Throw Back Thursday Trial and Error Tuna Patties

Tuna patties are decidedly a food from my childhood. I remember my petite, blond mama with her perfectly hot-rolled hair, sliding plates of golden-brown tuna patties, topped with melted American singles, across the bright orange Formica counter top in our dark-wood accent kitchen.

Since this IS a "throw back" post, here's a picture of the lady who was slinging those tuna patties off the griddle. "Hi, Mom!"

And...so that I am (hopefully) forgiven for posting pictures of retro-mom on the Internet, here's one of me, circa 1990, in the very same kitchen that I just described. Unfortunately the lighting in this picture doesn't really do the counter tops justice. They were pretty vibrant!

Why yes, I totally am canning pumpkin bread for Christmas gifts while wearing puffy satin pajamas in this picture. Isn't that what all of the cool kids were doing on a Friday night in the early 90's? #nerdalert

Every once in a while, I still get a hankering for a tuna patty. Golden and crisp on the outside, all savory perfection on the inside. Hold the cheese, please.

The great thing about tuna patties is that you can really make them your own and they're hard to mess up as long as you follow this basic formula: "bind" the tuna together, add extra ingredients for flavor and texture, season the patties, form the patties, fry the patties. Here's a closer look:

To bind (make everything stick together)

The main ingredient here is obviously tuna. Although, this formula works with other proteins as well. Think salmon, crab, even turkey. After you've got the protein ready, you'll need something to bind the meat together. Eggs and crumbs are a popular choice. I remember that my mom used cracker crumbs. Ritz, I think. Since we are trying to eat a little "lighter" these days, I opted for egg whites and panko bread crumbs this time. Traditional bread crumbs work great too.  

Add extra ingredients

The next step in the formula is to add in any extra ingredients for flavor and texture. This time, I added in diced sweet onion and sliced scallion (green onion) as my "extras". If you're going for a healthy boost, you could add grated veggies, such carrots or zucchini. Another flavorful option is grated or shredded cheese. Just a tip for the "extras": you don't want to add tons of extras because you still want those patties to hold together when you cook them up.

Seasoning

My husband requested Old Bay seasoning for this recipe. We're big fans of the Old Bay. In fact, our oldest child is border-line obsessed with this spice blend from the Chesapeake Bay area.  It turned out it to be a great choice. I also poured in a few "glugs" (a tablespoon or two) of hot sauce. You may want to try flavors like lemon and dill or Parmesan and basil or rosemary. Like I said, make them your own!

Forming the patties

The biggest challenge with this step is that you want patties that will maintain their patty "status" throughout the cooking process. As in, you don't want them to fall apart. Avoid making the patties too big or too thin so that they are easy to manage with your spatula once in the frying pan.

Frying

Make sure to "grease" your skillet so that the patties don't stick. A couple of tablespoons of olive oil should be sufficient. Heat the prepared skillet over medium-high heat so that you get a nice sear on the patties before you are ready to flip them. Browning enhances the flavor and appearance of the tuna patty and makes it less likely to stick to the skillet.

And now for the photographic play-by-play....

Here is the "cast of characters" for my recipe: 2 cans of tuna, eggs, panko, onion, green onion, Old Bay, and hot sauce.

First things first, open up your cans of tuna and drain off the liquid. I just use a can opener to cut around the lid, then press that lid down, squeezing out the liquid, while tilting the can over the sink so that the excess liquid pours out of the can and down the drain. Add the tuna to a medium-size mixing bowl with diced onion, green onion, hot sauce, and Old Bay seasoning.  

                               

Stir it up, then add the panko and egg white to the bowl.

While I chose to add just the whites, you may want to add the whole egg. If so, use 1 or 2 whole eggs instead of 3 egg whites. The key is that you want the mixture to bind together. So, if the mixture is too dry, add another egg or a little extra water or milk. If it's too wet, you can always add more crumbs (Panko, cracker, bread, whatever you choose). Just keep in mind that the main ingredient should probably be TUNA in a tuna patty, so don't get all carried away trying to create the perfect balance; adding more liquid then more crumbs, then more liquid, then more crumbs...

You see how this could get out of hand, right? It's like trying to cut your doll's (or sibling's) hair when you were a kid. You make one snip, but something just doesn't look right. So you try to "even it out". Which requires another snip. Then another. And another...

Those of you who have been in this situation know exactly where this path to attempted perfection leads, right? 

Bald Barbie.

Or bald sister.

Either way, the moral of the story is that acting conservatively is probably a good plan when it comes to both the novice snipping of hair AND the addition of ingredients to tuna patties.

*As I re-read this segment, I realize that I may just be the first person in all of blogging to compare making tuna patties to novice hair-cutting. Talk about a "meandering mind"! Stay tuned for my next random thought....

Once you've got the ingredients all mixed up, it should look something like this. The mixture should stick together.

Like tuna Velcro.

Ewww. Never mind. Can you imagine? Tuna Velcro?! Gross.

   

Now that everything is mixed up, it's time to make the patties.

I prefer not to form tuna patties with my hands. This is probably not shocking news. Nobody wants stinky tuna hands. 

And so, I scooped the tuna mixture out with a 1/3 cup-sized measuring cup. As it turns out, by using the 1/3 cup, this recipe made 5 perfectly uniform tuna patties. Uniform is good, since you want them all to cook to the same desired golden brown, at the same temperature, within the same time frame.

When forming tuna patties, I spread a piece of waxed paper (parchment works fine too) on my kitchen counter, then drop each scoop onto the paper.

Then, I place another piece of waxed paper on top and press down with either my hand, or the bottom of a cup, or a spatula, or a rolling pin, or...well, you can use just about anything within reach that will flatten those puppies down.

I use this method with any hand-formed meat patty and for rolling out pie crusts too. The idea is that when you finish, you'll have clean hands and BONUS: no counter top clean up!

Now that I've shared my earth-shattering meat patty "life hack", check out these perfect tuna patties.

BOOM!

Okay, now into the skillet. Just pre-heat your skillet to medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon or two of olive oil and fry up those tuna patties until they are nice and crisply golden-browned on the outside and cooked through. I think that I cooked mine for about 4 minutes per side.

You want to make sure that you let them cook for long enough on the first side especially, so that the surface of the patty holds together and starts to "crisp up" before you attempt to flip it, otherwise you may risk the patty falling apart.

These turned out awesome! My family demolished the entire skillet. My husband and I ate them with a little bit of homemade, "lightened-up" remoulade sauce that I had left over from another recipe. Our oldest daughter ate one sandwich-style between a "skinny bagel", grilled with a slice of cheese (a little throw-back to those tuna patties of my childhood). Next time I'm going to have to double the recipe...

Now follow the formula and make your own version!

Or you can copy my recipe. I'm cool with that.

Enjoy!

Krista's Kitchen Tuna Patties

2- 5 oz. cans of chunk light tuna in water, drained
3 egg whites
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup onion, diced
2-3 green onions, sliced
1-2 tablespoons hot sauce, such as Frank's Red Hot
1-2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix the first 7 ingredients thoroughly in a bowl. Heat olive oil in a skillet at medium-high. Measure out patties by packing the tuna mixture into a 1/3 cup measuring cup. Turn onto waxed or parchment paper. Cover with another sheet of waxed paper and press the mixture down into patties that are 1/2"-3/4" thickness. Transfer patties to the skillet and fry for 4 minutes per side until nicely crisp and golden brown.

According to my smart phone calorie counting app (MyNetDiary) 1 patty= 94 calories

Butternut-Spinach Noodle Soup

 

I ate this soup all by myself. I remember that I went in to work on the day that I prepared this and that leftovers were on the menu for dinner. Except, I didn't want to eat leftovers. It was a cold, rainy day. After staring out of a classroom window at the blustery, gray day and hopping in and out of the car while picking up the kiddos after school, all I wanted was a great bowl of soup. And so, while my daughters did their homework, I threw together this simple soup and then heated leftovers for them while it simmered.

 

This soup was just what I needed. It warmed my bones and filled my belly and made me happy. I know that I just wrote I ate it "all by myself", but that's not completely true. While staring up at me from his leftovers, the baby got a case of soup envy. And so I shared. It made him happy too.

 

I used prepared chicken broth in this recipe, but you could easily make a vegetarian version by using vegetable broth.

 

Here's how it came together:

 

First, I heated a little olive oil in the bottom of my small stock pot. Then I added in the equivalent of 1/2 of a large onion, diced. I just used onion that was already chopped from my refrigerator, which consisted of part red onion and part yellow onion. Any type of onion is fine. My personal favorite from the onion family is the shallot, but I didn't have any of those laying around on this particular night. Saute the onion until tender.

 

While the onion  sautéed, I chopped the bottom part of the butternut squash that was leftover from the Squash Fries that recently wrote about. I ended up with a heaping cupful of squash.

Add the squash to the onion and saute for a few minutes longer. Salt and pepper the mixture. Then pour in 6 cups of broth and bring it to a boil. I forgot to take a picture of this step. I got a little caught up with helping with homework, heating leftovers for the kids, and toddler wrangling....

Once the broth boils, add 2 cups of wide egg noodles. Cook according to package directions, or until the noodles are tender.

While the noodles cook in the soup mixture, chop 1/2 of an 8 oz. bag of fresh baby spinach. Or if your household is like mine; chop the spinach, assist your 4th grader with long division, listen to the nightly 1st grade reading assignment, unload the dishwasher, pull your toddler off of the top of the dining room table (from where he is firing his entire toy train/tractor collection over the edge and then leaning dangerously close to toppling over while watching them crash below because, well, his head is big and heavy and the rest of his body may just follow his head onto the hardwood floor below and land on the whole train/tractor pile-up that has accumulated there) then attempt to engage him in an activity closer to the kitchen, but not quite underfoot, perhaps a session of banging on pots with a wooden spoon, then carry a basket of laundry up from the dryer (which may or may not get folded within the next 24 hours) and set the coffeemaker for the next morning. #multitasking

Add the spinach to the soup, then cook and stir for a couple of minutes until it wilts.

And that's it! Super quick and easy soup. Packed with flavor, low in fat, high in dietary fiber, and there are even some vitamins and anti-oxidants in there.

Butternut-Spinach Noodle Soup

Olive oil
1/2 of a large onion, diced
1 cup butternut squash, chopped
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups wide egg noodles
4-6 oz. fresh baby spinach, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat enough olive oil in the bottom of a large saucepan or small stockpot to keep onion from sticking. Add diced onion and saute until tender. Add squash and saute for 3-5 minutes. Pour in broth, then bring to a boil. Add noodles and cook according to package directions or until tender. Stir in spinach and cook until just wilted. Remove from heat. Salt and pepper to taste.

*Add a teaspoon of Italian seasoning or a pinch of red pepper flakes with the broth if a more complex flavor is desired.

This concludes my series of posts on butternut squash. Probably. There is 1 more butternut squash staring at me from my kitchen counter as I type these words, but I think that I'm going to "give it a rest" on my posts about squash for a bit. Tune in next time for my review of ways to seed a pomegranate. Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Super Easy (and Delicious) Stromboli

My family loves this easy stromboli recipe! I got the recipe from my mom and I've been baking this up for parties and get togethers for the last 4 or 5 years. It's always a hit! This would be a perfect addition to your Super Bowl party line-up, but if you don't want to wait that long to give it a try, then cut the recipe in half and make it for an easy dinner tonight!

To begin, thaw 4 frozen loaves of bread. Let rise until doubled. You may notice from the picture below that mine actually more than doubled this time. I set them out before leaving the house for some errands and I returned later than I expected. If you make the same mistake, no worries...the strombolis still turned out great!

Roll each loaf into a 12 X 15 inch rectangle, then sprinkle with shredded mozzarella. Next arrange ham, pepperoni, salami, and provolone slices over the top. Finally, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and spices. I used garlic powder and Italian seasoning on a couple of the loaves. Then, I ran out of Italian seasoning, so I used oregano, basil, and rosemary. I also sprinkled red pepper flakes on one of the loaves for a spicy version. The beauty of the 'boli is that you can stuff and season them however you like... they're relatively hard to mess up.

Once filled, roll up jelly roll style, tucking in the ends and sealing the seams. Place seam side down on 2 greased cookie sheets, then brush with some beaten egg and sprinkle again with a little Parmesan cheese.

Then bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. I must not have sealed one of them very well because it exploded into the other one during baking. Or maybe this 'boli really like the other one. Kinda cute, really. They were spooning. : )

Let them cool for 5 minutes before slicing.

Then serve em' up! We like to dip ours in pizza sauce. Kids and adults alike love this recipe. My daughters call it pizza bread.

Easy Stromboli

4 loaves frozen white bread, thawed
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 lb. shaved deli ham
1/2 lb. salami, sliced
1/2 lb. pepperoni, sliced (I like to use sandwich pepperoni)
1/2 lb. provolone, slice thin
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Spices: garlic powder, Italian blend spice, oregano, basil, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes. (Use what you like in the amounts that you like)
1-2 eggs, beaten
additional Parmesan to sprinkle on top

Let bread dough rise until doubled. Roll each into 12 X 15 inch rectangles. Sprinkle 1/2 cup mozzarella down the center of the bread. Arrange 1/4 of all of the meats and provolone over the mozzarella. Sprinkle with Parmesan and spices. Roll up, jelly roll style, tucking ends and sealing seams. Repeat with remaining loaves of bread and ingredients. Place seam side down on 2 greased baking sheets. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with additional Parmesan. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, until golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Serve with pizza sauce.

Note: I made one loaf spicy this time, adding sliced banana peppers and crushed red pepper to the ingredients. This was the favorite of my husband and I!


One more note: I know that the meal plan has been noticeably absent during the holiday season. I should be back in "the swing of things" by next week. Look for my first meal plan of 2011 then. In the meantime, if you're looking for inspiration, click on "Meal Planning" in my right side bar to view over 90 meal plans from week's past.

Emily's Italian Beef

A couple of months ago I tried a recipe for Italian Beef for sandwiches in my crockpot. I was disappointed when the finished product fell short of my expectations. I'd hoped for more flavor and it didn't yield quite enough au jus. Then, last month, I put out the request for favorite slow cooker recipes. Emily, a friend of Krista's Kitchen on Facebook posted this simple recipe for Italian Beef. Emily wrote about her recipe, "I have several recipes that I like but my all time favorite came from my mother-in-law! The best part...(it's) also good for beef veggie soup, beef burritos/ tacos, enchilada filling, beef and noodles, hash and pot pies!!" She adds that when making this for Mexican dishes she adds taco seasoning and that "it freezes awesome!" I'm all for freezing extra food for future meals. Good call, Emily and thank you for a wonderful recipe!

This recipe possessed the flavor that my first attempt at Italian Beef was lacking AND yielded plenty of broth to soak into the sandwich bread. This is what I was looking for! Best of all, you only need three ingredients!

To begin, you need a roast. Emily recommended a rolled or tip roast, however I had this chuck roast in my freezer, so I went with that. To season the beef you need two packets of Zesty Italian seasoning and some Spicy V8 (I used the store brand).



Mix the seasoning packets and 12 oz. of the juice in your crock pot. Add the roast, turn to coat, then cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours. I ended up turning mine over once or twice during the cooking time to give each side a turn at soaking in "the juice". I know that this was totally not necessary, but the recipe is just so easy that I had to put my hands on it a couple of times to feel like I actually did something. Oh, I know that you lose 20 minutes of cooking time each time you lift the lid of your slow cooker, but mine cooks so fast that I wasn't concerned about losing heat.



At the end of the 8 hours, the roast was "fall apart tender". I moved it to a casserole dish, pulled it apart, and then transferred the beef back into the broth remaining in the crock pot. It went for a nice swim while I readied the sandwich fixings.



I decided that I wanted some sweet onions and peppers for our sammies so I sauteed them in a little olive oil on the stovetop until tender.



This was just about perfect...



But then I thought, "This would be even better with some provolone melted over the top." So I slapped on the cheese, fired up the broiler, and slid the sandwich underneath. Then I broke the #1 rule in broiling...



I walked from the oven. YUM...charred Italian Beef Sandwiches. I've said it before and I'll say it again: NEVER walk away from the oven when using the broiler. It's bad news, Man. But the good news? I was able to salvage this sandwich. I just got rid of the burned half of the hoagie roll and ate it open faced. Whew! Close one. I would have hated to waste such a delicious sandwich.

Here is Emily's recipe courtesy of her mother-in-law : )

Italian Beef

3-4# rolled or tip roast
2 pkgs Zesty Italian "Good Seasonings" or generic
1 can (12 oz) V8 or zesty V8

Crockpot on low for 8 hrs. Pull apart. Reheat in crockpot (if prepared ahead), serve with rolls and all the fixings.

Friday Night Fish and Chips

Usually every Friday is pizza night in this house. That's not me, it's my husband. He loves his Friday night pizza. And to be honest, pizza never raises a complaint from the kiddos, so I love Friday night pizza too. But last night, my husband was away for dinner. The girls and I like fish and since my husband is not a big fan, I took the opportunity to make this fish and chips recipe. Coming from a small town (actually a farm outside of a small town) I loved a good fish fry. There was no shortage since every club and organization from the Lions Club to 4-Her's had a fish fry fundraiser. Now that is some good fish. And all you can eat too. I'm also partial to the deep-fried, beer-battered variety that is often featured on the menu at an Irish pub. Neither of those fit with the resolutions that I keep mentioning, so I consider this recipe an excellent substitute. It's baked, not fried which cuts some major fat and calories.

Begin by making the "chips". Cut 2 large baking potatoes into 8 wedges each. Then, toss with 1/4 cup of light Italian salad dressing.


Arrange them on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray. I line mine with foil before I spray for an easier clean up. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.


Now brush light Miracle Whip onto one side of the fish. Dip that side into Shake n Bake extra crispy coating mix.


Now turn the fish over and brush the other side with Miracle Whip and coat with Shake n Bake.


Remove the potato wedges from the oven. Turn them over, arrange them around the outside of the baking sheet and sprinkle with 1/4 cup of Shake n Bake. Place the fish in the center of the sheet. Return to the oven and bake for 15 minutes until the fish flakes and the potatoes are tender.


Ideally, I would have made coleslaw to go along with the fish and chips. I was dying to hack a head of cabbage to bits with my food processor. However, I'm the only one in my house that eats coleslaw, so I opted for a veggie that the family would eat instead. These saucey Sweet Glazed Carrots from Kraft Food and Family were yummy. The recipe calls for 8 medium carrots, sliced diagonally. I had a bag of crinkle cut carrots taking up room in my freezer, so I used those.


In a bowl, mix the glaze ingredients: Catalina dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce.


When the carrots are cooked and tender, add the glaze and cook an additional 5 minutes until the sugar is melted and the carrots are evenly coated.


Before serving, toss the carrots with 2 tablespoons of parsley. And here it is. Baked fish and chips and sweet glazed carrots.


Kraft Food and Family Easy Baked Fish and Chips

Prep Time: 10 min.
Total Time:45 min
Makes:4 servings

What You Need
2 large baking potatoes (1-1/2 lb.), each cut into 8 wedges
1/4 cup KRAFT Light Zesty Italian Dressing
1 pkt. SHAKE 'N BAKE Extra Crispy Seasoned Coating Mix, divided
4 white fish fillets (1 lb.)
1/4 cup MIRACLE WHIP Light Dressing

Make It
HEAT oven to 400°F. Toss potatoes with Italian dressing, then 1/4 cup coating mix. Spread onto large baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 20 min.

MEANWHILE, spread remaining coating mix onto large plate. Spread fish with 2 Tbsp. MIRACLE WHIP; press, dressing-sides down, into coating mix. Repeat to coat other sides of fish. Place on rack of broiler pan.

ADD fish to oven with potatoes. Bake 15 min. or until fish flakes easily with fork and potatoes are tender.

Nutrition Information: Calories 280 Total fat 4.5 g Saturated fat 0.5 g Cholesterol 70 mg Sodium 1000 mg Carbohydrate 33 g Dietary fiber 3 g Sugars 4 g Protein 25 g Vitamin A 4 %DV Vitamin C 15 %DV Calcium 8 %DV Iron 15 %DV

WW Points: 1/4 lb fish + 4 potato wedges= 5 pts.

Sweet Glazed Carrots from Kraft Food and Family (can you tell that I'm a fan?)

Prep Time:10 min Total Time:20 min
Makes:8 servings, 1/2 cup each

What You Need
8 medium carrots, peeled, diagonally sliced
1/2 cup KRAFT CATALINA Dressing
2 Tbsp. brown sugar 2 Tbsp.
Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley Make It

COOK carrots in boiling water in large saucepan 5 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain. Return to saucepan.
ADD dressing, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce; mix lightly. Cook on low heat 5 minutes, stirring frequently until carrots are evenly glazed. STIR in parsley.

Nutrition Information :Calories 80 Total fat 3 g Saturated fat 0 g Cholesterol 0 mg Sodium 290 mg Carbohydrate 13 g Dietary fiber 2 g Sugars 10 g Protein 1 g Vitamin A 130 %DV Vitamin C 4 %DV Calcium 2 %DV Iron 4 %DV

WW pts per serving: 1

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

It pays to read the recipe. When I made the meal plan, I glanced over this recipe and put the ingredients on the grocery list. Then I didn't think about it again until today. I had thawed a whole chicken breast ahead of time and put it in the oven to roast this afternoon. I just assumed that the recipe called for cooked chicken. Not so. The chicken was supposed to bake with the casserole. Not a big deal, I just baked the casserole for a little less time. However, it would have been easier to make it all at once and the casserole was a little on the dry side as a result of my error. Otherwise, this recipe was so simple, I could have almost accomplished it with my eyes closed and one hand tied behind my back (stupid human tricks) and it only took about 10 minutes of prep.

I used half of the roasted chicken breast for this recipe. The rest will be used for another meal. Maybe a light lunchtime chicken salad.


Cut it into bite sized pieces and place in the bottom of a 9 X 13 baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 cup of mozzarella and 1 teaspoon of dried basil. I only used half a teaspoon, because I purchased diced tomatoes that already contained basil.


In a mixing bowl, combine 1 can of diced tomatoes, 1 package of chicken stuffing, 1/2 cup of water, and two cloves of garlic. A couple of shortcuts: you can purchase diced tomatoes with garlic, which is what I did or you can use the garlic from a jar to save yourself the time in mincing the garlic (and washing your chopper or cutting board). Stir just until the stuffing is moistened.


Now, spread the stuffing mix evenly over the chicken and cheese. Put it into a 400 degree oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.


There you have it. Dinner in under an hour, and you only worked for 10 minutes. Can't beat that. I served mine with a vegetable medley prepared in the microwave.


Bruschetta Chicken Bake from Kraft Food and Family

Prep Time:10 min
Total Time:40 min
Makes:6 servings, 1 cup each

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1/2 cup water 2 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

HEAT oven to 400°F. Mix tomatoes, stuffing mix, water and garlic just until stuffing mix is moistened.

LAYER chicken, basil, cheese and stuffing in 3-qt. or 13x9-inch baking dish.

BAKE 30 min. or until chicken is cooked through

Nutrition Infomation: Calories 300 Total fat 7 g Saturated fat 2.5 g Cholesterol 75 mg Sodium 710 mg Carbohydrate 26 g Dietary fiber 2 g Sugars 4 g Protein 33 g Vitamin A 10 %DV Vitamin C 15 %DV Calcium 30 %DV Iron 15 %DV

WW points: just 6!

Spaghetti Tonight!

Spaghetti tonight. Just follow along with my "Well it was supposed to be spaghetti" post. The only difference is that tonight I actually had a jar of spaghetti sauce and real spaghetti.



Yep. Everyone loves spaghetti.