Categories
cooking family meals home-making

Tuna Noodle Casserole Recipe

During our isolation we decided to try out a few different recipes since we were having to shop our pantry and freezer. No grocery shopping for 14 days was hard! (We accidently participated in a 2 week No Spend Challenge) Especially when we had no time to prepare for it. Side note here, the only things we ran out of were milk, eggs and butter. If our isolation was over on the 12th like originally stated we would have made it for sure. I bought a jug of milk on way out the door from work when I was told to head home on Saturday. I needed to try and find someone to pick us up some more milk on Wednesday. We ran out of cereal, oatmeal, bread and a few other things. Not a big deal, this didn’t worry me because I made more bread, and I made a special order of cinnamon buns for the kids to have for breakfasts. We’ve enjoyed pancakes and homemade soups and movie night munchies of nuts and bolts, homemade popsicles, and leftover ice cream cake from 2 birthdays we just celebrated. We’ve been living extremely well in isolation, I think.

How easy is it for your household to get the necessities you need if you are unable to get out? This is something I haven’t thought of since we initially started stocking up last April (and stopped for the winter during our months of limited income). So many places have curbside pick up and online ordering and grocery delivery…Out here in our village is a completely different system. The little town next to us does grocery delivery but not for the 6 minutes out that we are. They offer curbside pick up but they will only take cash or you have to go in and pay. There is no service available to do the shopping and delivery for those who are in isolation. The only family I have here is my aunt and thank goodness she was willing to play a little ding dong ditch with our groceries LOL.

This one rated a 2 out of 5 on the Lukas Family Scale lol. The reasons are simple and would be easy enough to fix. I knew it would cause some problems at the supper table and so I made sure to make this on a night when we had leftovers for those picky eaters. I followed the recipe except I only used half the tuna it called for and I used corn because I have no peas left in the house.

One of my kids hates mushroom soup and onions, another dislikes tuna and the third doesn’t care for cheese.

  • noodles of your choice, cooked
  • 1/4 onion, chopped
  • 2 cups of cheese
  • 1 cup of peas
  • 2 cans of tuna
  • 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
  • 1 cup crushed potato chips

In a large bowl mix together onions, 1 cup cheese, peas, tuna, soup and the noodles. Transfer to a 9×13 casserole, top with chips and remaining cheese. Bake 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly.

I do recommend using a casserole that is more round than the 9×13 because this could end up being slightly on the dry side unless you add a little milk, water or sour cream. I used a can of corn and didn’t drain it so it added just that little extra liquid. It’s simple and it’s quick. The next time I make it I will sauté the onions first but other than that, I think it was a quick and easy family meal that I will definitely be making again.

Stay safe friends! And don’t forget the importance of preparing ahead!!!

-Ang

Categories
Life mental health Uncategorized

Coffee With My Besties

Photo by Alina Schelkanova on Pexels.com

Pre-Covid, the amount of times I got together with my besties were slim to none. Living an hour away from them made it difficult and I’m about 5 hours away from the other. Something I’ve managed to do more of in the last 2 months than any other time in the last 20 years is have some good “girl time” with them.

I tried Zoom with the kids and their schooling last year and I couldn’t get it to work right on y phone. I found out we could do it on the laptop and I gave it another try. The kids didn’t like it much so we gave that up pretty quick. It stayed in the back of my mind though because it seems to work so well for others. We attempted it again at Christmas and though it was short, it went surprisingly well! So I thought to myself…Why couldn’t we have a coffee date via zoom? I miss their faces and their laughs and our crazy sense of humor. I need someone to make me laugh, we all do!

I got to work (yes it took work) to get our schedules synced and it’s been so worth it! I hope this is something we can make our “new normal” because it’s so easy to forget how important those good friends are and how much we need them in our lives.

Hope everyone is having a great week so far. Stay safe friends!

-Ang

Categories
cooking home-making

(Re-blog)Blueberry Smoothie — In Dianes Kitchen

The Grandkids are here for the weekend. I asked my Granddaughter what we should make for my blog today. Well she loves my home grown blueberries. She eats them frozen all year long from our freezer. She said “How about blueberry cake?” That was a winner for me however, when she said blueberry it reminded […]

Blueberry Smoothie — In Dianes Kitchen
Categories
cooking family meals home-making Life

Happy Monday with a Recipe

Yesterday was a slow and relaxing day here in the Lukas household. We slept in a little and had a light breakfast. The kids watched tv and fought for most of the morning. I threatened to take screen privileges away and it got better for the next couple of hours. I went for a nap while the hubby made vegetable beef barley soup and whipped up some chili for chili cheese dip later this week. Later in the evening we played Pie Face since we had two cans of whipped cream I was planning to use for a cream pie but since we couldn’t buy the ingredients for it, we used the whipped cream in a much more fun way!

Our isolation was lifted for half a day. I was able to go back to work on Saturday and then was sent home after a few hours. Unfortunately they announced an outbreak in our local school. There are at least 2 cases in my son’s Kindergarten class. It saddens me to think of the poor littles at home sick with this nasty covid. My heart aches for their parents who must be sick with worry. So we’re all back in isolation. I didn’t even get to the library LOL. I thought I was out of books but then I remembered I had bought a book about my Grandpa. I started reading it yesterday and I’m looking forward to finishing it and knowing a little more about him. I’ll include a link here to the article that was written in the Dawson Creek Mirror.

The Barley-Beef Soup that we enjoyed yesterday and today came from Better Homes and Gardens Limited Edition (Breast Cancer)

  • 12 ounces beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 Tbsp cooking oil
  • 4 14-ounce cans of beef broth (or 7 cups)
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup celery (1 stalk)
  • 1 tsp dried oregano or basil, crushed
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
  • 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 cup 1/2 inch slices peeled parsnips or cubed peeled potato
  • 2/3 cup quick-cooking barley
1. In a Dutch oven brown meat in hot oil. Stir in broth, onion, celery, oregano, black pepper, garlic and bay leaf. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours.

2. Stir in frozen vegetables, undrained tomatoes, parsnip, and barley. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 15 minutes more or until meat and vegetables are tender. Discard bay leaf.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine’s Day! I’m looking forward to it warming up (finally!) over the next couple of days and soon getting outside for a bit of a walk! Yes! The walking is coming along and once the snow gets melting a little, I’ll feel comfortable enough to get out there 😀

-Ang

Categories
book review books read Uncategorized

I’ll Walk Alone (Book Review)

I have a fondness for Mary Higgins Clark. This woman just really knows how to grab your attention! This is an older one (2011) but if you haven’t read it yet, I recommend it for sure 🙂

I'll Walk Alone

Alexandra “Zan” Moreland, a gifted, beautiful interior designer on the threshold of a successful Manhattan career, is terrified to discover that somebody is not only using her credit cards and manipulating her financial accounts to bankrupt her and destroy her reputation, but may also be impersonating her in a scheme that may involve the much more brutal crimes of kidnapping and murder. Zan is already haunted by the disappearance of her own son, Matthew, kidnapped in broad daylight two years ago in Central Park—a tragedy that has left her torn between hope and despair.

Now, on what would be Matthew’s fifth birthday, photos surface that seem to show Zan kidnapping her own child, followed by a chain of events that suggests somebody—but who? Zan asks herself desperately, and why?—has stolen her identity.

Hounded by the press, under investigation by the police, attacked by both her angry ex-husband and a vindictive business rival, Zan, wracked by fear and pain and sustained only by her belief, which nobody else shares, that Matthew is still alive, sets out to discover who is behind this cruel hoax. What she does not realize is that with every step she takes toward the truth, she is putting herself— and those she loves most—in mortal danger from the person who has ingeniously plotted out her destruction.

Even Zan’s supporters, who include Alvirah Meehan, the lottery winner and amateur detective, and Father Aiden O’Brien, who thinks that Zan may have confessed to him a secret he cannot reveal, believe she may have kidnapped little Matthew. Zan herself begins to doubt her own sanity, until, in the kind of fast-paced explosive ending that is Mary Higgins Clark’s trademark, the pieces of the puzzle fall into place with an unexpected and shocking revelation.

*************************

Thankfully I have never personally experienced identity theft nor do I personally know anyone who has. I couldn’t even imagine going through it, feeling like I was going crazy, no one believing you, possibly even facing jail time…

What is something you’re reading right now?