KNR, p. 260 “Summer Macaroni Tuna Casserole”
We don’t grill on rainy days during the summer, but sometimes we want a hearty meal without heating up the oven. Sheila’s mom taught this recipe to her when she was learning how to cook. Easy, tasty, foolproof, and ready a few minutes after the macaroni is done. If you want to serve it absolutely cold, it takes a little longer, but we never wait that long.
Sheila laughed and pronounced it dead-body-proof as well, since she practiced the recipe on her mom and dad several times as a teen, and they lived.
"Summer Macaroni Tuna Casserole"
Author: Sheila Kerrian
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: American
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4 - 6
Ingredients
- 8 oz box small elbow macaroni uncooked – about 2 cups
- 1/2 teaspoon butter/margarine for macaroni water
- 1 teaspoon sea salt for water
- 2 5oz cans tuna
- 1 8oz can very young small sweet peas
- 1 cup mayo
- 1/2 cup crumbled, seasoned croutons
Instructions
- Fill 4 quart pot halfway with water and bring to a boil.
- Add teaspoon sea salt to water or to taste.
- Add uncooked macaroni to water, and return to boil.
- Add teaspoon margarine to water (keeps macaroni from sticking to itself).
- Boil for 8-10 minutes until ‘al dente’ (firm), stirring occasionally.
- Pour into colander, drain well, and return macaroni to the pot.
- Drain water/oil from the tuna cans and add tuna to the macaroni pot.
- Drain liquid from peas and add to the macaroni pot.
- Add mayo to the pot and lightly toss all ingredients together.
- Arrange contents of pot in serving dish and sprinkle crumbled croutons on top.
- Chill in refrigerator for up to an hour and serve.
Note: The versatility of this dish is that it can be served hot as well. The prep is exactly the same, except that once the ingredients are combined in the pot, they should be transferred to a baking dish. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until heated through.
Tastes great hot or cold, but in the summer, we always serve it cold.
Enjoy!
*Photos by Patti Phillips
KNR, p. 242 “The Kerrians’ Greek Salad”
It’s summer. It’s hot. It’s time for salads. 🙂
There are many delicious Greek dishes, but a Greek salad can be tossed together easily and in our house, it’s a tasty partner to sandwiches. Make the salad big enough, with a lot of feta cheese on top, and it could be a meal all on its own as the temperature climbs above 90 degrees.
"The Kerrians' Greek Salad"
Author: Sheila & Charlie Kerrian
Recipe type: Greek
Cuisine: Salad
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 5 oz. bag of mixed greens or baby spinach
- 2-3 medium tomatoes, diced, about 1.5 cups
- 1 medium cucumber, peeled, diced, about 1.5 cups
- 1 cup sliced black olives, drained
- 4 oz. tomato-basil (or plain) feta cheese, crumbled
- 3/4 cups olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp. oregano flakes
- 1/2 tsp. basil leaves
- 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp. sea salt
- 1/8 tsp. black pepper
- 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
Instructions
- Place greens, diced tomato, diced cucumber, sliced olives, and feta cheese into large serving bowl.
- Combine olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, basil, lemon juice, sea salt, black pepper, and garlic powder in a separate bowl and whisk until well blended.
- Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat evenly.
Serve with a frosty beverage and enjoy!
KNR, p. 239 “Cucumber Slushies”
Our delightful neighbors had a bumper crop of cucumbers and gave us a dozen of the seedless kind. We had to come up with a way to use them quickly, because as far as we knew, cucumbers don’t freeze well. We had cucumber salads, cucumber slices on our sandwiches, and then we made cucumber slushies. The slushies are super easy to make and are a healthy, refreshing summer beverage. We added watermelon for one version. Sooo good. Here’s what we came up with for the recipes. We’ve had a week of slushies and nobody has keeled over yet.
But then, nobody has ever died in the Kerrian Kitchen. Honest. 😉
Cucumber Slushie
Ingredients (Serves 1)
2 seedless cucumbers, washed, peeled, and sliced into 1/4 inch slices (about two cups)
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup water
Mint leaves for garnish
Preparation
Place water into 16 oz blender (or bigger)
Add sea salt and cucumber pieces and pulse until pureed, about 20 seconds.
Pour into glass and garnish with mint leaves.
Cucumber Watermelon Slushie
Ingredients (Serves 1)
1 seedless cucumber, washed, peeled, and sliced into 1/4 inch slices (about one cup)
1 cup seedless, cubed watermelon
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup water
1 slice cucumber for garnish
Preparation
Place water into 16 oz. blender (or bigger)
Add watermelon, cucumber, and sea salt and pulse until pureed, about 20 seconds.
Pour into glass and garnish with a cucumber slice.
Enjoy!
Click here for Blueberry Smoothie recipes, more great hot weather beverages.