Hot Crossed Tuna Casserole

Recently on the parenting message board I belong to there was a discussion about tuna casseroles. It made me think of this one my mom used to make when I was little. It was our neighbor Julie's recipe. It's not your typical tuna, cream of mushroom, noodle casserole either. I was glad my mom knew where to find the recipe because once I started thinking about it, I couldn't stop. I also couldn't stop thinking about cheddar and sour cream potato chips because one of my friends said her mom topped tuna casserole with those. Damn...now I'm thinking about cheddar and sour cream chips again. Sigh. At least they come in a baked variety so I don't have to feel as guilty when I eat them.

Anyway, once my mom gave me the recipe I had to make it within days. Thankfully all I really needed for it were the crescent rolls. I'll admit I was a bit nervous about it since the last time I remembered having it I think my age was in single digits. I liked spam a lot, too, when my age was in single digits, but I doubt I could stomach it now.

Hot Crossed Tuna Casserole

3 cans tuna, drained
1 16 oz. package frozen peas, thawed
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 c. celery, sliced
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/4 c. chopped onion
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tube crescent roll dough

Cucumber Sauce:
1/2 c. chopped cucumbers
1 T. chives, chopped
1 T. chopped parsley
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. dill weed
1/2 c. mayo
1/2 c. sour cream

Combine tuna, peas, cheese, celery, bread crumbs, onion, seasonings, and mayonnaise; mix well. Spoon into 106 baking dish. Separate crescent roll dough into 2 rectangles. Press perforations to seal. Cut dough into 4 long and 8 short strips. Place strips over casserole in lattice design. Bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes or until crust is brown. Serve with cucumber sauce.

To make sauce, combine all ingredients and mix well. Chill. Pour over top of each serving.

*****

I modified the original recipe slightly; what's posted above is how I made it. I just added more tuna and peas. I like peas. I thought the sauce recipe was kind of funny--sounds like tzaziki (I have no idea how to spell that, by the way) to me, but perhaps in suburban Seattle in the late 70s and early 80s it was easier to just call it cucumber sauce. Who cares, it's tasty.

I'm happy to report that this dish was in fact as tasty as I remembered it. My bff Clementine (she's decided we're too codependent on each either so we've come up with new monikers for each other to make it appear that we have other friends. We really do have other friends, but I thought it would be fun to call her Clementine.) was over one day last week to make plum jam (aptly named Jamfest) and sampled some of the leftovers because she was skeptical when I told her about it. She approved and told me to post it so she could make it. I love me a good casserole, and this totally fits the bill. My kids loved it, too. Boy #2 actually had leftovers of it twice for lunch and cleaned his plate each time he ate it Winner winner, tuna dinner!

South Beach Tuna Salad

The husband and I are going back to Phase One of the South Beach Diet to drop the extra weight we gained over Christmas and to help us get to our goal weights. He's training for the Alcatraz shark swim this coming June and wants to lose some body fat before the race. I just want to get down to my goal weight. We unofficially started yesterday. I say unofficially because we did have some carbs, but we kept it pretty minimal. Okay, I cheated a few times and had a Hershey Kiss here and there, but they were sitting out in the kitchen, and I couldn't help myself. But now today I'm on track. I figured out our meal plan for the week--including breakfasts, lunches, and snacks--and we're ready to do this.

For lunch today I made us some tuna salad. It was loosely based on a recipe I've made before that I found on Food.com. They have an entire South Beach Diet section of recipes, which I love. It's a great recipe because it's really versatile and can be modified to fit what you have on hand. I had cilantro like the recipe calls for, but it was questionable. The recipe below is the version I made today.

South Beach Tuna Salad

2 cans tuna in water, drained
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1 tsp lemon pepper (not really sure how much this was...I have a grinder and just ground some up into the mixture)
1 green onion, chopped
2 dashes Frank's Red Hot Sauce
1/2 tsp Tony Chachere's seasoning
4 cups spring mix greens
1-2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Combine all ingredients except greens and vinegar. Mix together. Split greens between two plates, divide tuna mixture in half and place on greens. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

*****

See? Super easy. I find it to be a really filling lunch, too. If I'm making it for myself I just use one can of tuna, and I don't normally eat the whole mixture in one sitting, but we were pretty hungry today, so I figured I'd just go for it. Like I said, this recipe is easily modified to use whatever you may have on hand. I really like the addition of the Frank's sauce to give it a little kick. This is one of my staple lunches when I'm doing Phase One of SBD.

Tuna Cakes with Dill Tartar Sauce

Two cans of tuna were on my list of ingredients I had to work with this week without going to the grocery store, and I found this recipe on a Weight Watchers recipe website I turn to fairly often when I'm doing WW. I had everything on hand, so it sounded like a great addition to the meal plan.

Tuna Cakes with Dill Tartar Sauce

Tuna Cakes With Dill Tartar Sauce
4 Points per Serving

Vegetable cooking spray
3/4 cup finely chopped celery
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons light process cream cheese product, softened
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
dash ground red pepper
1/3 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon dried whole dillweed
1 9-1/4-ounce can 60%-less salt tuna in water, drained
1 egg white

Dill Tartar Sauce (see recipe)

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add celery and onion; saute until tender. Remove from skillet, and place in a medium bowl. Add cream cheese and next 3 ingredients; stir well. Add breadcrumbs and next 3 ingredients; stir well. Divide mixture into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a 2-1/2-inch cake.

Coat skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add 4 cakes, and cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove cakes from skillet; set aside, and keep warm. Repeat proceudre with remaining cakes. Serve with Dill Tartar Sauce.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 cakes and 1 tablespoon sauce).

Dill Tartar Sauce
1 Point per serving

2 tablespoons reduced-calorie mayonnaise
1 tablespoon plain nonfat yogurt
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon peeled, finely chopped cucumber
1 teaspoon dried whole dillweed
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Combine all ingredients; stir well.

*****

I was really intrigued with this and thought it might go over well with the boy because he really likes tuna salad. So how did it turn out? It didn't. We ended up going with my universal dinner back-up plan of Little Ceasar's pizza. Everything mixed up fine, but the darn cakes would not stay together when I went to flip them. I don't know if they needed more breadcrumbs or egg or what, but out of the eight patties, only three held together. I had one the next day for lunch on a sandwich roll, and as a sandwich it was decent, but I don't think this is one I'll be trying again.