Tuna Noodle Casserole

David loves casseroles. LOVES THEM. He keeps talking about starting a food truck that sells nothing but casserole. (Gold mine idea, btw.) In his honor, we are proud to present:

TUNA NOODLE CASSEROLE
2 10¾ oz. cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
1 cup mayonnaise
3 cans (6 oz. each) quality tuna, drained and flaked (life's too short to eat bad tuna)
1 cup frozen baby peas
 ½ cup red bell pepper, diced
12 oz. egg noodles, cooked and drained
1 cup breadcrumbs (panko is fantastic for this)
enough melted butter to moisten the breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 9x13" glass baking dish, thoroughly combine soup, milk, mayo, tuna, peas, bell pepper and noodles. Stir together breadcrumbs and butter and sprinkle them over the top of the casserole. Bake about 30 minutes, until the topping is nicely browned and the casserole is bubbling around the edges of the dish.

Serves 6.

You can transform this recipe into Chicken Noodle Casserole by substituting 2 cans of cream of chicken soup for the cream of mushroom and 20 oz. canned chicken chunks, drained and flaked, for the tuna -- or just use fresh chicken meat picked from a boiled or rotisserie chicken. Oh yeah, and David would tell you not to mess with breadcrumbs and butter; go grab a good handful of potato chips, crunch them up good and sprinkle THAT over the casserole instead.

Shamelessly stolen and tweaked from the Look and Cook Book by Tina Davis.

Potato Salad

Everyone in the fam who makes this has tweaked it to some extent, but this is the way Grandma Eriksson made hers.

POTATO SALAD
Salad:
about 6 medium-sized russet potatoes
6 boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
1 bunch green onions, trimmed and finely chopped
1 small can chopped olives, drained
1 jar pimentos, drained and chopped
2-3 medium-sized dill pickles, chopped
1-2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
about 4 oz. boiled luncheon ham, diced
salt and pepper

Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
2 T. yellow mustard
a little pickle juice to achieve dressing consistency

Boil potatoes in their skins. When they are fork-tender, remove them from the boiling water, place them on a plate and allow them to cool. Peel the potatoes, cut them into about ½" dice, and place in a large bowl. Add eggs, celery, green onions, olives, pimentos, pickles, parsley and ham; stir gently to combine. In a smaller bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients and fold the dressing gently into the salad. Salt and pepper salad to taste. Refrigerate a few hours before serving to allow flavors to blend. Check flavors and adjust seasoning if needed before serving.

Makes, I don't know, about 8 servings.

Contributor: Norma Eriksson

Buttermilk Pie

Really? Yes, really.

BUTTERMILK PIE
2 cups sugar
2 T. flour
¾ stick melted butter
4 eggs, beaten
⅔ cup buttermilk
1 t. vanilla
1 unbaked pie shell (make your own or buy pie crust, your call)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat all ingredients together and pour into pie shell. Bake for about 40 minutes or until softly firm. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and raspberries.

Serves 8.

Contributor: Karin Buck

Thai Chicken Soup

This is different from the Thai "lettuce soup" previously posted. And it looks delish.

THAI CHICKEN SOUP
1 T. vegetable oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. green curry paste (or use red curry paste)
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 15 oz. can coconut milk
1 T. fish sauce or more according to taste
2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced
4 oz. thin rice noodles
2 small skinless boneless chicken breasts, about 1 lb. total, very thinly sliced crosswise
1 T. or more fresh lime juice, to taste
1 cup fresh cilantro, lightly chopped

Heat vegetable oil in a large pot. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and curry paste and cook 1-2 minutes. Add the chicken broth, coconut milk and fish sauce and cover, bringing to a boil. Add bell pepper and noodles and simmer, uncovered, until noodles are al dente, about 3 minutes. Add chicken and simmer until just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Stir in lime juice and cilantro. Diners may add more fish sauce and lime juice if they want.

Makes 4 servings.

Contributor: Karin Buck

Barley Soup

This soup comes to us courtesy of Bobbi Jo Buck's mom. Based on the total volume of ingredients, this recipe dishes up some very generous servings.

BARLEY SOUP
1 lb. ground beef
5 cloves garlic
6 cups water
3 beef bouillon cubes
2 cups carrots, shredded
1½ cups onions, chopped
1½ cups celery, chopped
½ cup green pepper, chopped
½ cup pearl barley (not the quick-cooking kind)
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
5 bay leaves
1 can corn, drained
1 can green beans, drained
2 quarts tomatoes

In a large soup pot, brown beef along with garlic. Add rest of ingredients except corn and beans, and cook half an hour or until vegetables are tender. Add corn and beans. Cover and let the soup sit 2 hours before serving to blend flavors.

Makes 4 servings.

Contributor: Evelyn Tingey

Swiss Steak

Dan told me he NEEDED this recipe. I told him his wish was my command.
One call to Mom later...

SWISS STEAK
1 round steak, 2 to 3 pounds
seasoned flour (add some salt, pepper and garlic powder to about a half-cup of flour)
2 T. oil
2 or 3 onions, coarsely chopped
1 packet dry onion soup mix
1-2 bay leaves

Cut round steak into serving-sized pieces and dredge both sides in seasoned flour. In a large skillet with a lid, heat oil until it is hot. Add pieces of steak, browning well on both sides. After all pieces are browned, spread onions over the steak in the pan. Add water (enough to barely cover the meat), the soup mix and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a low simmer, cover and cook for 1½ to 2 hours or until meat is very tender, stirring occasionally so nothing sticks to the bottom of the skillet (and adding extra water if necessary).

[It has been my sad experience that if you keep on cooking after the meat is tender, you will end up with what Curtis calls "Swiss," since the steak sorta breaks up and disappears into the gravy. Don't let this happen to you.]

To serve, transfer the meat and onions to a serving bowl, thicken the pan juices to make gravy (a little cornstarch and water works well) and pour the gravy over the meat. Goes well with mashed potatoes and a cooked green veggie.

Variation: This recipe makes Swiss steak with brown gravy. If you want Swiss steak with red gravy, substitute some of the volume of the water with a can of plain diced tomatoes.

Probably serves 6, because most of our family recipes serve 6.

Contributor: Karin Buck

Apple and Yam Casserole

Mock not, unbeliever! For this is a Kari Sue recipe!

APPLE & YAM CASSEROLE
4 fresh yams
3 T. butter
1 T. cornstarch
½ cup brown sugar
1½ cups apple juice
1 T. lemon juice
½ t. cinnamon
½ t. allspice
2 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced in ½" thick pieces

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Boil yams until just tender, then cool, peel and cut into slices ⅓" thick. In a separate saucepan, melt butter, cornstarch and brown sugar. Add apple juice, lemon and spices and boil 2-3 minutes, then set aside. Lightly grease a 9x13" pan. Place a layer of yams, then a layer of apples, then another layer of yams, then pour apple juice mixture over top. Cover with foil and bake 1 hour. Remove foil and bake 30 more minutes, basting if necessary.

Feeds 8 people.

Contributor: Karin Buck

Pork Risotto

Most risotto involves a lot of stirring. A. Lot. As in I-think-my-arm's-about-to-fall-off a lot. Technically, this is a rice casserole. But it's tasty, so who cares.

PORK RISOTTO
2 lb. lean fresh pork shoulder, cut in 1" cubes
4 large onions, chopped
2 1 lb. cans tomatoes
2 cups celery, chopped
1 4 oz. can sliced mushrooms, undrained
1 T. sugar
2 t. salt
¼ t. pepper
1 cup uncooked rice
2 cups cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown meat in large frying pan. Remove and set aside. In the same pan, brown onions until soft. Stir in tomatoes, meat, celery, mushrooms, sugar, salt and pepper and heat to a boil. Layer about ⅓ of the meat mixture into a 12-cup baking dish. Top with half the uncooked rice and half the cheese. Repeat, making a second layer of each. Spoon remaining meat mixture over the top and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 2 hours until pork is tender and liquid is absorbed, adding water as needed to keep moist.

Variation: You can make Beef Risotto by using beef cubes instead of the pork.

Makes 8 generous servings.

Contributor: Norma Eriksson

Salmon Loaf

I'll admit, this recipe is not my fave. But hey, ♫ tra-di-TION! TRA-DI-TION! ♫ (Tevye dance)

SALMON LOAF
½ cup mayonnaise
1 10¾ oz. can cream of celery soup, undiluted
1 egg, beaten
½ cup onion, chopped
¼ cup green pepper, chopped
1 t. salt
2 cups flaked salmon, either leftover cooked salmon or canned salmon
1 cup fine breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together mayonnaise, soup, egg, onion, green pepper and salt. Fold in salmon and breadcrumbs. Turn mixture into greased loaf pan and bake 1 hour.

Serves 6 to 8, if one of them isn't me.

Contributor: Norma Eriksson

Spoiled Fruit Cake

Yes, you read that right. No, despite its reputation, it's not the fruitcake that's spoiled. (However, Grandpa Roy did refer to it, affectionately, as "rotten cake.") This is an old farm recipe from Curtis' side of the family, meant to use up various fruits that have gone past their prime. You can blend up just about anything recognized as a fruit (uh, except maybe durian) and it'll work. I test-baked it recently, and the three loaves it made disappeared tout de suite. Sweet.

SPOILED FRUIT CAKE
4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 t. salt
2 t. cinnamon
½ t. nutmeg
½ t. cloves
1 quart dark fruit, blended
4 t. baking soda
1 cup oil
1 cup nuts
1 cup raisins
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 3 loaf pans. In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour, sugar, salt and spices. Add baking soda to blended fruit (it will probably foam) and immediately pour fruit mixture into flour mixture, stirring well to combine. Add oil, mixing until oil is completely incorporated.

Add nuts, raisins and chocolate chips. (Actually, here's what the original recipe said: "Add any thing you desire: nuts, dates, raisings [sic], choc. chips, dried fruit, candied fruit cake mix, gum drops." So go nuts with the goodies, basically, as long as it all adds up to 3 cups.) Pour into prepared pans, dividing mix evenly between the three pans. Bake 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean.

Makes 3 loaves.

...gum drops?...

Contributor: Betty Lou Myers

Beef Pinwheel Rolls

Dan messaged me with a request for this recipe, which he called "Beef Cinnamon Rolls." (They do kinda resemble cinnamon rolls, so...) Mom would make these rolls for dinner every now and then when we were kids. You can mix it up a little by altering the meat in the filling or changing the kind of soup you use -- the original recipe used vegetable soup, but Mom liked Golden Mushroom better.

BEEF PINWHEEL ROLLS
1 lb. ground beef
a few tablespoons onion, finely minced
1 10.75-oz can Golden Mushroom soup, divided
1 recipe Biscuits Supreme (or be lazy and mix up a batch of Bisquick instead)

In a nonstick skillet, cook minced onion until just translucent. Add beef and cook until browned, draining excess fat from pan. Add half the can of Golden Mushroom soup (undiluted) and stir until beef mixture is heated through. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet. Prepare Biscuits Supreme dough or Bisquick. On a lightly floured surface, pat dough out into rectangle. Spread top with beef mixture and gently roll up, sealing edges well to keep dough from unrolling. Cut roll into slices about ¾" thick and place on baking sheet. Bake about 15 minutes or until rolls are browned. Heat the rest of the Golden Mushroom soup (undiluted) and ladle over tops of rolls as a sauce. Serve immediately.

Probably serves 6-8.

Contributor: Karin Buck

Creamed Potatoes and Peas

This is comfort food (carbs covered in fat) at its most basic. Mom says there are several ways to make this, but here's the one I wrote down. Also, if you want to make Julie happy there are few easier ways than to serve her this as part of a homemade meal.

I'm too lazy to eyeball amounts in this recipe, but expect to use a lot more milk than you do butter and flour. And if you're using frozen peas, don't cook them a long time; just dump them in, let them heat up, then drain.

CREAMED POTATOES AND PEAS
Red or yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" chunks if large, left whole if tiny
Peas
Butter
Flour
Milk
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the potatoes until nearly done, then add peas and cook just until peas are heated through. Drain and set aside. In a saucepan large enough to hold the potatoes and peas, cook equal amounts of butter and flour until bubbly, but not browned. To this roux, add milk, stirring mixture constantly with a whisk until it makes a fairly thick sauce. Turn drained potatoes and peas into sauce and stir well to combine, adding salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Contributor: Karin Buck