimame (Soybean) Hummus

Mukimame (Soybean) Hummus

A little Asian and Middle Eastern fusion cuisine.  I just invented this in my kitchen one morning while our daughter and her husband were visiting and was amazed at how delicious it turned out to be.  My husband, aka Himself, even loves it, and he is a sworn soybean hater.

• 1 12-oz. package frozen mukimame (shelled edamame), cooked (or cook 2 C. fresh)
• 1 15.5-oz. can chickpeas (garbanzo beans, ceci) -- I use Goya -- DO NOT DRAIN
• 3 cloves garlic
• Juice of 1 lemon (Do NOT use ReaLemon or I will find you and come to your house with a real lemon.)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 
• 3 tsp. McCormick's "Perfect Pinch" - Vegetable flavor
• 2 tsp. onion powder

Whirl chickpeas, liquid and all, in a food processor until pureed.  Add mukimame and process until pureed. Turn mixture out into a mixing bowl, add the spices, and crush your garlic in a garlic press; fold in. Stir thoroughly, then whisk in olive oil and lemon juice.   Adjust seasoning to taste.  Chill thoroughly and serve. Makes about 3 cups of hummus.

You can serve this with cut-up veggies and cut-up toasted pita bread (cut pita bread into 2" pieces and toast on a cookie sheet in a 350F oven for about 10 minutes), or seasoned Triscuits, or any good flatbread crackers, or you can use it as a spread for roll-up sandwiches (lawash bread).   You can cut up the lawash bread roll-ups in small pieces for canapes or serve them whole as sandwiches.    I got all fancy and used tiny Japanese decorative cutters for sushi and garnished the stuff with red pepper "blossoms" because this was for a party.  (That's my sister-in-law's table in the photo -- you think any tables in THIS madhouse look so good?) It's a great base for a lot of good snacks, and it's easy to make, plus don't tell anyone, but it's pretty good for you.

Caprese Salad Canapes

Caprese Salad Canapes

These are almost embarrassingly easy to make, and they are absolutely delicious.

You will need:

• A handful of 4" fancy toothpicks, 30 or 40 (or you can make shorter ones; they'll go further)
• 2 10-oz. plastic packages of grape tomatoes
• 1 good-sized bunch of fresh basil
• 1   8-oz. package of Bel Gioiosa Mozzarella "Pearls"   ["wet" type mozzarella separated into tiny pieces and smooshed into a sealed package -- you will be amazed -- this package is the size of a tennis ball, but when you open it, you will have enough to make a tray like this and have some left over.] 
• Good olive oil (optional)

Easy as anything you'll ever make.  Just alternate tomato, cheese, basil, tomato, cheese, basil until you have used everything up.  Fold each basil leaf over with the glossy side out before skewering on picks.  Makes about 35 or 40.   If you want to, you can chop a few basil leaves, put them in about 1/4 cup of olive oil, and put it in a small container in the center of the platter for dipping.  (I don't recommend drizzling these with the oil; you are going to have a mess.)

This is a good project to do with kids, because it looks great, is very easy, and will give them a genuine sense of accomplishment.  It's also a great task to share with someone you haven't seen in a long time -- my daughter and I put these together when she was here on an all too rare visit from Virginia with her husband, and it was so nice to talk and spend a little time together.

Anyway, serves about 15 guests.  Obviously, quantities can be increased as needed.  Enjoy! 

Chili To Warm You

"Blue Corn Maiden" by Ken Lomahaftewa

This is quick, easy and so good...I made it in NM, where you can actually get decent chili peppers, and it was fabulous.

• 2 14-oz. can chili beans in red sauce
• 1 14-oz. can black beans
• 2 14-oz. cans petite diced tomatoes with green chilis (RoTel or any other brand)
• 1 28-oz. can seasoned diced tomatoes (I use Dei Fratelli)
• 2 28-oz. cans crushed tomatoes (any brand)
• 1 16-oz. pkg. Morningstar Farms Meal Starters Ground Beef Crumbles Substitute
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped, or chipotles (roasted jalapenos), if you're lucky enough to have some or make some
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon (+/-) crushed dried red chilis (not for the faint of heart - let your palate be your guide -- skip if you're timid)
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar or honey
• 2 tablespoons corn flour (masa harina) -- you can skip this, but it makes it thicker
• 1 tablespoon dried cilantro (or a bunch of fresh)
• 1 tsp. sea salt (or more to taste)

Very easy. Just dump everything in a big enamel pot, bring to boil and let simmer on Low for 2 hours, stirring frequently. Or, cook all day in a crock pot in the Low setting.

Serve with cornbread, sour cream, shredded cheese (any kind you like), and oyster crackers. 

For the best cornbread EVAH, follow the recipe on the side of the cornmeal box, but add 2 tablespoons of honey and one tablespoon olive oil. (If you're from the South, this is heresy, but I'm telling you, it's good.)

Cecilia Theresa Philomena Kelly-Bredenbeck's Marinara Sauce (we were good 'til we got to the Kelly-Bredenbeck, no? )

(Photo credit:  Lori  Lange) 

1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes

2 28-oz. cans diced tomatoes
1 lg. or 2 small cans tomato paste
2 garlic cloves
1 chopped onion
inner stalks and leaves of one bunch celery
1 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. basil
2 tsp. ground sage
1 tsp. thyme
fresh rosemary leaves if you have it, a scant handful chopped up
2 T olive oil

Crush garlic cloves and saute with onion in olive oil in bottom of a 5-quart to 8-quart pan. Add celery and saute a little more, add tomatoes and tomato paste, stir in herbs. Simmer for AT LEAST 6-8 hours, either on the stove while stirring frequently, or in a crockpot set on "high" for 6 hours and "low" for the rest of the cooking time. (You can even skip the "high" setting and just simmer this on "low" overnight if you like. The idea is to cook it for a LONG time but not at a high temperature.)

You can change this up according to what you have in the house. Want to make more?  Throw in another can or two of crushed tomatoes. If you don't like celery in there, fine. If you want to throw in some fennel seed, fine. If you're out of sage, what the hell is wrong with you? Just kidding -- if you're out of sage, that's fine. If there's any herb on the list you don't like, leave it out. If there's one you don't have, don't worry. It's all according to your taste. If you're out of olive oil, you'll want to kill the no-good who decided to put it where you can't find it, because you always have olive oil, right? RIGHT? Who doesn't have good olive oil in the house? Oh, my God! What kind of cook doesn't have olive oil?

You can brown a pound of whatever meat you have (beef, turkey, chicken) and add that, or you can add MorningStar Farms Crumbles. You can also add a pound of browned Italian sausage, hot or mild.

In fact, once you have the bare bones of it made, add whatever you like. This is a good base sauce, and you can build it into a fairly respectable puttanesca, arrabiatta, or whatever else you like. I like to serve it over angel hair (cappellini) cooked al dente, but it's good with anything else, too. Throw in some clams and serve it over linguini; what do I care?  Do I look like I care?  Go ahead -- spoil this beautiful sauce by putting it over linguini, after I took the trouble to write out the recipe!  Pheh!  (Just kidding --  just enjoy it -- that's the important part!)

Oven-Roasted Herbed Potatoes

(Photo courtesy of Howstuffworks.com -- we're nowhere near that fancy around here.)

• 3 lbs. Yukon Gold or redskin potatoes
• 1 T olive oil
• 2 tsp. dried rosemary leaves
• 2 tsp. McCormick's Sweet Onion & Herb seasoning, McCormick's Perfect Pinch Vegetable seasoning, or Lawry's seasoned salt, or any other blend you like (Mrs. Dash if you're watching your salt). 

Slice the potatoes into 1/2" thick slices, put in a microwave-safe casserole, and steam for 15 minutes on High. Remove from microwave, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with seasoning, put cover on casserole, hold onto it tightly (careful, now!) and shake to cover potatoes with seasoning and oil. Microwave another 5 minutes. 

When you have whatever else you're baking with it ready, put it into the oven and bake at 350 F for about an hour, alongside salmon loaf, etc., whatever your entree is. For a slight crunch, uncover the last 20 minutes of cooking. For tender potatoes, leave covered. The oil and seasonings will brown with the long baking and add a rich flavor to the potatoes. Use leftovers as hash browns for breakfast.

Easy Salmon Loaf

(photo not mine; I use way more catsup on top. Photo by Tricia Hodges.)

• 2 14.75-oz. cans of pink Alaskan salmon
• 2 eggs
• 1 c. herbed stuffing cubes, smashed to crumbs
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay seafood seasoning
• Catsup

Put the salmon in a mixing bowl, juice and all. If you don't like the skin, pick it out. No need to pick the bones out; they're softened by the canning process and you won't even notice them. (This makes canned salmon a wonderful source of calcium, and since there's lots of Vitamin D in the fish itself, your body makes good use of the calcium!) 

Mash salmon thoroughly with a fork. Add stuffing crumbs (you can use stale bread crumbs, but the flavor's not as good), eggs and seasoning and mash with a metal whisk or slotted spoon until it's all smooth and thoroughly mixed. Put in a foil-lined bread loaf pan, cover top with catsup, and bake for about an hour at 350F. Serves 4 other people or two of us.