30 Meal Challenge (Meals 2 & 3): Tuna Noodle Casserole & Turkey Chili

For my next two meals, I have both a “tried and true” and “want to make.”  If you have no idea what I’m talking about, see post #2 in this series. First, the want to make…

Meal #2: Tuna Noodle Casserole

As I was brainstorming meals, tuna casserole came to mind. I didn’t grow up eating this dish but I kind of like the idea. Maybe because I’m always looking for ways to add more omega-3 fatty acids to our diets. I make tuna sandwiches but it would be nice to use canned tuna on a dinner meal (it works great in macaroni and cheese too).

Most traditional tuna casserole recipes call for cream of mushroom soup, something I don’t have on hand. So I attempted my own cream of mushroom sauce from scratch (can’t really call it soup).

First, I sautéed a cup of mushrooms in some oil and chopped them into smaller pieces.

Then, in a separate pan, I added 1/2 Tbsp each of butter and olive oil and 1 Tbsp flour.  As the butter started melting, I added in 1 cup of milk and kept stirring (I got the idea from this basic white sauce recipe).  I stirred until it starts thickening then I add the mushrooms, salt and garlic powder.  Once it was done I set it aside.

In a medium bowl I added two small cans of tuna, 1 cup peas, 1 cup cheddar cheese, cooked egg noodles, and the above sauce and mixed it until well combined.  I then placed this mixture on a sprayed 9X13 glass dish. I topped with a breadcrumb/parmesan cheese mixture and cooked for about 20 minutes at 400F.

This had a good flavor but was a bit dry.  So next time I will add more milk and add some onion. I also think it needs a bit more noodles.

So this one isn’t ready to go yet.

Meal #3: Turkey Chili

I had been making chili from a few different recipes until I finally came up with one that I wanted to keep making, which is posted here. I feel like chili kinda personal and should be based on a cook’s (or family’s) preferences. You can add more vegetables, different beans and protein sources (for example, my neighbor says she adds steak to hers).  Sometimes I’ll throw in a red or green bell pepper when cooking the onions. And you can increase the spice factor with red pepper flakes and hot sauce.

Now that I have a base recipe down, I want to try different cooking variations. This meal is a good candidate for all-day slow cooking.  A previous poster mentioned her family is out of the house for 10 plus hours during the week and needs options that are ready when they get home, but not over-cooked.  Using dried beans is key and this article shows you how.

But this time, I didn’t use the slow cooker at all as it was later in the day.  I started with the onions, cooking in some olive oil for 5 minutes then add the garlic for 1 minute.  Then I cooked the meat, lean ground turkey. I drained some of the fat when it was done and dumped it in a large pan.

I added the drained beans to the meat and then added all the seasonings and stirred it all together.

Last I added broth and tomato sauce, gently stirring until well combined.

Here’s the modified recipe.

 

Next Post: Meal #4: Salmon Prepared 3 Ways

Previous Post: Meal #1: Slow Cooker Chicken with White Beans

Want to see the final product of this 30-meal challenge? Check out Maryann’s book The Family Dinner Solution: How to Create a Rotation of Dinner Meals Your Family Will Love