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How To Make Delicious Mississippi Hot Tamales

September 5, 2020 by Grace Leave a Comment

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Tamales are a South Texas Christmas Tradition

I live in South Texas (San Antonio), and here tamales are a Christmas tradition. I have always thought of them as Mexican. Although they are available year round in restaurants and grocery stores, I usually dined on them at Christmas. Tamales made easy…the ones I bought were from the grocery store. 🙂

Whereas my annual Christmas dinner included store bought tamales, it’s a totally different situation for Hispanic families. For many Hispanic families, they gather together on Christmas Eve to make them. Over the years this gathering turned into a big social event called a tamalada. There’s a great article from NPR called “Tamales For Texas Are a True Texas Tradition” which I urge you to read for great background information.

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Roasted Rutabaga and Carrots

June 7, 2020 by Grace Leave a Comment

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What is a Rutabaga?

What is a rutabaga you ask? It’s a swede! What’s a swede? 🙂

In North America we call this vegetable, which is a cross between cabbage and turnips, rutabaga. My husband knows it as a swede, which is what they call it in England, where he is from.

Wikipedia has a fascinating article on rutabaga’s etymology, history, use in cuisine, and other uses which you can read here.

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Super Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole

April 25, 2020 by Grace 2 Comments

This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about how to make Super Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole!

Are you stuck at home and not sure what to cook for dinner tonight? Then pantry cooking it is! Pantry cooking is cooking meals from items that are in your pantry. I have seen some very extremely creative dishes that others are coming up with. It’s a true joy to see people doing the best with what they have on hand.

The ULTIMATE Pantry Dish – Tuna Noodle Casserole

Are you in need of a delicious dish that is super easy, quick, budget friendly, and uses items you most likely have in your pantry? Then please consider this Super Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole.

Super Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole is the ULTIMATE pantry dish. All you will need is egg noodles or other pasta, and these canned foods: tuna, cream of mushroom soup, and peas. You will also need some oil to grease your pan, and some seasonings. This is the most basic version, however, if you have some CHEESE (yum!) then by all means add that in as well!

Please note that I am including links to Amazon for some of the ingredients in this dish. The links may be a substitution for the ingredients you see pictured in my post, if I could not find the same ingredient on Amazon. The links are simply included for convenience if you choose to order on Amazon.

cream of mushroom soup, peas, cheddar cheese, tuna and Pam spray

How To Make Super Easy Tuna Casserole

tuna, cream of mushroom soup, peas, and cheese in a bowl with a stirrer

I call this Super Easy because all you need to do is grease a 9x13 oven safe dish, mix tuna, drained peas, the cream of mushroom soup, and cheese (if using) and place it in your dish! I used Pam cooking spray to grease my dish. You could also use a little vegetable or olive oil. Add cooked egg noodles, give it a stir and season with some salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Then place in an oven that has been preheated to 375F for 25 – 30 minutes.

You can use tuna packed in water, however, I think tuna in oil adds a depth of flavor that can’t be beat! If you use tuna in water, please drain the water. Otherwise when you add the tuna in oil add everything to the mix!

The Finishing Touch

If you happen to have some Panko in your pantry, I recommend you use it to put the finishing touch on this Super Easy Tuna Casserole!

All you need to do is add a little olive oil and some of your favorite seasoning to the Panko, and stir. I used Goya Sazonador Total. Then, after the casserole has been baking for 25 minutes, remove from the oven. Add the panko mixture spreading it evenly over the top, and bake for another 5 minutes.

After 25-30 minutes in the oven, remove and behold how beautifully browned the top is, and get ready to DIG IN!

This recipe is enough for around 4-6 people, and costs about $9.00 to make (with the brands that I used). So as mentioned it is budget friendly, super easy, and you’ll just have to trust me on this until you can verify for yourself…utterly creamy and delicious! It’s great to garnish with green onions if you have them!

Tuna Noodle Casserole, salad and Tabasco

I hope you will enjoy this Super Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole soon! Oh and by the way…it is the PERFECT COMFORT FOOD AS WELL.

Some Other Dishes You Many Enjoy!

Borracho Beans

Belizean Rice and Beans

Colorado Green Chili

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Take care and stay safe.

Grace

Super Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole

Grace

This Super Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole is the ULTIMATE Pantry Dish! Delicious and creamy your whole family will love it!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 35 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

Pam spray, olive or vegetable oil for greasing your baking dish
12 oz egg noodles (or your pasta of choice) cooked according to package directions
26 oz cream of mushroom soup canned OR 3 x 10.5 oz cans of cream of mushroom soup
15 oz peas canned, drained
15 oz tuna (in oil) 3 cans of 5 oz each
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese optional
salt to taste
pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
2 green onions optional for garnish

Crumb Topping – Optional

1/2 cup panko Japanese breadcrumbs
2 tbsp olive oil
seasoning your seasoning of choice!

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375F. Grease a 9x13 oven save baking dish. I used Pam olive oil spray, you can also use vegetable or olive oil.
Mix in a large bowl the following ingredients: tuna, cream of mushroom soup, drained peas, and cheese if using. Place the mixture in your 9"x 13" baking dish.
Cook the egg noodles or your pasta of choice, according to package directions. Drain and add to the mixture in the baking dish. Stir well, and add some salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.
Place in your 375F oven, and bake for 25 minutes if using crumb topping. If not using crumb topping, check if nicely browned and heated through after 25 minutes and remove, or cook for 30 minutes total.
IF ADDING THE CRUMB TOPPING, then mix together the panko, olive oil, and your choice of seasoning. Remove the dish from the oven after the 25 minutes, sprinkle the crumb topping evenly on top, then bake for an additional 5 minutes.
Add green onions for garnish (optional) and serve!

Notes

You can use tuna packed in water, however, I think tuna in oil adds a depth of flavor that can’t be beat!

One lovely thing about this dish is its versatility! The recipe is for a basic and easy tuna casserole, but feel free to add some chopped onion and celery that has been lightly sautéed to the mixture if you like! You can also substitute other cream of soups such as cream of jalapeno. Enjoy!

Keyword casserole, pantry, tuna casserole, tuna noodle casserole

Borracho Beans

April 21, 2020 by Grace Leave a Comment

This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post raves about Borracho Beans!

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot more about pantry style cooking and Borracho Beans is the first thing that came to mind. My recipe does call for some fresh vegetables (onion and cilantro) and pork hock to be thrown in, but you could omit these for a true pantry meal!

What Are Borracho Beans?

Borracho Beans aka Frijoles Borrachos aka Drunken Beans. So called because these beans are made with beer! Borracho beans are a South Texas favorite. So, you can find these at many Mexican restaurants in South Texas. By the way, they differ from charro beans, in that charro beans are the version made without beer.

In goes the Beer!

I usually make a huge batch to serve at Christmas and had really been craving these lately. Now we have a huge batch for mostly Steve, Toby, and myself…it will be fun around our household over the next few days. 🙂

What Ingredients Do You Need to Make Borracho Beans?

Pinto beans are used in this dish, and traditionally you will add a Mexican style beer. I used a 12 oz bottle of Lone Star beer which is what I had on hand (TX beer!), and added it to beans and pork hock that had been simmering for an hour. I then added diced tomatoes, and onion. Throw in a generous handful of cilantro toward the end of cooking, and you will have the most delicious beans ever! Strong and bold statement but really they are good!

Pork hock, pinto beans, onion, pinto bean seasoning, diced tomatoes, cilantro, lone star beer

Oh, and the seasoning! It’s got to be Fiesta Brand Pinto Bean Seasoning! Made here in San Antonio, it’s my go to seasoning for whenever I make the these delicious beans. This seasoning is just the best and I absolutely love it! Click here to purchase this most delicious pinto bean seasoning on Amazon.

Pinto bean seasoning, lone star beer, and pinto bean package — Pantry Ingredients Needed For Borracho Beans

Don’t they look absolutely scrumptious? I generally eat borracho beans accompanied by rice or sometimes with tortillas. You can also serve as a delicious side to any Mexican main dish, or any dish for that matter! I hope you might give this a try sometime!

Here Are Some Other Dishes You May Enjoy!

Belizean Stewed Beans

Chalupas Poblanas

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Cheers! Grace

Borracho Beans

Grace

Borracho Beans are beans made with beer! Super delicious and makes enough to feed an army, enjoy with rice or tortillas, or serve as a side to your favorite Mexican dish!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 2 hrs 10 mins

Overnight soak of beans 8 hrs

Total Time 10 hrs 20 mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Mexican, South Texas

Servings 12 people