Swiss-Tuna Quiche

One of the frequent spelling errors I tend to make is to hit the "k" instead of the "h" when spelling 'quiche', ending up with 'quicke'. Well, in this case, although a quiche, this recipe is also a definite quicke ..... quick and easy to throw together for a lunch or light supper. After having a leftover piece for breakfast, it's not so bad early in the morning, either! I'm kicking myself for not getting a picture of this quiche the other day when I made it, but it will be the main course for a church Circle luncheon that Oma is hostessing in June and I will definitely get pictures then and add them to this recipe (done!).

Ingredients:

• 1 frozen (9-inch) pastry/pie shell, thawed
• 2 cans (5 oz.) tuna, well drained, flaked
• 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (4 oz.)
• 1/2 cup sliced green onions (green & white parts)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup Real Mayonnaise (I like Hellman's)
• 1/2 cup milk

Directions:

1. Pierce pastry thoroughly with fork.
2. Bake in 375 degree oven 10 minutes; remove.
3. In a large bowl, toss together tuna, cheese and onions; spoon into pastry shell.
4. In a small bowl, beat together remaining ingredients.
5. Pour over cheese/tuna mixture.
6. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until golden and knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Makes 6 servings.


Cooking notes:

• The original recipe calls for one 7 oz. can of tuna. Tuna now comes in 5 oz. cans so I used two cans ..... works great.
• Shredded Swiss cheese can be hard to find - I usually buy a block and grate it myself. 
• The pie crust will likely be too brown after 40 minutes in the oven - about half way through, put strips of foil on the crust or use 'crust protectors' that you can lay on the crust to keep it from browning/burning (see pic below if you don't know what I'm talking about - I don't know the official name for these things so I guess I don't know what I'm talking about, either .... therefore a picture is worth a thousand words!)
• Recipe says 1/2 pound lean ground beef (cooked & drained) can be substituted for the tuna - I would imagine ground turkey ( & perhaps even venison) would be a good option as well.

You lay these aluminum strips on the pie crust & it keeps it from burning and no, I don't remember where I got them :-(

Shrimp Slaw

This recipe has been in my file for 10 years so I'm not sure exactly where I originally found it. I've run into it on a couple of blogs with essentially the same ingredients. It's good, really good if you like slaw and shrimp ..... who would have thought that this combination would work, but it does. While you can make shrimp slaw any time of the year, it especially makes a nice summer side dish and it's a quick "something different" potluck dish.


Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (I'm a Hellman's "snob" so I don't use anything else)
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• pepper to taste
• 4 cups of cabbage, finely chopped or shredded (you can either buy a small head of cabbage & work on building up your arm muscles by chopping it yourself or you can buy the bags of pre-shredded cabbage. You still might have to do some chopping to get the cabbage as fine as you like it)
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
• 1-1/2 tablespoons of onion, finely chopped
• 2 cups of cooked shrimp (you can use fresh, frozen & thawed, or canned - just make sure you drain & rinse it). You can use very small 'salad' shrimp or larger shrimp, your preference although I think the smaller ones work best with the other finely chopped ingredients.

Directions:

1. Combine your dressing ingredients in a bowl, mix well & set aside (mayonnaise, lemon juice, sugar & pepper).
2. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, then add your mayonnaise mixture and stir until all the ingredients are coated with the dressing and well-blended.
3. Refrigerate until well-chilled before serving.

Scalloped Tuna & Potato Casserole

Hands down, my all-time favorite casserole .... what else can I say? Mom made this when we were kids and if asked what I wanted her to make for my birthday or some other special occasion, it was always the "Tuna Mustard" casserole.  I hate to admit that I can eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner ..... and I have to admit that I have in fact done this with leftovers, which are as good, if not better than the casserole right out of the oven.

Over the years, I have begged mom for the recipe and have always gotten the old "a little bit of this, a little bit of that" .... nothing that was very helpful in trying to come up with amounts so I could make something even close to my favorite dish. And then .... I struck pure gold!! I was going through some of mom's ancient, tattered recipe files and I found an old handwritten recipe for 'Scalloped Tuna & Potato Casserole' from my Aunt Helen.  Mom says this is 'the recipe' with the exception of one ingredient that was not included - sugar.

My Granny had a cooking 'secret' and I know what it was (thanks, mom!) .... a little sugar improves most dishes & she would add a little sugar to most everything. I'm not talking a lot of sugar, but just a little to bring out the flavor. The sugar is essential to this casserole since the mustard tends to have a bit of a "bitter" edge for lack of a better word to describe it.  A tablespoon or two, maybe 3 added to the sauce takes that edge off the mustard and makes the sauce what it is ..... a small pond in a pot of golden yellow deliciousness.

The recipe posted is the original, but there are a couple differences from the original in the way we make the recipe today:

• we dice our onions, but the sliced onion preparation called for in the recipe is fine, if you prefer them that way.

• we don't use a double boiler for making the sauce, but have everything sitting by the large pan where you are making the sauce & ready to go - once you start stirring, don't stop until the sauce is nice and thick and you can take it off the burner.

• when assembling the casserole, we don't pour all of the sauce over the top, but spread a little over each layer of potato, tuna and onion. For example, if you have two layers, pour half the sauce over the 1st layer & the rest over the top.

So, without further ado, here it is ...... my very, very, very favorite casserole:

Scalloped Tuna & Potato Casserole

( a million thanks to Aunt Helen for writing this recipe down many years ago!)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups thinly sliced pared potatoes
• 1 Tablespoon butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 Tablespoons prepared mustard (French's regular mustard)
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1 (7 oz.) can tuna (or one cup flaked) - add a second can of tuna for a richer dish .... and we always do
• 1 cup thinly sliced, peeled onion
• sugar to taste ( 2 maybe 3 tablespoons)

Directions

Cook potatoes in boiling water 10 minutes and drain well.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in the top of a double boiler over direct heat.

Stir in flour, then mustard.

Add milk, salt & pepper & stir over boiling water until smooth & thickened.

Arrange potatoes, tuna, and onions in alternate layers in a greased 2 quart casserole.

Pour sauce over all and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.



Makes 6 servings.

If cooking only for two, use 1-1/4 cups milk and half each of the remaining ingredients. Use a 1 quart casserole.

To feed a crowd (or to make a casserole for me!) double the recipe & bake in a 9x13 sized dish.

Sea Island Salad

This cold pasta salad was served by a church member, Elizabeth Smith, at a luncheon many, many years ago where it was such a hit that she shared the recipe and mom was lucky enough to get a copy.

Sea Island Salad is very appealing for a couple of reasons. It is a delicious, colorful salad and since it contains shrimp, it's elevated a couple of notches above the usual run-of-the-mill cold pasta salad. This recipe is good to make a day ahead to let the flavors really blend, plus it keeps you from stressing out over cooking the day you are having company or taking this dish to a potluck or buffet. I made it for a large group of friends at the Lake one year and they all loved it, as do I ..... my very favorite 'go-to' cold salad when I want to do something special.

Sea Island Salad

(Elizabeth Smith)

Ingredients:

1 (8 oz.) box macaroni (creamettes or shells)
*1/2 cup Hellman's mayonnaise
*1/2 cup sour cream
*2/3 tsp. sugar (use more if needed - I've never had to add more)
*1/2 tsp celery salt
*black pepper if desired
1 (7 oz.) can tuna, drained well (use 2 cans if desired - I always do!)
1 (17 oz.) can of small green peas, drained
3/4 cup diced cheddar cheese (mild)
1 Tablespoon diced pimentos
8 oz. package cooked shrimp (if frozen, thaw as directed)
1/2 cup diced celery
2 Tablespoons minced green peppers

Directions:

Cook macaroni.

Stir in all ingredients except (*) items: seasonings, sour cream, mayonnaise which are to be mixed & poured over the salad last.

Mix by folding lightly.

Chill well before serving.

Keeps 2-3 days.


Helpful hint #1:
Do all of your chopping, dicing & draining ahead of time so you are ready to combine ingredients when the macaroni is cooked. I always dice everything fairly small & try to keep the sizes uniform - makes for a prettier salad.

Helpful hint #2:
In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients marked with an asterisk (*) which makes the 'sauce' and let the sauce chill in the fridge until ready to add to the salad.

Helpful hint #3:
Serve in a really beautiful or unusual dish & knock their socks off!!