Mom's Tuna Casserole

This is another recipe that my mom used to make us as kids.  Now that Logan is eating fish, I decided to make this, thinking that it was a perfect combination of things that he likes.  And that he would therefore actually eat it.

For quite awhile now, I've been attempting to get him to just eat what we eat for dinner.  And so far, I haven't had much luck with it.  He often ends up munching on crackers, bananas and yogurt and calling it a meal.  But I am being persistent in my efforts.

I got a great big grin when I put this on his plate.

However, within seconds, he was scraping all of the tuna casserole off of his plate and onto the table...

Without a single bit of it ever touching his lips.

I am, however, happy to report that when I served him leftovers today, although he yet again did not touch the tuna casserole, he happily munched away on the corn I served with it, which is a first.

My intention when Logan eats this one day is to add some cooked sliced mushrooms and peas into it so that in can become a one dish meal.  But I didn't want to push my luck first time around.

regular potato chips (or Premium Plus crackers)
medium egg noodles (I used whole-wheat)
2 cans of tuna
can of condensed mushroom soup
milk

1.  Take a bag of regular crushed potato chips and spread some on the bottom of a casserole dish.   Alternatively, you can use whole-wheat Premium Plus crackers (enough to cover the bottom).  I used whole-wheat Ritz crackers because that's all I had in the house that would work.

2.  Cook 3/4 bag of noodles according to package directions.

3.  Using 2 cans of tuna, alternate putting noodles and tuna in the casserole dish (I did 1/3 noodles, a can of tuna, 1/3 noodles, a can of tuna and then the rest of the noodles).

4.  Pour one can of mushroom soup and one can of milk over the casserole.

5.  Place more chips/crackers on top.

6.  Bake at 350 degrees Farenheit for one hour.

Difficulty level: easy

Barbecue Rub

We're trying to make the most of our bbq as summer comes to an end. Last night, we used the following rub on our pork (also good for chicken, and I've even used it on mahi-mahi). It keeps a long time and is great when you're in a pinch for a quick homemade dinner (or at least, part of dinner...). Watch how much of this you use if you don't like spicy food as this can be quite hot.

Basic Barbecue Rub

¼ C firmly packed brown sugar
¼ C paprika
3 tbsp. black pepper
4 tbsp. coarse salt
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. celery seeds (I leave this out because I hate celery!)
1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, using your fingers to break up any lumps of brown sugar. Store in an airtight jar away from heat or light. Will keep for at least 6 months (though I’ve had mine for a year and just used the last of it yesterday).

Taken from How to Grill by Steven Raichlen.