Last night we went to Mass (which was followed by Stations of the Cross, Confession and Adoration, nice) so I needed to make something that could be made ahead of time but eaten as soon as we got home. Tuna casserole fits the bill for that need perfectly.
My tuna casserole was a bit iffy when I took it out of the oven, but it had set up better when we got back home. I know now that I didn’t cook my white sauce long enough and I used a cheaper cheese, so it was a bit oily, but it still tasted nice, so it was a win.
I started with making the pasta. If you haven’t made your own, it is worth the little extra effort. I started with two cups of durum wheat, but I’ve made it before with all purpose flour. In the end I had three cups of flour and I mixed that with four eggs, a quarter cup of olive oil, and water to pull it all together. I let my dough hook do the work and kneaded it in the bowl for 5 minutes, then I let it rest for another 20. I rolled it out pretty thin then using a pizza cutter, I cut it into 2 inch by 1/2 inch pieces (give or take).
Cooking them is simple, about 5 minutes in boiling water, then strain. I do it in batches, because overloading the pot could cause them to stick. I just pull the cooked ones out with a slotted spoon.
Once those are done, put them in a grease 9 x 13 pan and move on to make the white sauce. (I didn’t mean to turn this post into a recipe, but I guess it is!)
The white sauce is pretty easy, but it takes a bit of time to get the hang of it. It is something that needs to be practiced when someone is around to watch the kids, so you can focus 100% on it. However, once you get the hang of it, you can do it in your sleep. (just don’t rush the cooking like I did!) Alton Brown has a great recipe for mac and cheese and it is what I use for my tuna casserole, then I put it two cans of tuna in and bake according to the recipe.
I also put a bit of cheese over top when I have extra.
For today, the garage wasn’t worked on so I did more of a clean out the fridge meal day. Joshua made a nice beef-veggie soup with the left over pot roast from Sunday. We ate it for lunch and dinner, adding wheat berries to the dinner portion, and served it with Ezekiel bread.
Tomorrow is burgers on the grill, I can taste them now!
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