My mother was a fabulous cook and I swear she made the best gravy in the world. I wasn't much of a meat eater--still am not, but I ate a ton of mashed potatoes drowned in gravy when my mother cooked a pot roast. It wasn't until I married and she gave me a collection of her own recipes that I realized how inept I was in the kitchen. There are so many little tricks of the trade when it comes to cooking--like browning the roast in butter and onions until it's burnt on all sides before you put it into the oven to bake--how was I to know that was my mother's secret for making great gravy?
This week my younger sister is here visiting from San Antonio and my father from Wisconsin. Both are excellent cooks. I don't have many memories of my father cooking when I was younger, but once he retired he took an interest in creating his own recipes. So this week at my house we launched a cook-off. Me, my sister and father all love tuna fish casserole. My husband almost gets sick on the smell of it baking in the oven and neither of my kids will touch it. So when my father and sister are around, we three treat ourselves to a little comfort food.
Our cook-off challenge was creating a Tuna Fish Casserole recipe to-die for. Well, as you can imagine, most of mine found its way into the garbage disposal. My sister' was pretty tasty, but my father's recipe won hands down. We even made an extra batch to freeze. So for those of you who also love an old fashioned tuna fish casserole you'll have to try my dad's recipe. And be warned…it doesn't taste as good if you substitute low fat ingredients--this tastes best using full-fat everything!
Tuna Casserole
2 cans Albacore tuna
1 Package egg noodles
1 Med White Onion fried in butter with seasoning salt, lemon pepper
1-Lemon juice (4-5 Tablespoons)
1 small can Durkee French onions
1-Large package Sharp cheddar cheese
1-small sour cream
1-can 15 oz Lesueur Early peas (Silver can)
16 oz Whipping cream
1 Can cream of mushroom soup
Cook noodles and rinse, then mix all ingredients. Top with crushed Durkee French Onions and a few squirts of lemon juice, then bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes
Happy Cooking!
Marin
A Coal Miner's Wife *Hearts of Appalachia*August 2008
The Cowboy and the Angel Nov 2008
http://www.marinthomas.com/
1 Package egg noodles
1 Med White Onion fried in butter with seasoning salt, lemon pepper
1-Lemon juice (4-5 Tablespoons)
1 small can Durkee French onions
1-Large package Sharp cheddar cheese
1-small sour cream
1-can 15 oz Lesueur Early peas (Silver can)
16 oz Whipping cream
1 Can cream of mushroom soup
Cook noodles and rinse, then mix all ingredients. Top with crushed Durkee French Onions and a few squirts of lemon juice, then bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes
Happy Cooking!
Marin
A Coal Miner's Wife *Hearts of Appalachia*August 2008
The Cowboy and the Angel Nov 2008
http://www.marinthomas.com/
8 comments:
You lost me at the cream of mushroom soup. I have horrible memories of being sick from mushrooms and can't eat anything with them in it. However the rest of the recipe sounds wonderful. I actually like tuna and will eat it straight out of the can. Now I've grossed someone out.
I love tuna, but only my own home canned tuna.
The recipe sounds great!
Ellen, I feel the same way about "Malts." I got very sick after drinking a chocolate malt when I was young and still can't drink one today--love shakes--but no malts :-)
estella, how on earth do you can your own tuna???
LOL, Marin! The full-fat version of EVERYTHING tastes better ;)
My husband LOVES tuna casserole, so I'll definitely give this one a try.
Ellen, I'll bet you could substitute something like cream of celery soup and get close to the same results.
Marin, I'm in the same boat when it comes to food my kids won't touch and my dh stares in horror. I'll make this and take half to my mom--the only person I know who will eat peas! Sounds delish.
Lee-- I have done some substituting in other recipes and had things turn out. Now I LOVE peas. It was one vegetable my mother knew I would eat.
Hi Marin I am reading your free online story called In A Cowboy's Arms.It is a wonderful story.I can't wait till A Coal Miner's Wife is out.I enjoy reading all of your books.
Hi Emma
just found your comment! Thanks for stopping by and posting. I'm glad you're enjoying my on-line read--those shorter stories can be a real challenge. And thank you for the nice words about my Appalachia series. I LOVED writing those books.
Marin
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