Tuna Noodle Hot Dish- Cooking with Lyndie

Tuna Noodle Hot Dish

My husband and I made a road trip to Minneapolis, MN, as a belated Christmas gift to each other.  While there, we visited our niece, Lyndie, who graciously agreed to take some time to blog her culinary skills with me.  The two dishes she chose were childhood favorites.  She went back a few years in the time machine and made her Mom's hot dish that she fondly remembered growing up in Minnesota.  Lyndie said her Mom made this dish when she was a piano teacher.  At one time she taught as many as 50 students in the basement of their home.  Her Mom would make the hot dish early in the day.  Then, when her Dad got home from work, he would pop it into the oven while she was finishing the lessons.

Back in the day practicing with Mom & Dad & Sarah.
Probably playing Grandma's favorite, Orange Blossom Special!

 And what goes better with a hot dish than bars?

Seven Layer Bars

 Both dishes are easy to make and the ultimate comfort foods for the sub-zero temperatures in January.  It was 8 degrees below zero one morning when we woke up, and that is without the windchill factored in.  (Note to self,  next year see Lyndie in the summer and go to Cancun in January.)
When I was younger, this Tuna Noodle dish was called a casserole.  In Minnesota they are hot dishes.  So, when I refer to hot dish, I mean the food, although the term could apply to Lyndie also.  She is a very smart, accomplished lady.  It was great fun cooking, and getting the whirlwind tour of Mall of America and other highlights in Minneapolis.

We made half of the recipe, the listed ingredients are for the whole recipe using 1 pkg. noodles.

Ingredients:

• 1-1b.  pkg. extra wide egg noodles
• 2-12 oz. cans tuna packed in water, drained
• 2-15 oz. can peas, drained
• 2 dollops sour cream
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup milk
• 1 small bag (about 11 ozs.) sour cream onion potato chips

Printable version of recipe: Tuna Noodle Hot Dish, PDF: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6nRIiDbLtgGODlfS25DVVVLV28/edit

Use Garmin to find kitchen. 

Go to nearest convenience store to get potato chips
or any other items you need or forgot.

Since Lyndie is a Music Therapist, music is a must.
"The key to a good  cooking session is a playlist.  She chose, Classic  Pop Wake-up Call,
technically for waking up in the morning, but we don't judge.

Gather the ingredients. 

Put water into sauce pan to cook the noodles.
Lyndie has a minimalistic view point when it comes to cooking, and I quote,
"You don't need to salt the water to cook the noodles.  The point of this dish is that it is easy.
You don't need to add 1600 things to make it good." 

Open the cans of tuna and peas and drain them.
The only thing Lyndie remembers about this dish is her Mom's advise,
"Never buy cheap tuna."

Spoon the peas and tuna into a bowl. 

Add 2 dollops of sour cream. 

Then add both cans of soup.

Mix together until evenly blended.

Add about 1 cup of milk, measure in  the soup can.

Once the water is boiling, add the package of dry noodles.
Prepare them according to package directions.

Drain the noodles.
Don't over cook them, they will continue to cook in the oven.

Stir the drained noodles into the soup mixture.

Choosing the right dish is important.
It has to be glass.

Pour the mixture into an ungreased dish.

Spread it evenly in the pan.

Sprinkle the first thin layer of potato chips over the top.

Cook in a preheated 350 degree oven.  Cook for 15 minutes.

Then add the second layer of potato chips.  Do not cover.
And cook for 5-10 more minutes.
Typically, a casserole or hot dish is cooked in a covered dish.
The chips will be soggy if you cover this while cooking.

The potato chips will be golden brown, crisp, and crunchy!

 

If you want more Hot Dishes, check out this book.

What do you get when you mix Tater Tots, ground beef, and cream of mushroom soup?  Tater Tot Hot

Dish, of course!  Retired Minneapolis Star Tribune Taste section editor- the delightful auntie every

discerning foodie wants to call their own- Ann Burckhardt brings back the comfy casseroles of the fifties

and sixties with modern updates for busy families, swingin' singles, and twenty-first-century potluckers

in Hot Dish Heaven.  A veritable geography of the best-of-the-best hot dishes, this handy cookbook

features seventy kitchen-tested recipes collected from casserole connoisseurs across the Midwest.

Lyndie, the early years!

Sarah feeding Lyndie.  Could it be Hot Dish baby food ?

Sisters, Sarah & Lyndie.

Lyndie, the Mullet Years!

I am visiting my sister, Lisa,
with Lyndie, Evie, Sarah, and Garrett.

Cousins, Garrett & Evie,
with Becky & Lyndie.

Visiting at Grandma's farm in Iowa.

Seven Layer Bars are to follow.
Click here for the link. http://denisebullcooks.blogspot.com/2013/01/7-layer-bars-cooking-with-lyndie.html

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie is a classic comfort food.  It is a great use of left-over broasted chicken, and the vegetables used in this dish are staples in your pantry.  The prep time is minimal, and the aroma of chicken and baked bread fills your house while the biscuit topping browns.  My chicken casserole dish was given to me by my niece to add to my chicken collection.  I used the recipe on the bottom of the dish with a couple of additions and used refrigerator biscuits to save time.  This dish will warm you up on a cold winter's day.

Refrigerator Biscuit Chicken Pot Pie!

This is the basic recipe I used with the addition of potatoes and carrots and refrigerator biscuits instead of pie crust.

This recipe would fit into a 9x9 square baking dish, if you don't have a cool chicken casserole pan.

Origin of Pot Pies

• Ancient Greeks cooked meats and poultry in open pastry shells called artocreas, but the Romans added the top crust creating the first real pot pies.

Name

• Pot pies gained their name from the English tradition of forming a freestanding pie, called a coffin, by molding the pastry dough around the bottom of a pan or pot. Once removed from the pot, a variety of meats, poultry, game and vegetables were added and topped with a pastry cover. The English also made small meat filled pastries called "pasties." These pies, formed from a round circle of dough topped with meats and spices, were folded and sealed into a pocket that served as portable lunches. Initials or names carved in the top crust served both a vents for escaping steam, and to identify the owner of the pot pie.

Colonists

• Colonists relied on pastry shells to seal and cook chicken and vegetables, primarily due to the economic factor. A chicken potpie stretched the available chicken by adding plenty of vegetables and sealing it in a pastry shell. Pastry dough was more economical to make than other forms of breads, as it required only flour, water and fat.

New England

• Chicken pot pie became a staple in the diet of New England families as it enabled women to feed their family a nutritious meal on limited resources. Some replaced the pastry shell with a covering of piping hot biscuits. Today chicken pot pie is made either with biscuits or with pastry shells, depending on the preferences of the family.
• Read more: About Chicken Pot Pie | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_4710282_chicken-pot-pie.html#ixzz2IFZtgYKa

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1/2 cup celery (about 2 medium stalks)
• 1 small onion
• 1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
• 1 to 1-1/2 cup cooked chicken
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 Tbsp. flour
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 3 to 6 oz. sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup milk or cream
• 2 potatoes (cubed and cooked)
• 10 baby carrots (sliced and cooked)
• 1 pkg. Grands Homestyle Biscuits or any refrigerator biscuits

Printable version of recipe:  Chicken Pot Pie PDF: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6nRIiDbLtgGVFZRSHYzX1dvTWc/edit

Gather the ingredients.

Dice 2 stalks celery, to make 1/2 cup.

Dice 1 small onion.

Slice button mushrooms 3 to 6 oz. according to taste or what you have on hand.

Skin and debone cooked chicken.

Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in sauce pan.  Add onions, mushrooms, and celery.

Cook until vegetables are tender.

Chop chicken into uniform pieces.

Add 1/2 Tsp. poultry seasoning.

Measure and add 1 Tbsp. flour.

Add liquid, 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup chicken broth.
Stir until thickened.

Add cooked chicken.

Add frozen peas.

Stir all together.

I added carrots and potatoes.
Cube them and cook until tender before adding to the sauce pan.

Prepare casserole dish.  Spray with non-stick vegetable cooking spray.
Then, pour filling into dish. 

Top filling with refrigerator biscuits.
I split the biscuits in half horizontally, and placed on top of the filling.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven and bake biscuits according to directions on package.
I baked these at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes until biscuits are browned.

Enjoy!