Dinner Is Served

Everyone has got their childhood food favorites. For me that was my mother's Tuna Noodle Casserole. I love it so much I could eat it cold out of the fridge in the middle of the night. Yum. I have changed the recipe very little. The only thing I have changed is the main ingredient. I use canned (well I use it from a pouch) boneless skinless wild pink salmon. You know I'm a little nutty about things like heavy metals in my food so I changed it out for a much healthier fish... you actually can't taste the difference. I've been reluctant to post this recipe despite its near constant presence at our fall and winter table because I've been embarrassed to admit that I make something so... well... cream of mushroom soup reliant. But here it is. It is a cinch to make and is infintely flexible. I make it with just an ounce of pasta per serving so it is fairly low carb, low fat, and high in protein. You can get it ready in a few minutes the night before or in the morning and bake it when you are ready to eat. It reheats well in the microwave or eat it cold... it really is good that way! I have the recipe worked out for 4 servings but you can stir in an extra ounce or two of pasta and stretch it for a couple more servings. I stir peas into ours but you can leave them out if your family doesn't do peas. This is not rocket science... it is a casserole... and it is delicious.

Salmon Noodle Casserole

4 oz shaped pasta (elbow, rotini, etc)
7-8 oz canned salmon (no bones or skin), such as Chicken of The Sea in a 7.1 oz pouch
1 can cream of mushroom soup, Campbell's Healthy Request
1/4 c light mayo
2 T milk (2%)
1t mustard (dijon)
salt and pepper
optional:
1 c frozen peas

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
Bring a pot of water to boil.
Stir in pasta, salt the cooking water, and return to a boil following package directions. When there is 7 minutes remaining on the pasta stir in the frozen peas if using and return to a boil.
Meanwhile in a casserole dish combine salmon, soup, milk, and mustard and mash with a fork to break up the fish.
When the pasta is finished drain the pot of pasta and peas and add to the casserole dish. Stir ingredients together and season with salt and pepper. At this point you could refrigerate the casserole until ready to use or pop it right into a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

4 servings at 315 calories a piece (including peas)
add 2 ounces of pasta to filling to make 6 servings at 245 calories a piece


Cooking notes:
I use light mayo because it stays creamy even after baking and it keeps both the fat and calories down. You can use regular mayo and any type of milk for this. My calorie calculation is based on the light mayo, the 2 %, and the peas so adjust accordingly when you make your changes.
And yes you can make this the old fashioned way... with Tuna!

Mrs F Food TV... you can watch me make it!

Dinner Is Served

Tuesday night I made soup for dinner. Nothing is easier and more satisfying than a good bowl of potato soup. You can have this on the table in about 30 minutes start to finish! This is a fairly traditional and straight forward recipe that relies on both leeks and cream to add to both the depth of flavor and texture of the soup. All you dieters out there can follow my modifications but should note that in the overall scheme of the whole recipe the fat content is not mind blowing and the flavors really are enhanced by the cream.

Potato Leek Soup
1 Qt Chicken Broth (I like to use an Organic Boxed Broth) may need 1 c more (can use water)
2 lb Yukon Gold Potatoes (4 large), peeled and given a large dice
1 Bunch Leeks( 3 stalks), slice the white ends and then wash in a bowl of water to remove sand
2 T Butter
2 t Olive Oil
1/4 c Heavy Cream (optional... but worth it)
salt (about 1 t)
pepper (about 1/2 t)


Place butter and oil in the bottom of a soup pot***. Melt over medium heat. Add leeks and saute until leeks have wilted. Add potatoes and pour Chicken Broth just to tops of potatoes (about 3 cups). Bring mixture to a simmer and season with 1/2 t of salt. Simmer until potato chunks are fork tender (this will depend on size... but about 15-20 mins). Turn off heat and blend soup until smooth with an immersion blender.** Thin soup to desired consistency with remaining/additional chicken stock (approx 1 cup). Return soup to a low simmer correct seasoning with approximately 1/2 t additional salt and 1/4-1/2 t ground pepper. Stir in !/4 c heavy cream (this adds both a richness of flavor but also a smoothness to the texture of the soup)* and serve.


This makes 6 hearty servings (1.5-2 c) at 276 calories and 8 g of fat in each.


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Cooking Notes:

*You could also add in 1/4 c of milk (not skim) or a tablespoon or two of butter if you'd like to lower the fat and calories. If you are being really diet conscious you can leave out all additions and just serve it as is... still good!

**If you don't have an immersion blender fear not. You can blend this soup in a traditional blender (this will probably need to be done in two batches). Remember when blending hot liquid that you must keep the hole in the lid OPEN (cover with a dish cloth) to let the heat escape!!! Return soup to pot and continue with recipe.

***Butter has a low smoking point. If you want to saute something in butter (for the flavor) without having your butter brown on you add a little oil (canola or olive) with a higher smoking point.

It Is Officially Comfort Food Season

This is my beef stew recipe. It reminds me of the stew I grew up having, although I have no idea how my mom made her stew. This is a thick meat and potatoes style stew. Nothing like a Boeuf Bourguignon if that's what stew means to you. I have changed things bit by bit over the years adding sweet potato as a thickening agent and a touch of molasses to the beef broth. The molasses really enhances the depth of flavor without being overly noticeable. This is delicious.

Sweet Potato And Molasses Beef Stew

1 lb stew meat (I cut this into smaller 1/2" chunks)
1/3 c flour
1 t paprika
1/2 t ground thyme
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper

place the flour and spices in a large Ziploc bag and mix together. Add the meat and shake to coat thoroughly.

1.5 T oil

Heat a large skillet with 1 T oil. Add a third of the coated meat and brown on all sides. Place the browned meat in a stock pot and then repeat the process with the rest of the meat adding the remaining oil to the pan as needed. You are just searing the meat you are not trying to cook it all the way through... it is okay if parts are still uncooked!

2 c beef broth
1 T molasses
2 bay leaves

Add the beef broth to cover the meat. Stir in the molasses and add the bay leaves. Heat the mixture up to a boil and then turn down to a simmer and cover the pot. Simmer this for 1 hour.

1.5 c diced sweet potato, peeled & cut into roughly 1/4" cubes (one medium sweet potato)

After the stew has simmered for 1 hour add 1 cup of the sweet potato and reserve the remaining 1/2 c. Return the stew to a steady simmer, cover, and cook for another 1/2 hour.

1 c carrot, peeled & cut into 1/2" pieces (about 2 medium carrots)
3/4 c celery, cut into 1/2" pieces ( about 2 stalks trimmed)
1/2 c smooth fleshed potato (like yukon gold), peeled & cut into 1/2" pieces (one medium potato)

After the stew has simmered with the sweet potato for 1/2 hour stir the stew and break up (kind of mash with a fork) the softened sweet potato. Add the remaining 1/2 c sweet potato and the rest of the diced vegetables. Return the stew to a simmer and continue to simmer until all the vegetables are tender, about 1/2 hour more. Remove the bay leaves and season the stew to taste with additional salt and pepper.

Makes 4 good sized portions at 358 calories a serving.

This takes a total of 2.5 hours to make. The initial prep of the meat including browning takes about 15 minutes, then once that is simmering I cut up all my vegetables, which takes another 15 minutes. The rest of the cooking is essentially hands off... it is really not as labor intensive as it sounds! Also the flavors really intensify overnight so the leftovers are even better! On that note you could also make this ahead and reheat it when you are ready to serve.
I should note this stew gets thicker as it simmers... feel free to keep it on a low simmer until you are ready to serve. If it isn't as thick as you want just mash up the some more of the sweet potato and potato chunks... I prefer this to adding a little cornstarch (which of course you could do, but I don't like the consistency as much that way) You will find your leftovers are very thick, you can thin this out with some leftover beef broth when you are reheating it.