Not my type of food but he enjoyed it.
I’m not a fan of canned tuna, but I’ve found that canned chicken is a great substitute in recipes that call for it.
Canned chicken!??!!?? WTF. :/
:D
It’s that an odd thing? Been around at least since I was little - it’s the go-to for making chicken salad, which is what I mostly use it for (easy/quick sandwich when I don’t have other food in hand). I buy it at Costco.
It must be an Americas thing then because I’ve ever seen it in shops here in Europe. :)
Huh, maybe so.
Do you have the canned tuna?
Yes we do and it is either in oil or water :D
Oh, okay, well I believe all the canned chicken is packed in water (I may have seen broth). I’ve seen some that looked pretty gross, but the Costco/Kirkland brand is good: big chunks of chicken breast meat with only enough water to pack it.
omfg nom nom nom. that is absolutely glorious. i hereby declare you an honorary minnesotan.
how’s your tater tot hotdish game? cuz. i’m still hungry.
My mom made this occasionally. I liked it. I’ve never made it myself, though.
My mom made something we called simply “beans and hamburger”, and that’s pretty much all it was, but the devil is in the details, and I gave up many years ago trying to duplicate it. By the time I thought to ask my mom how she made it, she had forgotten all about it due to Alzheimer’s.
Special food can resurface long buried memories as clear as the day they were lived. Odors can do the same.
This is why I have a binder of all our favorite recipes at our place.
My grandmother would make these glorious Christmas dinners when I was a kid - traditional desserts from Newfoundland, and a whole spread for dinner. Unfortunately she never wrote most those recipes down - she had them memorized from her mother. It’s so sad, as these recipes passed down from my great grandmother circa the 1920s (and maybe even from her parents) are now lost in time. We’ve used Newfoundland cookbooks like Rock Recipes which have some good approximations, but do I ever wish we knew what was the real thing.
One of my favorite childhood foods was sombrero pie. Still love it. I think it came from a Betty Crocker cookbook at some point.
searches
Pretty sure that this is it.
https://www.food.com/recipe/sombrero-pie-348597
Man, when you grow up with something, it just…yeah, it hits you.
Could be something similar to Calico Bean Casserole. I hated it as a kid, but most of the family loved it. I mainly didn’t like it then because of the beans, now I think I wouldn’t like it because it’s too sweet for what is supposed to be a savory entree. At least my mom’s was.
That’s a nostalgia food for me too.
Mom would do a checkerboard of alternating white jack and yellow cheddar on top. Oh, and sprinkle a bit of some cornmeal on top of the cheese to add crunch.
EDIT: I need to make some.
EDIT2:
Interesting, never seen cornmeal before, though I think I’d prefer panko or crushed potato chips. Not only are they more flavorful imo, they turn a nice golden brown. Of course then that would cover up all that hard work your mom put in checkerboarding the cheese, so I get it from a presentation standpoint. I’ve also used crispy fried onions (i.e. French’s) as the topper, that was really good too.
I go with garlic Ritz crackers and butter. It matches the lemon, garlic and dill I add to the recipe. Divine.
Fuck yeah, that sounds awesome
Interestingly, my SO specifically asked for NO panko or any sort of breading on top.
My son and I eat this every few weeks.
oh my god that looks amazing 🤤
When my now-wife - who hates tuna casserole - made me this dish as good as my mom I knew I wanted to marry her
It also microwaves up well after having been chilled, so makes for great leftovers to snag a slice of from the fridge. It doesn’t really have much to get soggy.
yes it does pop in the microwave ok, but it’s better heated-up in a dry skillet.
(yea… it’s the way my mom always did it)
Hmm. considers So, like…she kinda added some crispiness to the noodles on the underside that way?
yea sometimes, but she was really a pro at getting the top edges ‘done’ in the oven. that was the best part–me and her shared that. my siblings were weird, they just wanted the ‘middle’. and the dry heat keeps it from being ‘soggy’ from the condensation build-up of not-quite-cooled leftovers going in the fridge. the added moisture doesn’t cook-off in the microwave.
I only ever got tuna casserole from the synagogue. Mother hated hot fish so she never made it. The synagogue ladies always made it and I’d wolf it down. Mother said the ladies acted like mother starved me. I didn’t stop eating the casseroles though.
I’ve always liked it for some reason. Mind you I’m indian and like spicy food.
I love tuna, but tuna casserole is something from my childhood I definitely done want to experience ever again
don’t lol
Same. But I’ve had some that was good too. It’s a matter of getting the tuna/pasta ratio right, as well as the extras such as spices. By themselves, tuna and pasta is bland, and that’s what my childhood version was.
I thought it was bland as well but he said I made it correctly. I thought it would be more flavorful since I used a can of cream of mushroom but I don’t think that and parsley alone was enough seasoning for this.
I used to make and eat tuna casserole 30 years ago but I can’t imagine eating it now.
Why can’t they make their own childhood foods?
If they’re like me, I’m embarrassed to admit I can’t cook. Oatmeal and sandwiches, and maybe a crock pot for rationing, but beyond that I’m no good.
When I was a kid my dad thought we should learn to cook before we left home. But he had this person boarding a room who thought she was being very witty when she was heckling this kid trying to grow himself. It was a horrible, terrible experience and I never picked up the spatula again.
I’ve worked 2 jobs for 24 years, so I have a handy excuse, but the reality is I was bullied into avoiding the task.
Oh I can’t cook for shit either, but I never asked an SO to replicate what I had growing up. It i really wanted it, I’d learn. Watched too many lazy men complain and make selfish demands about their wives/mothers cooking and decided I want no part of that tradition.
Fuck the bullies, learn to cook the few basic foods you love, and see if the love of cooking grabs you.
Or don’t, I am certainly not trying to bully you into doing something you dread. I just get a ton of satisfaction from trying new things now that I am older and give less fucks.
I wish I snapped pics of the calzones I made yesterday. They weren’t perfect but tasty and my wife loved em.
Recipe or it didn’t happen
The basics are covered here: https://www.spendwithpennies.com/easy-tuna-casserole/
But specifically and loosely:
- Stir fry diced onion and frozen veggie mix (carrots, green beans, peas, corn) until onions are translucent.
- Cook egg noodles.
- In a bowl mix the onion, frozen veggies, can of cream of mushroom soup, 2 cans of light tuna, milk, 2 cups cheese, tablespoon of parsley, some chicken bouillon, a little sugar.
- Transfer to casserole dish.
- Top with more cheese, parsley. Brush with oil.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 425F.
Noodles, tuna, cream of mushroom soup, canned peas.
that’s pretty much it. a little milk, and some cut up onion, too. extra mushrooms if that’s your game.
can use fresh or frozen peas. we just drop frozen in with the noodles when they’re cooking.
you can also use cut up cooked or roasted chicken or turkey instead of tuna. and if you’re not a mushroom fan, either of those (or tuna, ftm) can use cream of chicken instead.
Oooo look at Mr. Fancy Pants here with the frozen peas.
Haven’t grown up in the '80s and '90s with a mother who couldn’t cook (and a father who could make toast or a tuna fish sandwich), I cannot stomach the thought of anything that contains mushroom soup.
Did he cry?
No. But he liked it. I wouldn’t make this again unless he really wanted it lol
That’s not the question. Did he go back for thirds?
Did he clutch it to his chest and a hold a knife up screaming “it’s all mine goddamnit!!”
