Tuna Casserole

My sister Dena is known for making a killer tuna casserole.  I struggle with tuna but Rikard loves it so I called her up the other day and had her walk me through it.  She suggested using bread crumbs on top but I didn’t have any so I used fried onions and it was delicious.  I love casseroles like this; you can pretty much put anything into them.  I actually really enjoyed this casserole and finally found a way I will eat tuna.

  This also would be a great freezer meal.  I am always on the lookout for good freezer meals. Whenever I go back to the States to visit I make a bunch of freezer meals for Rikard, I like to give him a good combination of meals.  I mean seriously poor guy all alone in the house without me, the least I can do is still feed him. Haha  

My dear friend Fanny says a saying that pops into my head right now… I hope I don’t mess this up. “When the cats go out, the rats come out to play”. Usually it is Fanny and I that are the rats when the guys are out of town working. 

Tuna Casserole

Ingredients

2 Cans               Tuna

2 Cans               Cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup

4 Cups               Cooked macaroni noodles

7or8                  Sliced Mushrooms

1                      Diced onion

1 Cup                Frozen Peas

1 Cup                Shredded cheese

1 Cup                French’s fried onions Or any fried onions

Directions

1.  Cook noodles al dente. The last few minutes throw the onions into the boiling water (just to soften them up, so they aren’t too strong in the casserole)

2. Mix Tuna, Cream of mushroom/Cream of chicken, Noodles, Mushrooms, the softened diced onion and the peas. Pour into a casserole dish.

3. Sprinkle fried onions on top of the mixture and top that with shredded cheese. 

4. Bake at 350°F/177°C for 45 minutes. Enjoy.

Source: Dena Bird 

Chicken Tortilla Casserole

Growing up whenever my mom would ask me what I wanted for my birthday dinner I would say tortilla casserole.  So of course once I had my own kitchen it was one of the first things I mastered.  The best part is its simple and you can put pretty much anything you want in it.  Occasionally I will mix in some salsa or cottage cheese if I have it in the fridge.  I always serve it with just a salad for a side. It is still one of my favorites and now one of Rikards. 

Whenever I leave town I make several in small portions and freeze them for Rikard to throw in the oven for dinner.  It’s perfect for freezer meals just take out and top with cheese.

I truly believe that you cannot go wrong with casseroles, maybe it’s because I am from Utah, but just trust me… They are delicious!  You can take the girl out of Utah, but you cannot take the Utah out of the girl! (That’s a good thing… I think)

Chicken Tortilla Casserole

Ingredients:

4 1 can 1 Pkg	Shredded chicken breasts Black beans (drained and Rinsed) Flour tortillas (8)
1 cup 1 can 1Tbsp 1 sm can 1 or 2tsp	Sour cream Cream of chicken soup Onion powder Green chiles (Mild) chopped Jalapenos (optional) Salt and pepper

Directions:

1.  Cook and shred chicken (Any method you want)

2.  In a separate bowl mix sour cream, cream of chicken soup, green chiles, onion powder, jalapenos, salt and pepper.

3. Cut tortillas into 2inch squares.  Start by putting a couple table spoons of the sour cream mix in bottom of casserole dish, and then do a layer of tortillas to cover, add half the chicken and cover with all the black beans. Cover black beans and chicken with 1/3 of the sour cream mix. Do another layer of tortillas, chicken, and another 1/3 of the sour cream mix, top with remaining tortillas and the rest of the sour cream mix. Top off with shredded cheese. 

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until bubbly. 

5. Garnish with sliced green onions and black olives