Hey OddTodd...
I'm Nate from Massachusetts, and I enjoy the site, mainly
because I experienced a period of non-work for about 6 months, and could
definitely relate to your trials 'n tribulations...
Anyhoo... The recipe... I actually have two... Go ahead
and use whichever you want for the Tuesday page if you like them.
I have to say, I was quite suprised at the Cap'n Todd's
Cheesy Tuna Surprise recipe... I've actually been making a similar dish
for years and years now... I've actually managed to tweak it and adjust
it and come up with something I guess I'll call..
Deluxe Cheesy Mac Surprise
Ingredients:
1 Box Mac & Cheese (I use the stuff that has the foil
pouch of already made cheese sauce)
1 Box Frozen Peas (Frozen hold their taste, shape &
texture better than canned, IMHO)
1 Large Can Tuna (Or two small cans, or three lil'
bitty cans... About a cup or so of tuna, in other words)
1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs
1/2 Cup Grated Parmesean Cheese (The Green Can Stuff)
1/2 tsp each of Garlic Powder, Black Pepper, Oregano,
And Basil
- Make the Mac And Cheese according to its directions,
nuke the frozen peas (in a bowl with a lil bit of water and some plastic
wrap over it), and drain the tuna.
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- Mix Together the bread crumbs, parmesean, and spices,
and seperate the mixture into two halves
- Combine the mac & cheese, the peas, and the tuna, along
with half the bread crumb mixture.
- Pour the whole thing into a 9" x 13" baking dish, and
press it down with a spatula until it's nice and condensed (about 3/4"
thick)
- Sprinkle the rest of the bread crumb mixture on top of
the mac mixture, pressing it down afterwards with the spatula.
- Put the whole thing in the oven, and bake in the oven
for at least 20 minutes
- Turn on the oven's broiler, then let it bake under the
broiler for about 5-10 minutes (the bread crumbs burn quick, so keep an
eye on it)
- Remove from the oven when the top has a nice, golden
brown crusty color.
- Let cool for at least 10 minutes.
- Slice into pieces, and eat away!
Great with ketchup or tabasco sauce!
You could make this with the regular mac and cheese (the
one with the powdered sauce), and canned peas, but I guarantee you it
won't turn out half as good. Of course if you wanna get really Deluxe
with this you could use fresh peas, and steam a small tuna filet and
flake it up real good. My favorite thing about this recipe is that you
tell people you're serving tuna casserole, and they kinda go "Meh..."
(not to be confused with "Mep", of course). They're of course expecting
something grey and gloppy, and you hand them something that completely
throws them out of whack.
The second recipe is something I like to call:
Greasy Nate
Ingredients
8-12 Sandwich Steaks (You know, the frozen ones that
look like large red playing cards)
1 Small Onion
1-2 Cups Mashed Potatoes (Instant is fine, Cheese
flavored instant is even better!)
3-4 Slices Of American Cheese
2 Tablespoons Butter
Spices (I like Paprika, Garlic Powder and Black
Pepper, myself)
Salt
2-3 Onion Rolls
- Peel & Slice the Onion into discs, then separate the
rings.
- Carmelize The Onions (Melt the butter in a pan, add the
onions and at least three good pinches of salt, then cook on low heat
for at least 15 minutes)
- Break the sandwich steaks into 2" strips and cook in a
covered pan (it helps to cook them faster)
- Remove the pan from the heat, mix the cooked steak and
carmelized onions, and add the american cheese, stirring until
completely melted.
- Add spices to taste
- Split the Onion Rolls, and spread about 2 tablespoons
of mashed potatoes on each half (it helps if the mashed potatoes are
hot)
- Spoon On some of the Steak mixture, and make yourself a
sandwich!
I like this recipe because it's very customizable. It's
essentially a dressed up Steak And Cheese, so you could hold the onions
and add mushrooms, or green peppers, if you like. Or you could use
another type of cheese, or even Cheez Whiz. The amounts of ingredients
listed above will give you two or three sandwiches, depending on the
size of your rolls. And the mashed potato thing? Kinda weird, I know,
but it's tasty, and it keeps the onion roll from becoming a soggy mess
from all the grease from the meat.
So, I hope you like my recipes, and I'm looking forward
to the next Laid Off Toon!
Nate (a.k.a. DoughyGuy)
