What's in the Pantry?

I was supposed to go to the store this evening. We had a cold front move in and it got colder, sooner than I thought. Suddenly the store didn't seem too appealing! I checked my pantry and decided Tuna Casserole for dinner. I almost always have the ingredients on hand. Boil the macaroni from a box of Mac and Cheese. In a skillet saute` about 1/4 onion chopped, add a 4 oz can of sliced mushrooms (drained). Stir in a can of cream of mushroom soup ( you can substitute cream of celery) and powdered cheese from Mac and Cheese. Season with black pepper, garlic, dill, and a dash of red pepper. Add 3 cans, 5 oz., of tuna (drained). Drain cooked macaroni and add to skillet, mix lightly so you don't break up the tuna and macaroni. Transfer to 2 qt. casserole and top with shredded cheddar. Bake covered @ 325 for about 25-30 minutes. I'm having corn muffins and apple sauce.

Gimme a break!

I've taken a couple of days off to "smell the roses". I needed a break from the computer. Today I gave myself another break, I did the Crockpot thing, when I got up this morning I put a roast in. I always use Chuck Roast because I like the way it's so tender it just falls apart. I put chunks of onion, celery, carrots (you can substitute peeled baby carrots) and new potatoes in the Crockpot. Sometimes I leave out the new potatoes and make mashed potatoes, but I wanted easy today. I season the roast with salt, pepper, and garlic and dredge in flour. Put the roast on top of the veggies add an envelope of onion soup and enough water to cover veggies. Cook on low for 8-10 hours until tender. If needed thicken the gravy with cornstarch and water mixed. I'm having brown and serve rolls and salad.

Quick Casserole

Tonight we had a version of a Hamburger Casserole my Mom used to make. I browned a lb. of hamburger in a skillet, and drained the fat. Add one large potato peeled and sliced fairly thin and about 1/4 cup thinly sliced onion. Season with salt and pepper. Add a can of soup (cream of mushroom or cheddar cheese are good) and half a can of milk. If you use mushroom soup you can add a 4 oz. can of sliced mushrooms, drained. Transfer to a 2 quart casserole and bake, covered, at 350 for about 30 minutes until potatoes are tender. Remove cover and top with shredded cheddar and continue to bake until cheese melts. Serve with a salad and rolls.

Oops!

I got so involved in my Pizza story yesterday, that I forgot to talk about what we were having.
It was a nice day, 72 for the high and a calm southerly breeze, so we fired up the grill for Bacon Cheeseburgers. We use charcoal, not gas, so it's best if the weather is nice. I really like homemade cheeseburgers, they're so different from fast food burgers and much healthier!
I also put on some marinated boneless chicken breasts on that I had in the freezer so that we could have Fajitas today.
When I buy chicken breasts, or just about any meat, I package them either individually or by portions. For Fajitas I just marinate them in orange juice and salsa and put them in the freezer in the marinade. All I have to do today is fix the sides, Guacamole, shredded cheese, shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes. I'll also serve sour cream, tortillas, Mexican rice, and refried beans. I undercook the chicken slightly, because it cooks the rest of the way in the skillet with sliced onions and bell peppers. If you prefer beef Fajitas use the same method with Skirt Steak or Flank Steak.
I think Mexican is my overall favorite cuisine and the one I'm best at.

Pizza!

I spent the day yesterday running errands, paying bills and catching up on correspondence. For dinner we called Pizza, I love Pizza!
When I turned 12, my parents took me and my younger sister and baby brother to Europe. For my birthday mom took me and my sister to the black market shopping area of Naples, it was so exciting! We bought new outfits and had a good day shopping, just the girls. For lunch, we found a little cafe` and I got my first taste of Real Pizza. I remember it vividly Pizza con Fungi, we had to look up the word for mushrooms in our English-Italian dictionary. It was spectacular, it came out whole, with a layer of olive oil drizzled over it. It had a ton of sliced Mozzarella and Parmesan, and big thick slices of mushrooms on it. It had been cooked in a brick oven, the crust was thin and crisp. It was that summer I became enamored with food.
I always thought of that as the ultimate Pizza experience until a last year when I went to Chicago. There I experienced a Stuffed Pizza at Gino's East, I liked it so much we order another one the next night to be delivered to the hotel from Giordano's! I can't say which was better they were both great! It's almost difficult to call that a Pizza, at about 2 inches thick, it had crust on the bottom and sides, a ton of cheese, a lot of spinach, another crust, and marinara sauce on top. When you cut it the cheese tried to stay with the Pizza in the form of a long string, but it couldn't get away from me!
Which was the better Pizza? I can't compare the two, they're too different. I can say when I think of what Pizza is supposed to be, I think of the one I had in Naples. That is as it should be, Naples IS the birthplace of Pizza. On the other hand, the one in Chicago I've tried to recreate at home. I guess it's a matter of geography.