Sorry but I can't give proper credit to whom ever provided this recipe. So if you recognize it hold your hand up! It's one of Meredith's favourites even though she puts ketchup on it! I enjoy it too....sans ketchup. Tuna Noodle Casserole 1 large can white tuna in water drained 1/3 Lb egg noodles or linguini ( or penne or shells ) 1 Tbl olive oil 1 medium carrot diced (I omit) 1 medium onion diced 1 stalk of celery diced 1 Cup frozen peas 2 Tbl butter 2 Tbl flour 1 3/4 Cup half & half 1/3 Cup real mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip) Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste 1 Cup cubed or shredded cheddar cheese 1/2 Cup bread or cracker crumbs Cook noodles according to package directions, set aside. In a skillet heat olive oil and add diced vegetables sprinkled with salt and pepper sauting until tender. Add peas cooking another 3 minutes. Remove vegetables from skillet to a large bowl. Add tuna to vegetables. In same skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in half & half until mixture boils and thickens. Allow to cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in mayonnaise and salt and pepper to taste. Add sauce to bowl with tuna and vegetables. Stir in drained noodles and cheese. Transfer to casserole dish that has been sprayed with Pam. Top with bread crumbs and bake at 350 for 30 minutes until bubbly. NOTE: I add Parmesan cheese to the bread crumbs.

Tuna Causa Potato base: 3 large potatoes 1/3 cup olive oil ají amarillo powder salt and white pepper Boil, peel, and mash the potatoes. Add the olive oil a bit at a time, to taste and until it has a nice smooth consistency. Season with salt, pepper, and the ají amarillo to taste - you could also use chopped or pureed fresh peppers - this is a mild yellow pepper (spicier than a bell pepper, but mild). Form it into the base of your presentation on a platter and chill in the refrigerator for ½-1 hour just to firm it up a bit. This dish is generally served cold or room temperature, though IÂve seen hot causas on a few menus. Tuna layer: 3 cans of tuna (I like to use the water packed) 1 small red onion, chopped mayonnaise salt and white pepper This is pretty much just a simple tuna salad. Mash the tuna, add the onions, and enough mayonnaise just to make it moist and hold together. Season to taste. Assembly: Potato base Tuna salad 1 tomato, seeded and diced 1 avocado, peeled and sliced 1 rocoto or other medium hot pepper 2 hard boiled eggs, sliced chopped black olives chopped parsley juice of 1 lemon You should have a nice, firm mashed potato base to build on. Layer the tuna salad on top of it. Top with chopped tomato and parsley. Lay a layer of avocado slices on top of that, sprinkle or brush with the lemon juice so they maintain their color. Then the hard boiled egg slices (you can hard boil your eggs along with your potatoes above, just donÂt leave them in the water the entire time) and the pepper rings. Scatter the chopped olives over the top of it. Set it on the table, ooh and ahh a little, dig in.

We are all triangles, lol. Such an interesting observation about the internet and forums. I know eyes probably roll at most of my posts, but someone somewhere might use my non-recipe jumble way of cooking or use a hint since we cut out most sugars and salts a long time ago. Mentioning pharmacists Barb...i've done the same. I wandered into a pharmacist in the city....seems to be one on every NYC block...two young girls behind the counter, young meaning younger, probably early thirties. This was a couple years ago, but i decided to ask about a possible urinary tract infection and we ended up chatting for 20 minutes. They were so helpful and suggested a non-invasive over the counter thing to try first before seeing my primary care as i just had no time...they were a fantastic wealth of information. And made me promise to seek doctor help if it was not solved in a few days. Researching on our own is just good knowledge to have along with your primary care office. We really are responsible for our own basic needs at home and to eat as healthy as we can. It is difficult to start making changes to a dish that is so familiar but i feel pretty shitty after eating comfort food. DH made red-eye gravy, scratch biscuits, the day after a party. With leftovers after i made a de-salted roasted ham NewYears day...we ate tiny portions and it was a treat, then felt crappy all day. We just don't eat that way anymore. (it was delish going in!) Not had tuna casserole since my my mother made it when i was a kid. Loaded with wasted calories. Lots of ways to replace that with vegetables and still be creamy and filling. I've been making a no-mayo nicoise tuna salad for years. Even better, With your prep bowls...6 or 8 soup bowls near your chopping block...chop a half red onion, or white, a half red pepper, a couple ribs of celery, some green onion...pull some peas, limas, spinach, out of the freezer,,,,(i buy the bags over the rectangle cube boxes from the freezer section). Any good veg choices you like...) in the bags you can just take a handful, then wrap it back up with a rubber band. A veg in each bowl, the frozen as well and they start to thaw a bit. Some olives if you like them, capers if you have them. A half a chopped apple and some lemon zest with a 1/4 juice...grate a couple cups of cauliflower. Or chop. Even chopped mushrooms. Saute your onions and celery, grated carrot, garlic...whatever you want and place in the bottom of a casserole, add all other veg and layer with tuna and cooked rice pasta or regular egg noodles but use a 1/4 portion. Just replace all that pasta with 3/4 veg. Cauliflower is such a great pasta/rice replacement. We use non-fat greek yogurt mixed with cottage cheese, feta, or a slice of goat cheese...we like all of those and usually have them on hand. I use a bit of water but skim milk is a good choice for some moisture. And egg stirred in is good but not necessary. I always have citrus ice cubes frozen with some herbs. a couple of those on top...cover and bake...then cover off near the end of oven cooking to get a nice bubbly light brown top. Browning a bit adds flavor. Packed with lots of veggie you can eat a bit more. The rest of the fresh chopped veg and apple/lemon/herb, olives etc goes into a fresh tuna salad for the next day or two. Cucumber and avocado is super on that salad. You then have a crisper drawer of leftover veg not cut up for another few meals at the end of the week. Half a red pepper, half and onion, etc. My veggie lasagna and Shipwreck pie, both are 75% veg and keep winning cooking contests. Because they are baked casserole dishes they have all the elements of comfort food without the high starches and empty calories though very filling and comforting...and we don't feel shitty the next day.

KathyinPA, thanks for those recipes. The mustard is an intriguing ingredient - it's the yellow mustard? And the one with the crumble looks like sweet potato pie. Yum. Would be good for breakfast, no? Marilyn Sue, they are the dark orange fleshed sweet potatoes that most people call yams. I've never been able to eat the light sweet potatoes since I was a kid because the texture made me gag, literally. Too dry or something? My mom used to make candied yams from a can, but I've used the fresh so long that I don't recall every using the canned ones, but maybe in the 70's I did? Not sure how available the fresh ones were. I never was fond of sprouts, unless someone grew their own and all of us did (the hippies and me, too). The commercial ones are always too stringy - reminds me of the same reason I hate coconut in things - it's like trying to chew dental floss. But sprouts are available at my food coop, I think and you see them on pre-made sandwiches in vegan/vegetarian type places. The most I see of sunflower seeds these days is in sunflower seed butter that people use in place of peanut butter - esp for those with peanut allergies, or for kids who are prohibited from taking pnut butter to their schools. I also use them in pesto for people with nut allergies. plllog, in what part of the country do you live? Thanks everyone for being so supportive about my obsession.