Tuna Salad

These are nice variations on tuna salad. Albacore tuna, as suggested in these recipes, is very high in mercury, akin to swordfish. However, chunk light and chunk dark tuna have significantly less mercury. Chunk dark having the least. It's also the Cheapest. Anyway, it's something to keep in mind if you have kids, are pregnant, or eat allot of fish. These recipes are from America's Test Kitchen.

TUNA SALAD

CLASSIC TUNA SALAD

INGREDIENTS

1 can (or pouch tuna), preferably albacore

1 T lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

½ small celery rib, chopped (1/8 cup)

1T minced fresh onion

1/4 clove garlic (1/4 tsp)

1 T fresh parsley

1/4 cup mayo (or less)

1/8 tsp Dijon mustard

Mix tuna, lemon, salt and pepper, celery, onions, pickles, garlic, and parsley. Fold in mayo and mustard.

TUNA SALAD WITH BALSAMIC VINEGAR AND GRAPES

INGREDIENTS

1 can (or pouch tuna), preferably albacore

1 T balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

3 oz red seedless grapes (½ c) halved

½ small celery rib, chopped (1/8 cup)

1T minced fresh onion

1/8 c slivered almonds

1 tsp fresh thyme

1/4 cup mayo (or less)

1/8 tsp Dijon mustard

Mix tuna, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, celery, onions, grapes, almonds, and thyme. Fold in mayo and mustard.

CURRIED TUNA SALAD WITH APPLES AND RAISINS

INGREDIENTS

1 can (or pouch tuna), preferably albacore

1 T lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

½ small celery rib, chopped (1/8 cup)

1T minced fresh onion

½ apple 1/4-inch diced (½ cup)

1/8 c raisins (2 T)

1 T fresh basil

½ T curry powder

1/4 cup mayo (or less)

1/8 tsp Dijon mustard

Mix tuna, lemon juice, salt and pepper, celery, onions, apple, raisins, and basil. Fold in mayo, mustard and curry powder..

TUNA WITH LIME AND HORSERADISH

INGREDIENTS

1 can (or pouch tuna), preferably albacore

1 T lime juice

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

½ small celery rib, chopped (1/8 cup)

1T minced fresh onion

1 T fresh parsley

1 ½ T horseradish

1/2 T zest from ½ lime ( I omit)

1/4 cup mayo (or less)

1/8 tsp Dijon mustard

Mix tuna, lime, salt and pepper, celery, onions, and parsley. Fold in mayo, mustard, horseradish, and lime zest..

Popcorn (several recipes)

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Creamed Spinach

This is a slightly healthier version without cream. I normally use Swiss cheese. This recipe is from "Laurel's Kitchen."

CREAMED SPINACH

INGREDIENTS

¾ cup milk

½ small onion, chopped fine

1 T butter

1 T flour

1box spinach thawed and moisture squeezed out

¼ tsp salt

pinch fresh nutmeg

Optional

(½ c grated Swiss or 2 T Parmesan or ¼ c cream cheese crumbled with a fork)

Saute onion in butter in a large skillet. When the onion is clear stir in flour and cook, stirring for about 2 minutes. Don’t let the flour brown. Whisk in the milk a little at a time and cook until thickened, stirring.

Add the spinach, distributing evenly. Simmer gently until spinach is warmed. Season with salt and nutmeg. Add cheese if wanted. This is a good filling for savory crepes.

Cranberry Bread

CRANBERRY BREAD

I’ve made this with half whole wheat flour and half white flour, and that’s good too. The rest of my whole wheat lovin’ family shockingly likes the white flour version better. The recipe says to store for 24 hours before cutting. The bread’s never made it 24 hours in my house, so I have no idea if that helps the texture or not. This recipe is from "The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American."

INGREDIENTS

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Juice and grated rind of 1 orange

1 egg, beaten

2 Tbsp oil

1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely ground

1/2 cup walnut meats, coarsely chopped

Mix dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Put the juice and grated rind in a measuring cup and add enough boiling water to make 3/4 cups liquid. Add to the dry mixture. Add the egg and oil and mix just enough to moisten the flour mixture. Stir in the cranberries and nut meats. Bake in a greased loaf pan 60-70 minutes at 325. Store 24 hours before cutting.

Granola

Granola

This is my somewhat healthier version of granola. I cut down the sugar, syrup, and cut out the oil from the original recipe. But I left in all the coconut ‘cause I love *the coconut*love love* the coconut. Astute observers may notice that I accidental added the dried fruit to the granola before I put in the oven in the picture. The dried fruit got a little dark and quite chewy. Oh well.

*This isn't granola with granola clusters. See the comments.

INGREDIENTS

3 c oats

½ c wheat germ

1 c nuts (any combination you like)

3/4 c coconut

1/4 c brown sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 C maple syrup (I like the kind that comes from trees, not fields in Iowa.)

1 c dried fruit

Preheat oven to 250. Mix together oats, wheat germ, nuts, coconut, brown sugar and salt.

Mix the maple syrup with the oat mixture. Bake on an oiled or sprayed with pam baking sheet (0r two oiled pizza pans) for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Take out of the oven and place in a large bowl. Stir in fruit.

Indian style broccoli slaw

INDIAN STYLE BROCCOLI SLAW

Mom just made this half an hour ago. It still needs a small amount of tweaking, but an Indian vegetable side dish is always a good thing. This recipe came out of the Bismarck Tribune food section.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

1 T extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tsp cumin seeds (she used 3/4 tsp ground cumin)

1/4 tsp turmeric

pinch of cayenne pepper

package of broccoli slaw

1 T lemon juice

3 T (plus more) water

salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and saute until soft, about 4 minutes. Add cumin seeds, turmeric, and cayenne pepper and cook until the spices are fragrant, about 1 minute longer.

Stir in the broccoli slaw, lemon juice and water. Reduce heat to low, cover the skillet and let the mixture simmer gently until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. (It will take longer and more water then the recipe says.) During cooking add water if necessary to prevent sticking. Season with salt and pepper.

Potato Soup

This is a real crowd pleaser. From Epicurious.

POTATO SOUP

INGREDIENTS

4 1/2 pounds russet (baking) potatoes (about 4)

3 1/2 cups chicken broth (2 cans)

6 slices of bacon

1 onion, chopped coarse

12 mushrooms, chopped coarse

2 cup milk

8 oz cream cheese, cut into bits and softened

In a kettle combine the potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch Pieces, with the broth and simmer the mixture, covered for 20 Minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Remove the kettle from the heat and in the kettle mash the potatoes with the potato masher. Whlie the potatoes are cooking, in a large skillet cook the bacon over moderate heat until it is crisp and transfer it to paper towels and drain. Crumble the bacon into ½ inch pieces and reserve it. Add the onion and mushrooms to the fat remaining in the skillet and cook mixture over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the onion is softened. Add the reserved bacon and the onion mixture to the potato mixture. Stir in the milk, the cream cheese, and salt and pepper to taste, and heat the soup over moderate heat, stirring until the cream cheese is melted and the soup is combined well (do not let the soup boil).

Makes 4 ½ cups, serving 4 to 5.

Apple Crisp

APPLE CRISP

I've decided to stop making apple pie and only make crisp. It has less butter and sugar then a pie and I like it much better. This reicpe is from America's Test Kitchen.

serves 4 to 6

to double use a 13x19 pan, bake 55 minutes at 375 without increasing oven temp

Topping:
6 T unbleached AP flour
1/4 c packed brown sugar
1/4 c sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
5 T cold unsalted butter, in 1/2 in pieces
3/4 c coarsely chopped nuts, almonds or pecans preferred, or walnuts

Filling:

3 medium granny smith apples (1 1/4 lbs)
3 medium mcintosh apples (1 1/4 lbs)
1/2 tsp grated zest and 1 1/2 T juice from 1 lemon
1/4 c sugar


1. Topping: Place flour, sugars, spices, and salt in food processer and process briefly to combine. Add butter and pulse 10 times, 4 sec for each pulse. Will first look like dry sand with lumps of butter, then like coarse cornmeal. Add the nuts, then process again, four or five 1 sec pulses. The topping should look like slightly clumpy wet sand. Be sure not to overmix, or will become too wet and homogeneous. Refrigerate topping while preparing fruit, at least 15 min.
2. Oven rack to lower middle position, preheat to 375
3. Filling: Peel, quarter, and core the apples, then cut into 1" chunks (about 6 cups). Toss the apples, zest, juice, and sugar in a medium bowl. Scrape the fruit mixture with a spatula into an 8" square baking pan or 9" deep dish pie plate.
4. Distribute the chilled topping evenly over the fruit. Bake 40 min; increase oven temp to 400 and continue baking until the fruit is bubbling and the topping turns deep golden brown, about 5 min more. Serve warm. (The crisp can be set aside at room temp for a few hours and then reheated in a warm oven just before serving.)

Cheese Ball

CHEESE BALL

This is also good when made with Swiss cheese. I saw someone on TV add chopped bacon to the cheese mixture. I’ve never done this. (I have two vegetarian sisters.) But it sounds good to me. This recipe comes from the Pillsbury cookbook my mom received for a wedding present.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

3-oz cream cheese

3 T Mayo

½ tsp Worcestershire

1 tsp white wine

dash each of

onion salt

garlic salt

celery salt

Sliced or chopped olives, OR chopped nuts OR chopped fresh parsley, OR dried beef to roll in. (OR a combination that makes sense)

Combine ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Blenders will work in a pinch, but they will make you swear. Cover and chill until firm. Shape mixture into a ball and roll in nuts or whichever covering you’re using. . Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until serving.

Cranberry Relish

CRANBERRY RELISH

A more tart, uncooked version of cranberry sauce. I’ve found many people who don’t like the traditional more sweet/syrupy style like this version.

INGREDIENTS

1 granny smith apple, not pealed, cored and cut into 1-2inch pieces

1 orange, pealed and torn in 2 segment sections

1 cup pineapple (I use canned)

1 bag cranberries

1/4-1/2 cup sugar (I use 1/4 cup, but my family likes things tart)

Blend fruit in food processor, preferably or a blender. Blenders are harder to use because you have to keep scraping down the sides, but they’ll work if it’s all you’ve got. Process until it looks like a cranberry colored applesauce. Stir in sugar. This recipe can be made 2 days in advance.

Pot Roast

POT ROAST

I make the tomato and red wine version. This recipe comes from America's Test Kitchen.

Serves 6-8

Begin checking for doneness after 2 hours. The roast should be at 210 with a meat thermometer for at least 1 hour.

INGREDIENTS

1 boneless chuck-eye roast (about 3 ½ lbs)(they wrap in twine)

salt and ground black pepper

2 T vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped medium

1 small carrot, chopped medium

1 small celery rib, chopped medium

2 medium garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp sugar

1 c canned low-sodium chicken broth

1 c canned low-sodium beef broth

1 sprig fresh thyme

1-1 ½ c water

1/4 c dry red wine

1. Adjust oven rack to middle portion and heat oven to 300 degrees. Throughly pat roast dry with paper towels; sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

2. Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking. Brown roast throughly on all sides, reducing heat if fat begins to smoke, 8-10 minutes. Transfer roast to large plate; set aside. Reduce heat to medium; add onion, carrot, and celery to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and sugar; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chicken and beef broths and thyme, scrapping bottom of pan with a wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Return roast and any accumulated juices to pot; add enough water to come halfway up and only half way up the sides of roast. Bring liquid to simmer over medium heat, then place large piece of foil over pot and cover tightly with lid; transfer pot to oven. Cook, turning roast every 30 minutes, until fully tender and meat fork or sharp knife easily slips in and out of meat, 3 ½ to 4 hours.

3. Transfer roast to carving board; tent with foil to keep warm. Allow liquid in pot to settle about 5 minutes, then use a wide spoon to skim fat off surface; discard thyme sprig. Boil over high heat until reduced to about 1 ½ cups, about 8 minutes. Add red wine and reduce again to 1 ½ cups, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Using a chef’s knife or carving knife, cut meat into 1/2-inch thick slices, or pull apart into large pieces; transfer meat to warmed serving platter and pour about ½ cup sauce over meat. Serve passing remaining sauce separately.

POT ROAST WITH ROOT VEGETABLES

Serves 6-8

Begin checking for doneness after 2 hours. The roast should be at 210 with a meat thermometer for at least 1 hour.

INGREDIENTS

1 boneless chuck-eye roast (about 3 ½ lbs)

salt and ground black pepper

2 T vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped medium

1 small celery rib, chopped medium

2 medium garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp sugar

1 c canned low-sodium chicken broth

1 c canned low-sodium beef broth

1 sprig fresh thyme

1-1 ½ c water

1 ½ lbs carrots (about 8 medium), sliced ½ inch thick(about 3 c)

1 ½ lbs small red potatoes, halved if larger then 1 ½ inches in diameter (about 5 c)

1 lb parsnips (about 5 large), sliced ½ inch thick (about 3 c)

1/4 c dry red wine

1. Adjust oven rack to middle portion and heat oven to 300 degrees. Throughly pat roast dry with paper towels; sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

2. Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking. Brown roast throughly on all sides, reducing heat if fat begins to smoke, 8-10 minutes. Transfer roast to large plate; set aside. Reduce heat to medium; add onion, and celery to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and sugar; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chicken and beef broths and thyme, scrapping bottom of pan with a wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Return roast and any accumulated juices to pot; add enough water to come halfway up and only half way up the sides of roast. Bring liquid to simmer over medium heat, then place large piece of foil over pot and cover tightly with lid; transfer pot to oven. Cook, turning roast every 30 minutes, until almost tender and meat fork or sharp knife meets little resistance when slipped in and out of meat, 3 to 3 ½ hours. Add carrots, potatoes, and parsnips to Dutch oven, submerging them in the liquid. Continue to cook until vegetables are almost tender, 20 to 30 minutes.

3. Transfer roast to carving board; tent with foil to keep warm. Allow liquid in pot to settle about 5 minutes, then use a wide spoon to skim fat off surface; discard thyme sprig. Add red wine. Boil over high heat until vegetables are fully tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to a warmed serving bowl or platter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Using a chef’s knife or carving knife, cut meat into 1/2-inch thick slices, or pull apart into large pieces; transfer meat to warmed bowl or serving platter and pour about ½ cup sauce over meat and vegetables. Serve passing remaining sauce separately.

POT ROAST WITH MUSHROOMS TOMATOES AND RED WINE

Serves 6-8

Begin checking for doneness after 2 hours. The roast should be at 210 with a meat thermometer for at least 1 hour. This is the recipe I tried.

INGREDIENTS

1 boneless chuck-eye roast (about 3 ½ lbs)

salt and ground black pepper

2 T vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped medium

1 small carrot, chopped medium

1 small celery rib, chopped medium

10 oz white button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered

2 medium garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp sugar

½ c canned low-sodium chicken broth

½ c canned low-sodium beef broth

½ c dry red wine

1 can (14 ½ oz) diced tomatoes

1 sprig fresh thyme

1-1 ½ c water

1 sprig rosemary

1. Adjust oven rack to middle portion and heat oven to 300 degrees. Throughly pat roast dry with paper towels; sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

2. Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking. Brown roast throughly on all sides, reducing heat if fat begins to smoke, 8-10 minutes. Transfer roast to large plate; set aside. Reduce heat to medium; add onion, carrot, celery and mushrooms to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and sugar; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chicken and beef broths, tomatoes, and thyme, scrapping bottom of pan with a wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Return roast and any accumulated juices to pot; add enough water to come halfway up and only half way up the sides of roast. Bring liquid to simmer over medium heat, then place large piece of foil over pot and cover tightly with lid; transfer pot to oven. Cook, turning roast every 30 minutes, until fully tender and meat fork or sharp knife easily slips in and out of meat, 3 ½ to 4 hours.

3. Transfer roast to carving board; tent with foil to keep warm. Allow liquid in pot to settle about 5 minutes, then use a wide spoon to skim fat off surface; discard thyme sprig. Add rosemary sprig. Boil over high heat until reduced to about 1 ½ cups, about 8 minutes. Discard rosemary sprig. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Using a chef’s knife or carving knife, cut meat into 1/2-inch thick slices, or pull apart into large pieces; transfer meat to warmed serving platter and pour about ½ cup sauce over meat. Serve passing remaining sauce separately.