Pasta Tuna Nicoise: What to Make for Dinner When You Don't Feel Like Making Dinner...

Some days I'm so exhausted from trying to keep 4 kids alive that I have zero desire to make anything for dinner. Apples and popcorn anyone? After I pull myself together {relatively speaking} and take a deep breath I drag myself into the kitchen to see what's in the pantry that can literally be thrown together. This is the biggest reason why I don't keep junk food in the house, to ward off the temptation to eat boxed or frozen dinners which are full of preservatives, additives and nutrient deprived. Where I do cheat is keeping canned beans handy for when I forget to soak and prep dried beans. I also always have brown rice, lentils and whole grain pasta in my pantry. Canned light tuna and canned Alaskan salmon are great pantry staples as well and can be thrown into pasta or rice to make a complete meal in minutes when veggies are added.

Here is one of those dinners that were a big hit with the kiddos and more importantly, healthy and adult friendly as well. When I was little we had tuna casserole once or twice a month. Do you know the casserole I'm talking about? The one with canned tuna, cream of mushroom soup, frozen peas and crushed Ritz crackers sprinkled over top and then served on top of wide egg noodles. Ahhh, now that's nostalgic magic!

Well it was a big treat back in the day and a change from the beans and cornbread or fish and rice that we usually ate. I suppose frugality played a big role in us having that tuna casserole so often for dinner, as did my mom having 4 kids running around the house like wild monkeys as do I. Images of my 5 year old brother putting the car into gear while my mom was closing the garage door and driving it through the garage and into our living room are popping into my head. It's amazing she didn't just throw bird seed at us for dinner.

So, as much as I love to cook and as much as I want to enjoy a really wonderful meal, some days it's just not in the cards. Again, without resorting to Kraft Mac N' Cheese or hot dogs you can easily throw together a fuss free and healthy meal. This pasta is a healthy and adult spin on Tuna Casserole. I omitted the cream of mushroom soup or mayo that's usually in tuna casserole and opted for a light citrus dressing that is flavored with fresh herbs. Spring, pole beans replace the frozen peas since they are in season but feel free to use any veggies you have on hand, frozen works just as well.

TIME  15 MINUTES        SERVES  6-8

Ingredients:

1 lb. whole grain pasta, cooked according to package directions

2-6oz cans light tuna or Alaskan salmon, drained

1-14 oz. can Organic cannelini (white) beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 lb fresh pole beans or snap peas

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

1 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 small red onion, diced

1 small handful fresh parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped

2 teaspoons dried tarragon (goes great with tuna, yum)

1 fresh lemon, juiced

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste



Putting  Throwing it All Together:


In a large stock pot bring 2 quarts of salted water to a boil. Add pole beans and cook for just 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, drain.

In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, tarragon, salt and pepper.

In a large bowl combine tuna, white beans, pole beans, tomatoes, red bell pepper, onion, cooked pasta, chives and parsley, toss to combine. Add dressing and toss to coat.

That's it!

What's your favorite 'Fuss Free' dinner?


This post is linked to Kitchen Corners for her May Cook off: Your favorite 'Go To' recipe.

Kid Friendly Picadillo with Brown Rice

I've been wanting to make this recipe for quite some time. Ever since I saw it on one of my favorite blogs, Mr. and Mrs. P  and it reminded me of a wonderful dish a good friend of mine with Cuban roots made for us several years ago that I loved. It's funny how you can love a dish so much and never attempt to re-create it at home. What's even funnier is that this dish is one of the easiest I've ever made. Ever. I guess that for the most part, my mind  is not on meals that include beef, and this one is all about the beef. Well, maybe not entirely, but it's defiantly the main ingredient.

What makes a beef errrr, un-enthusiast like me want to make a Cuban ground beef dinner like Picadillo?
Flavor. Simplicity. Organic, All-Natural ground beef. and the fact that everyone else in my house loves beef.
No arguing, compromising, yelling or crying tonight for dinner folks!  Now that, is something isn't it?

It's absolutely amazing how much better Organic, 'Free Range' beef tastes. Tons I tell you. It must be due to the fact that the cows aren't sad and cooped up in a crowded stall spending all day standing knee deep in their own filth and fed a diet that goes against nature. Repeat after me " Cows don't naturally eat corn." Period. They eat grass. Their digestive systems weren't meant to handle diets of corn and fillers and who knows what. Now we have cows with messed up digestive systems and immune systems, hence all the ecoli contaminated beef 'outbreaks'. Their bodies aren't coping with the filth and the hormones and the antibiotics because they are eating a GMO corn/science experiment.





Organic is more expensive.
I decided that we would eat meat less often so I could afford to pay a little more for
beef, chicken, milk and eggs that were responsibly raised and better for us.


I'm sorry. I'm done. Promise.



Sooooo, in all fairness, and because their recipe is so wonderful and authentic which is what drew me to it in the first place, I thought I'd just go ahead and post the original recipe from Mr. and Mrs. P's blog and then give you my little changes or additions in ( ). Mostly, my changes were because of ingredients I already had in my pantry and my additions were to sneak more veggies in and make it more kid friendly. My kids love green beans and corn made it a bit sweeter. This was fantastic! I hope you try it too.


Recipe slightly adapted from Mr. and Mrs. P

TIME  15 MINUTES        SERVES  6
Ingredients:


1 pound of ground beef (I used Organic, lean ground beef)

1 tbsp. of vegetable oil

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 of a green pepper, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

Salt and pepper (I added 1or 2 teaspoons ground cumin, just a pinch of salt and a lotta fresh cracked pepper)

8 oz. can of tomato sauce (I used a 14 oz can diced tomatoes cuz that's all I had)

1/2 cup of white wine (I used red)

1 teaspoon of vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)

1/3 cup raisins (I used golden)

1/4 cup of green olives, sliced

1 tbsp. of sugar (I used brown sugar)

I added about a 1/3 cup of frozen sweet corn and about 1/2 cup of green beans I had in my fridge to make it kid friendly.  O.K., and yes, I apparently can't make anything without adding veggies.



Directions:


Heat the oil over medium heat in a deep skillet. Once the oil is hot, add the onions and season with salt and pepper. When the onions are soft, add the peppers and garlic. Cook, while stirring, about 2-3 minutes until the "sofrito" is tender. Next, add the ground beef. Cook until the meat is brown. Add the wine while scraping bottom of pan with a broad wooden spoon to deglaze. Add the tomato sauce and vinegar. Simmer for a few minutes, then add the corn and green beans if using, raisins, olives and sugar. Cover and simmer on low for about 10 minutes. Serve over white rice (I used Brown rice). 

This post is linked to