Tuna Casserole and Blog Happenings

If you are a fan on facebook, you may have noticed that I've been posting a few links that aren't to my blog.  Whenever I come across a link that may be useful, I try and share it with everyone.  I am not going to post it to the blog, because they links generally have nothing to do with what I have been blogging about.  If you have facebook, check out A Mommy's "Food" - scapades, like us to get updates directly in your newsfeed!  Also, as I have mentioned, I entered my 18 month old son into the 2011 Gerber Generation Photo Search.  The grand prize is a much needed scholarship!  Education is of the utmost importance in this household!  Again, if you have facebook, please vote for my son, Eoin!  You can vote once a day, EVERY DAY, until the end of July: Vote for Eoin!  Thank you for all of your continued support!

I haven't made a casserole in a while.  I want to try to get back into that habit.  It's just as easy as doing a slow-cooker recipe.  Which is great for when I have work, or if I'm babysitting at home.  That way you're still getting good, wholesome food, and not slaving away for it!  A popular misconception when you're a stay at home Mom is that you're lounging around watching TV all day!  That cooking shouldn't be a problem!  I have to laugh at that, especially considering most of my days are spent cleaning, while my little guy follows me, destroying everything I have just done!  Occassionally we will order a pizza, or get take out burgers from the diner, but I refuse to make a lot of the ready-made meals, or frozen dinners, or just making something that's processed and fried!  I am not overly strict with what my child eats, but I can tell you it's not going to be that because I am too lazy, or too tired, or what have you to cook!  I've been looking for a good tuna casserole recipe for some time now.  I honestly used to love when my Mom made it when I was a kid.  Eoin seems to like fish, so I thought I would give this a try!  Unfortunately for me, since it was pasta and didn't have red sauce, Eoin didn't want to take the chance and eat it!  He was a terrific eater as a baby!  He's now gaining the palate of a toddler, aka he refuses to eat most food!  If it's not hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken fingers, grilled cheese, or pasta and marinara, we have a problem.  It's usually when I figure he won't eat something, that he surprises me and scarfs it down!  Anyway, this recipe is from the book Betty Crocker's:  The Big Book of Slow Cooker, Casseroles & More.  It looked good and it looked light, which is what you want from a casserole in the summer!

Yields 6 Servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups uncooked fusilli pasta (6 oz)
• 1 jar (1 lb) Alfredo pasta sauce
• 1/3 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 2 cans (5 oz each) solid white albacore tuna in water, drained
• 1 box (9 oz) frozen sugar snap peas, thawed, drained
• 1 jar (4.5 oz) whole mushrooms, drained
• 1/2 cup unseasoned dry bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375.  Spray 11x7-inch (2 quart) glass baking dish or 2-quart casserole with cooking spray.  Cook and drain pasta as directed on package, using minimum cook time.
2. In large bowl, stir together Alfredo sauce, wine, Italian seasoning, lemon peel, tuna, peas, mushrooms and pasta.  Spoon into baking dish.
3. In small bowl, stir together bread crumbs and butter; sprinkle over mixture in baking dish.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown.

*Easy variation---> you can substitute 2 cups of cut-up cooked chicken for the tuna