Healthy tuna casserole

I was never a casserole person, in fact I have not made a casserole in 6 years. Once I left home as a teen I have pretty much stayed away from them since casseroles when I was growing up  were usually hamburger helper.

Tuna casserole was never on my list of foods to make but when groceries were running low and I was craving comfort food I decided to finally give this as try. I didn’t want something heavy  and buttery so I decided to experiment with Greek yogurt and the result was a yummy, creamy  and light tuna casserole .

This was a really nice lunch on this gloomy rainy day and a definite kid favorite. I think the quality of the tuna really helped make this dish so be sure to use high quality tuna when making your casserole.

What you need

• 1.5 c whole wheat pasta ( 3 c cooked)
•  1/2 c sour cream, I love Nancys 
• 1 C Greek yogurt – again Nancy’s is where it’s at
• 1 c cheese, I used an asiago/white cheddar blend
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 2 cans of  Tuna, I used Vital Choice sustainably caught tuna
• 1.5 c fresh peas ( or frozen)
• 1 c whole wheat panko
• salt & paprika

How to make it

• Preheat oven to 300
• cook pasta in salted water, drain and sit aside
• in a bowl mix mustard, yogurt, sour cream and cheese
• add tuna and peas and mix
• salt to taste
• mix in pasta
• spread into a 9×9 baking pan
• top with panko , paprika and sprinkle with salt
• bake for about 20 minutes
• enjoy!

Beet & potato salad with Greek yogurt dressing

I was on a picnic yesterday and my friend Kristin was listing off all the ingredients she needed to get for potato salad and before I knew it I was drooling. I love any southern comfort food but potato salad is my weakness. I have already given up hope that I will ever be able to make potato salad as good as my dads so I decided to come up with my own recipe.

I wanted to add beets to my potato salad  mostly so I could have beet juice to dye some Easter eggs but also because ( if you haven’t noticed) I have a beet obsession.  I didn’t quite think about the fact that the beets would turn the potato salad all the same shade of pink and was a bit disappointed when it looked a bit… homogeneous.

Despite the  bright pink color of this potato & beet salad  it was quite yummy and there was not single drop of  leftovers. It looks like this will be a recipe to go in my “family favorites” folder!

What you need

• 5 red potatoes
• 2 beets
• 1/5 c Greek yogurt, I used Nancy’s Greek yogurt
• 1/4 lemon juice
• 1/2 red onion
• 3 stalks of celery
• 2 tbsp dried or fresh dill
• 1 tbsp paprika
• salt to taste

How to make it

• In separate pots boil the beets and potatoes
• while those are cooking in a large bowl add yogurt, lemon juice, onion, celery, dill  and salt to taste
• drain potatoe and beet, rinse beets with water and drain again
• add potatoes to dressing and gently mix
• add beets and mix again
• sprinkle with paprika and more salt if needed
• cover and put in the fridge for an hour to cool or serve warm

Turkey chili & gruyere biscuits

It is grocery day here which means we are eating all our leftovers and cleaning out the fridge  so I thought I  would share one of my favorite winter recipes with you. This is a recipe for those  winter days when all you want to do is cuddle under a blanket.  This is a crock pot meal that you can throw together quickly so that you can get back under the covers.  The chili is healthy and packed full of nutrients and the biscuits are flaky and cheesy and delicious, perfect food to warm you up.

My family loves this recipe so much that I made it a few times a month and there are never leftovers. This is pretty much a fool-proof recipe so even if you aren’t too comfortable in the kitchen I guarantee this will come out delicious!

This recipe was featured on Winco’s website HERE

Chili Ingredients:

• 2 cups ground turkey
• 1 can of organic black beans
• 3/4 cup quinoa ( I used red quinoa)
• 1 can organic crushed tomatoes
• 2 small bulbs of garlic roasted in the oven (trust me, the mess is worth the flavor)
• 1 carrot –
• 1 onion
• spiced: cumin, chili powder, sea salt, cracked pepper  (I don’t measure these I just add until it tastes awesome)

Biscuit ingredients:

• 2 cups flour ( I used white but feel free to use a wheat/white combo) 
  
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup butter or shortening ( I used smart balance)
• 2/3 c milk
• 1/2 grated cheese-any kind will do!  I used Wasatch mountain Gruyere I had leftover from an apple Gruyere pie but  next I want to try  beehive cheese‘s  seahive cheese!

Chili directions:

• put bulbs of garlic in the oven  at 350 until tender, about 10 minutes. I wrap them in foil with oil)
• Brown the chili in a pan  with a few tablespoons of olive oil
• Add onions and cook  until the onions are translucent
• Transfer to a crock pot, juices and all and turn to high (if cooking on the stove use a small pot on med heat)
• Dice carrots and add to crock
• Add can of tomatoes, black beans, quinoa and spices to taste
• Add roasted garlic
• Let cook until carrots are tender and quinoa is done. You can tell when quinoa is done because i t will look like it sprouted.
• While your chili is cooking , whip up some biscuits!

Biscuit directions:

• Add dry ingredients and mix
• Add grated cheese
• Add butter or shortening and blend together with a pastry knife or fork until it is coarse
• Add the milk and mix until blended
• Knead on a floured surface around 15 times
• roll out with a roller and use a cookie cutter to cut shapes (circle or heart), the extra dough a i just rolled by hand and threw in the oven with it.
• you can grate extra cheese on top for an added crunch
• cook at 350 for 10 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

Quick & easy healing veggie orzo soup

It’s official, I caught the kiddos sickness and when both mama and kiddo are sick there is only one cure, sickie soup. Whenever my daughter is sick I make her this quick soup and she believes it is magic and after she eats it she seems to be all better.

This morning when we all woke up with terrible coughs and were feeling less than awesome my daughter asked if I would be making my magic healing soup. Thankfully this soup is so quick and easy to make that I was able to drag myself into the kitchen to make a pot for us.

Whenever you are sick or taking care of someone who is, this is a soup that is sure to cheer them up. Add any veggies you like, some real chicken or even noodles in place of orzo, whatever you like!

PS the soup worked, we were well enough to make rainbow bread before dinner 🙂

What you need

• 1 carrot
• 2 stalks of celery
• 1 bulb of garlic, yes the WHOLE bulb, about 8 cloves of garlic
• half of an onion
• 2 organic ‘not chick’n’ boullion  <- only 6 ingredients and all natural!
• 3/4 cup of orzo
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 4 cups of water

How to make it

• slice celery and carrot
• dice  onion and garlic
• place in a small pot with bullion and cook until bullion dissolves
• add water and let boil for 15 minutes
• add orzo and continue to boil until orzo is tender, around 10 minutes
• serve to the sickie person

**full disclosure: I was given a sample of a product used in this recipe. I was in no way obligated to use the product or review it. I only use products I love, trust  and have tested.