Tuna Noodle Casserole

I am on a quest to use up the ungodly amount of food in my pantry (actually, I have several) and freezer. I have adapted somewhat to buying/cooking for just one person old habits die hard and sometimes I buy a 3-pack of something where I really only needed a single item.

Anyway. Welcome to my childhood in the 70s.

Makes: 6-8 servings depending how hungry you are

Ingredients:
1 pkg (340 grams) of broad egg noodles
2 cans of condensed cream soup (your choice – mushroom is standard)
a few cups of frozen peas (I use a LOT)
400 grams shredded old cheddar cheese
2 cans of flaked tuna in water (not oil) OR a whatever protein you like (chicken, ham, etc.)
2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning
Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Cook the noodles until they’re nearly done. Toss in the frozen peas and stir around until the peas are thawed.
3. Drain the noodles and the peas. Dump everything into a very large bowl.
4. Open the tuna (or turkey, chicken, ham) or chop up some cooked chicken/turkey, and throw it into the bowl with the noodles.
5. Open the 2 cans of soup and throw them into the bowl too.
6. Add in about 3/4 of the shredded cheese (the rest will go on top of the casserole while it bakes).
7. Add in about 1.5 tablespoons of Italian seasoning (the rest will go on top of the casserole).
8. Add in some black pepper if you like it.
9. Mix everything together very well. Put it all into a casserole dish. I don’t butter mine, but you can if you want. Totally up to you.
10. Top with the remaining cheese and Italian seasoning.
11. Put the casserole, uncovered, into the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes – until the cheese is melted, everything is hot, and you can’t possibly wait any longer because you’re very, very hungry.
12. Leftovers are delicious reheated in the microwave.

Notes:
I recently made this with 1 can of tuna and about 3/4 cup of diced, precooked, seasoned chicken breast that I had left over. It was spectacular.

Instant Pot Mac n’ Cheez

No photo at the moment (I’ll update next time I make the recipe, though). Whenever a friend buys an Instant Pot, this is the recipe that I suggest they try first – it’s easy, has minimal ingredients, and always turns out perfectly.

Makes: approximately 6 servings, depending on what you consider a reasonable amount of pasta to eat.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound elbow macaroni
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 cups water
• 1 can evaporated milk (plus extra milk if you want it creamier)
• 2 cups (or more) shredded cheddar cheese (or marble)
• Parmesan if you like it

Directions:

1. Add macaroni, butter, mustard, hot sauce, salt, and water into the instant pot. Stir well.
2. Secure the lid on IP and make sure the valve on top is set to “pressure”. Hit the “manual” button, then set to 4 minutes. Release the valve (“quick release”) when finished.
3. Leave it on “keep warm” and stir in cheese and milk(s), alternating, until you reach the consistency you prefer – saucy, gooey, whatever!
4. Eat the mac and cheez.

Optional:

• Add black pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, or other random spices to the water in the pot before cooking.
• After cooking, add in pre-cooked bacon, or other meat (chicken, turkey, etc), for additional protein.
• After cooking, transfer to a casserole dish, top with bread crumbs and cheese, and briefly broil in the oven for a crunchy top.

Calzone.

Okay, they look terrible. The lighting was garbage, I didn’t weigh out the dough, etc., etc. I always forget how fast and easy these are to make – and also how much I enjoy eating them. Maybe someday I’ll take a good picture and swap it out for what’s up there.

Makes: 4 calzone

Ingredients:

1 pound of pizza dough (I usually just buy the frozen ball from the grocery store)
1 tablespoon of olive oil, some melted butter, or my favourite: Garlic King garlic spread
1.5 tablespoons Italian seasoning (if you like it)
Maybe some coarse salt to sprinkle?
A bunch of whatever filling(s) you want – cheese, pepperoni, vegetables, tomato sauce, pulled pork.. literally whatever you want. See below for my favourite.

For my favourite filling:
1 cup ricotta cheese, drained as much as possible
1/2 cup grated cheese (any kind you like)
1/4 cup cheap-ass parmesan cheese
A bunch of black pepper
Maybe some garlic powder?

Instructions:

1. Thaw the dough overnight in the fridge (if-needed) and then leave it on the counter for about an hour to rise a bit.
2. Preheat the oven to 425F.
3. Line baking sheet with parchment or silicone mat.
4. Divide the dough into 4 equal balls – or just guess at it. Use your hands (or a rolling pin, I guess?) to flatten them into oval shapes.
5. Add equal amount of topping to the bottom half of the oval. Make sure to leave room around the edge so you can crimp the dough together on step 7.
6. Fold the top part of the oval over so you now have a semi-circle containing the filling.
7. Pinch the edges tightly to seal them. Put the calzone onto the baking sheet.
8. Brush the top of the calzone with oil, butter, or garlic spread. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning if you’re using it. Throw on some coarse salt if you like it.
9. Using a sharp knife, cut a 2cm-ish slit into the top of each calzone.
10. Bake for 15 minutes, rotate the pan, bake for another 2-5 (depending how dark you want your calzone to be toasted).
11. Allow it to sit for a while because, holy shit, the filling is lava.
12. These reheat just fine in the microwave or air fryer, depending on what you’ve got.