Tuna Noodle Casserole

Teen boys can eat.  Growing up with 2 sisters and no brothers, I had only heard rumors about how much a teen boy could eat.   But I now know first hand that there will be 2nd and 3rd helpings.  And a gallon of milk to be bought every 3rd day.   

My once sweet boy 

Is now a lot taller than me (notice I am in heels)

I try to make dinners that will leave some leftovers for my husbands lunch the next day.  That is not happening as much anymore.  The Tuna Noodle Casserole I made did not make it to the next day.  I think the boy even got a 4th helping on this one.  

These are the ingredients.  See my container of homemade cream of mushroom soup?  The canned stuff will work in this recipe too, but I just made a big batch and this is the perfect recipe for it.   

You start out boiling the egg noodles.  I used half a package.  That is about what will fit in the 2 quart pan.   

Cook the noodles until al dente.  Since they will be going into the oven you don't want them cooked all the way thorough.

Then dump the tuna, cream of mushroom soup, peas and carrots, salt and pepper into the pot with the noodles.    

No need to defrost the peas and carrots.  Just toss in the frozen ones and mix it all up.  Pour the mixture into a greased (with spray oil) 2 quart casserole dish (a 8 x 8 pan will work too).  

Pop it into a 350F oven for 25 minutes.  Take the pan out of the oven and sprinkle a few handfuls of crushed potato chips over it (I dig down to the bottom of the bag to get the ones already crushed) and put it back in for 5 to 10 more minutes (or the potato chips are brown). 

Ta-dah!  Dinner is ready!

One of the reasons I make this classic recipe is because it is super easy to make.  I usually have all the ingredients in my cupboards.  It can be made in 45 minutes (you can boil the noodles ahead of time and cut it down to 30 minutes).  It is very budget friendly.  It is a full meal in one pan.  And it is very delicious. 

Next time you have a hungry family and little time, whip up this delicious casserole.  You won't have any leftovers either. 

Tuna Noodle Casserole

4 to 8 oz of egg noodles (about 1/2 a package)

15 oz cream of mushroom soup (canned or homemade)

5 oz can of tuna, drained

6 oz frozen peas and carrots* (half of the package shown above)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Potato chips

Preheat the oven to 350F.  

Cook the egg noodles according to directions on the package, but turn them off and drain them a minute or two earlier than the directions say (you will want to taste test them.  Should taste done, but still have a little bite to it).  

After the noodles are drained, return them to the pot.   Dump in the soup, tuna, peas and carrots, salt and pepper.   Mix it all up.  

Prepare a 2 quart casserole dish with a spray or 2 of oil.  Then dump the mixture into it.   Put it into the oven for 25 minutes.  

After 25 minutes, take the pan out of the oven.  Crush 2 or 3 handfuls of potato chips over the top and put the pan back into the oven for 5 to 10 minutes.  

Once the chips start to brown, take it out of the oven and serve.  

*Does not have to be peas and carrots.  Use your favorite frozen veggie.  

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Healthier.  It's what we are all striving for.  Paleo, 21 Day, Cleansing, Clean Eating  These are the current buzz words for going on a diet. No matter what you call it, you are still counting calories, carbs and/or starches.  Who really had time for all that?  

The closer I get to 50 the harder it is to lose weight, so I decided am not going to fight that battle anymore.  I am not following any trend or diet.   I think that as long as I am moving more I am doing better.  

However I want to be able to live longer than 50, so I look for ways to cook that will be better for all 3 of us.  Convenience cooking is still a important because we have busy schedules.  A casserole in the oven will hold until after marching band practice if necessary. 

Most casseroles use cream of something soup as a base. Have you picked up a can of cream of mushroom soup and looked at the sodium content?  870 mg of sodium is very very high.   Yikes.  

Thanks to Pinterest, I found Once a Month Meals Cream of Something Soup.  Cream of Something or really anything you want.  She has a wonderful chart that lists options for traditional, diet, whole foods, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian and vegan options for mushroom, celery, chicken and asparagus soup.  If I make it myself, then I can cut down on the sodium in any dish that uses any cream of soup and it looked simple to make.   

I use cream of mushroom in a lot of recipes, even if it calls for another flavor.  So I didn't mind making a big batch of it and it freezes really well.   So I took Once A Month Meals basic recipe, omit the garlic (that is a whole other story), used my milk, quadrupled the ingredients and made my own big batch of cream of mushroom soup.

The first thing you need to do is chop your mushrooms and onions.

  

I put the onion in a big pot and sauteed them til transparent.  Then I added the mushrooms and cooked them down a bit (if you cook the mushrooms with the onions, the mushrooms will over cook and you don't want that). 

Next I added the 2 sticks of butter to melt with the onions and mushrooms.  Once it is melted I stirred in the flour to make the roux.  

I used my milk (yes I am lactose intolerant) and boxed unsalted chicken stock (if you use regular chicken stock, you are defeating the purpose of lowering the sodium).  You can use homemade stock if you have it, but I use it faster than I can make it. I put them together in a big bowl and slowly poured them into the roux.  

I accidentally dropped some of the milk/broth on the floor.  My instant drop cleaner showed up to help.  

I continued to cook the mixture until it reached the right consistency.  See how it clings to the spatula?  This is a good thickness.  

These are the perfect size container for the cream of mushroom soup.  One equals just about 15 oz and that is the size of a soup can.  

Once the soup cooled, I put it into the containers.  I quadrupled the recipe but got almost 5 containers out of it.  That is 5 recipes to make in the future.  Awesome!  

Now to get my drop cleaner to stop begging.  

Cream of Mushroom Soup for Recipes

Ingredients:

2 small onions, diced

2 cups diced mushrooms

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

1 cup flour

4 cups milk

3 cups chicken broth

Directions:

Saute the onion until transparent then add the mushroom and cook it down.  Add the butter and melt over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Cook for about 2 minutes or until slightly brown. Add milk and broth. Add sauteed garlic, onion and main ingredient. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring regularly, until it reaches desired consistency (about 10-15 minutes). Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Let is cool and store in 15 oz containers.  You can freeze it or store in in the fridge for 4 days. Use as you would a can of cream of mushroom soup in a recipe.  

I did it on my own!

Remember a few weeks ago I got all excited about being able to color my own hair?  

My fabulous kit from esalon.com arrived a few days after I ordered it.  I was surprised at how quickly it came.  

Inside this slim box was three sections, one section for each item ordered.  I ordered the Made For You Custom Hair Color, the Coloring Tools kit and the recommended shampoo & conditioner (all courtesy of being a Bzzagent).

I found I didn't need to order the Coloring Tools kit or the shampoo and conditioner as the Custom Hair Color came with the only tools I really used.   

After reading the enclosed Product Safety & Usage document, I started the process of doing my own color for the first time in over 15 years.    

I followed the rest of the directions.  As I stood on an old towel (borrowed from the dog's pile), I sectioned my hair into 4 parts and then mixed the color into the developer and shook.  

I was skeptical.  I asked for brown and this did not look like brown.

I continued on.  First I applied the Stain Guard around my hair line and started to apply the color using the bottle instead of the bowl and brush.  The clips got in the way and I couldn't tell if I was getting any coverage.  

I tried to find my wonderful husband who offered to help, but he had already retreated to his safe garage. At this point I undid the clips and just kept applying, mostly to the top of my head.  I ran a comb through my hair to ensure full coverage. When I felt I had enough, I clipped it all back up and set the timer for 30 minutes.  

According to the directions, it said to mix water with what is left in the bottle, then get into the shower with it and "wash" your hair with it.  Then rinse your hair until the water runs clear, following with a shampoo and conditioner with the enclosed samples.  

That was it!.  Over all it was a fairly simple process, not that much different from the store bought processes.  But the outcome is so much better.  

The Made For You Custom Hair Color matched what I had before from my hairdresser.  You can hardly tell except for the missing highlights.  And the gray coverage is wonderful!   

If you are looking for a reasonably priced do-it-yourself hair color, I highly recommend esalon.com.  No more guessing if the color on the box is right for you, let their experts pick it for you.  You won't be disappointed.  

I will re-order my next color from esalon.com.   But I will take my wonderful husband up on his offer to help. No more doing in on my own again.  

Where does the time go?

Last week I started my new part-time job.  I love it!  The people are super nice and the work is exactly what I am experienced to do.  I am truly blessed to have been given this position.

However, I thought switching from full-time to part-time would give me more time.  I am finding it may be giving me more time, but I am filling that time up fast.  

One major time filler is I started to make dinner every night (I think my husband agreed to this job switch is so he won't have to cook dinner very often at all).  I didn't realize the dinner time would be hard to manage with our different schedules, but I am becoming creative with ways to feed us at different times.  

On the night I planned spaghetti with meat sauce, I realized our son wasn't going to be home from marching band practice until after I left for a Boy Scout parent meeting.  I had to come up with a way to make the dinner and have it ready to serve when the rest of my family got home.  I decided to make the spaghetti and put it in the oven to warm it up and add cheese to melt.    Ta-da!  My Spaghetti Casserole was created!

It starts out with the usual spaghetti cast of characters: Spaghetti, Ground Beef, A Good Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheeses.

I browned the ground beef and cooked the pasta. 

When those were ready, I mixed them together with the tomato sauce.  

Sprayed oil into a 9" x 13" pan and dumped the spaghetti into it.  Then sprinkled the cheeses over it and put it in the oven.   

Then I attempted to try one of the awesome features on our new oven.  I thought I was setting the oven to start at 6:25 pm.  

I actually set it to start in 6 hours and 25 minutes from that time.  Ugh.  It didn't quite go as planned.  My husband had to turn the oven on when he got home. 30 minutes later dinner was ready and I was home. 

It didn't go exactly as planned, but now I know how to work the delay feature on the over.  I will use it again.  Several times I am sure.  

My Spaghetti Casserole

1 lb Ground Beef (season with salt & pepper)
1/2 small package of dry spaghetti
water to boil the pasta
1/3 of the Good Tomato Sauce recipe
Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan Cheese

Pre-heat the oven to 350 and spray oil in a 9"x13" pan.  Set aside.

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef.  At the same time boil the water, add the pasta and cook until al dente (not quite done yet).   Combine the ground beef, pasta and tomato sauce. Once combined, pour into the prepared pan.  Cover the spaghetti in cheese.  

Put in the oven for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted.  

I am back!!

Hi Again!

It has been too long since I visited my blog.

I found that it was hard to make the time to focus on this between working, cooking, trying to sew or crochet and spending time with my family.   Something had to go and it was this one thing.

Life has a way of changing on a regular basis.  I am truly blessed to have found a new job much closer to home.  It is going to free up more time and I am hoping to use some of that to revitalize my blog!  

I am looking forward to all that I want to do.  However all this new freedom has a tiny string attached.   We are going to have to pinch our pennies a little tighter to allow me this freedom.  

One of the first things to go was my cleaning lady.  The teen boy was not happy about this because now he has to clean his own bathroom.  And I forgot how big that kitchen floor really is.  My back is still sore from mopping.  But it is a good to do it my self after so long.

Another thing to go is having my hair dresser do my hair color.  I am going to miss my highlights.  But I won't have to miss a decent color job even if I am doing it myself.  

Being a Bzzagent, I have the opportunity to try a new custom for me hair color system I can use at home.  

At eSalon.com, I answered a bunch of hard questions (like what is my natural hair color) and what color do I want it to be (without the highlights).   I then took a horrible selfie with my bushy hair in all its glory and uploaded it to them.  Now a colorist will take all that information and create a color just for me!  

If you would like to try it for yourself, click here to be connect to eSalon.com.  After you complete your profile, you will be eligible for 50% off your re-order!

All I have to do now is wait for my package (courtesy of BzzAgent) to arrive and the adventure will begin.  Wonder if the dog will give my back an old towel or 2?