Quick and Easy Tuna Salad!!!

EDIT: Overwhelmed has this weekly Five Ingredients Friday theme going on, I had no idea she did, but she mentioned it to me and now I'm eager to play along. She asked if I wanted to share this one and I am doing so now. So I'm editing my original post to make it a Five Ingredients Friday Post.

My kids and I love Tuna Salad, but since Curt doesn't care for it, I make it a lot during the summer for our lunches.

There is no secret recipe or right/wrong way to make it. I know there's a lot of different recipes for it, but this is how I make mine.

Tuna Salad

1 can of tuna, drained
potatoes, cooked (I usually eyeball, about 1 big potato for each of us)
mayonnaise
half an onion, chopped
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced


I start by cooking my potatoes either in a pan on the stovetop, or for a quicker way, I do it in the microwave. Four potatoes for about 10 minutes or so, just keep an eye on them. Remember to poke some holes in them before.

In a serving bowl I put the tuna, then add the onions, potatoes (chopped into bite size pieces), lettuce and mayonnaise, combine everything and then add the hard boiled eggs.

This is actually a very filling meal. When I have fresh lettuce at hand, I add that in there too. Be creative, add whatever you wish :)

Arroz Doce - Portuguese Rice Pudding!!!

 Last night I had made spaghetti for dinner, and we all know how easy that is right???

Well I was in the mood for some sort of dessert and didn't know what to make at first, and then I remembered my greatgrandma making Arroz Doce (portuguese rice pudding). She would make it for dessert after dinner, or for family get togethers. It's one of the most known portuguese desserts, and if you go to any portuguese restaurant anywhere in the world, you're sure to find it on the menu.

It's delicious and easy to make.

Arroz Doce
(Portuguese Rice Pudding)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 quarts of milk (6 cups)
1 1/4 cup of uncooked white rice
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs beaten
1 cinnamon stick

Over high heat, combine cinnamon stick, sugar and milk. When bubbles form at edges, stir in rice and reduce heat to medium-low.
Cook 60 minutes, stirring often, until rice is tender. Do NOT allow to boil.

Remove from heat, remove cinnamon stick and vigorously stir in beaten eggs, a little at a time, until well incorporated. Pour into serving dish, sprinkle with ground cinnamon and serve warm.
Refrigerate the leftovers.

Now, in my family we let it cool down a bit and then eat it warm, but I have to say that the next day, it tastes just as good cold out of the refrigerator.

This makes a great dish for a get together, church potluck etc.

Let me know if you try it :)



Over high heat, combine sugar and milk

and cinnamon stick. If you don't have the cinnamon stick, don't worry, just use ground cinnamon, it works as well.

When bubbles form at edges, stir in rice and reduce heat to medium-low.

Cook 60 minutes, stirring often, until rice is tender. Do NOT allow to boil.

Remove from heat, remove cinnamon stick and vigorously stir in beaten eggs, a little at a time, until well incorporated.

Pour into serving dish, sprinkle with ground cinnamon and serve warm.

YUMMY!!!!

YUMMY DESSERTS!!!

Who doesn't love a yummy dessert??? I think they are one of my downfall's, nothing like a gorgeous cake, a pudding, or an old fashioned Jelly Roll.

That's the recipe I'm sharing today. Whenever I make these, they disappear that same day. I usually make two and Curt and the kids just devour them.

Old-Fashioned Jelly Roll

3 large eggs, 1 cup fine flour, 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 cup pastry flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons cold water, favorite preserve for filling, confectioner's sugar for dusting.

Separate eggs, beating yolks and sugar together till quite thick; add extract, then add lightly the stiffly beaten egg whites. Sift together 4 times flour, baking powder and salt; fold very lightly into egg mixture alternately with the cold water.

Turn batter into a jelly roll pan, which has been lined with well-greased paper. Bake in moderate oven (350°F) for about 10 minutes; turn out on a clean, slightly damp cloth. Remove paper; cut crisp edges from sponge, spread with favorite preserve and roll quickly while the sponge is still warm. Sift fine confectioner's sugar on top.

*I've also rolled it up and let it cool down, then unrolled it and filled with whipped cream, or pudding or something else. It's deliscious that way too :) *

BAKED MEXICAN CHICKEN!!!

For dinner tonight I made Baked Mexican Chicken. It's a recipe I've had for a long time and we all enjoy it.

If you are fan of casseroles and mexican dishes, you will definitely enjoy this one.

Baked Mexican Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 (10-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can tomatoes with green chilies
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 10 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 small jalapeno pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Step 1

Preheat oven to 325'F. Melt butter in a large skillet; add onion and pepper. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in soup, undrained tomatoes and chicken. Tear tortillas into bite-size pieces.

Step 2

Spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray. Layer tortillas, soup mixture and Monterey Jack cheese in prepared casserole.

Step 3

Mix sour cream, milk and jalapeno in a small bowl. Spread over top of casserole.

Step 4

Bake chicken until bubbly, about 40 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.


Now because I have young kids, they don't like very spicy food, so instead of the diced can of tomatoes and green chilies, I use mild salsa, and then I omit the jalapeno peppers from the sour cream and milk mixture. It still comes out really good and not spicy so the kids can enjoy :)

PALMIERS!!!

Growing up in Portugal I can remember eating TONS of these. They were by far my favorite pastry. I have spent years looking for the right recipe to make them for my family, and just recently found it through Ina Garten's cookbook. Ina Garten is, of course, The Barefoot Contessa. I LOVE watching her on the Food Network and when I saw that she had this recipe in her book I literally jumped for joy. You guys should give these a try, they are extremely easy to make and SO good.

So here goes:

ELEPHANT EARS

Palmiers

makes: about 24

1 pound puff pastry dough (2 rectangle sheets)
1 tablespoon soft butter
1/2 cup superfine sugar

Thaw the puff pastry if frozen. Roll one sheet of dough on a lightly floured work surface to 1/4-inch thick. Spread butter over surface of pastry.


Sprinkle with one half of the sugar. Roll second pastry sheet to the sam>e size as first. Place on top of first. Sprinkle remaining sugar over whole surface.


Fold as sketched bringing the ends to within 3/4 inch of each other. Repeat this folding as shown.

Slice into 1/4-inch- thick "palm leaves".

Put leaves on an ungreased baking sheet.


Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15 minutes. Turn cookies over with a spatula.


Continue baking until golden brown. Transfer palmiers on a rack to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Let me know if you try these, they are just soooooo tasty, and my kids love them. Wow do they bring back great memories :)

Click on thumbnail below to download the printable recipe card: