Mmmm....Tuna Melt Casserole

I really enjoy casseroles. There's nothing like a meal that has everything in one dish :) It's always fun to try new casserole recipes and this one caught my eye. I found this somewhere on Google, but now I can't find my link. I think it was from food.com.

We love tuna, but just don't eat it that often. So when I saw "tuna melt" casserole, I was intrigued since I love a good tuna melt. This dish has a yummy roux for the sauce and uses Swiss cheese with tomatoes on top. The key was after cooking I decided to put it in the broiler for 10 minutes to brown the tomato/cheese topping. We'd definitely make this again!

Ingredients:

1 pkg (16 oz) pasta shells

1 bag of frozen peas

2 T butter

2 T flour

1/4 t pepp

4 cups milk

2 cups shredded Swiss

1 can tuna

2 med tomatoes sliced

Cooking Directions:

• Set oven to 400. Cook pasta in salted water for 5 min then add frozen peas and cook another 5 min until peas are tender and pasta is al dente. Drain and set aside.

• Melt butter and stir in flour, salt, pepp until blended stirring 1 min. Gradually stir in milk and increase heat to med high cooking until it thickens and boils. Boil 1 min stirring freq. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup Swiss.

• Add in cheese sauce and tuna to pasta and peas in pot, stir until well-mixed. Transfer to casserole dish arranging tomato slices on top. Sprinkle with rest of cheese.

• Cover with foil and bake 20 min until hot and bubbly.

• Remove foil and broil for 10 minutes on low until topping is nicely browned.

Enjoy!

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Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil

I love the opportunities out there for bloggers. Lately, I've been looking for various "Affiliate" relationships where you can try out a product for free and evaluate it on your blog.

I stumbled upon a blog where someone tried out coconut oil from Tropical Traditions so I looked into it. I was so excited to find out they would give me a free 32-ounce container and said I could review it on my blog. I received it right away and have been enjoying it ever since. They have an informative video on YouTube where I learned that they make this coconut oil by hand, not machine. It was interesting to see the variety of products they have developed that are available on their website. Everything from free range eggs, grass-fed beef, to soaps, lotions and hair products. Another interesting part of the website I found was the founder's testimony of how he came to know the Lord after he survived a car accident that should have killed him.

This was only the third container of coconut oil I'd ever tried, and I was very pleased. It has a very full coconut flavor and it has been fun to cook with too. I've used it to saute green beans, cook up a chicken breast, enjoyed it in my oatmeal and my favorite: coconut oil and peanut butter on toast. I also discovered a ton of great recipes on their free recipe site too.

Thank you Tropical Traditions for your generous offer and allowing me to enjoy some delicious and nutritious coconut oil!

**Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for a free product.


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New Recipe (Olive Garden's) Zuppa Toscana

My husband and I love the Olive Garden restaurant. In fact, it's our default place to go when we decide to go out for dinner. The main reason is because you can order soup, salad and breadsticks as a meal. It's so economical since it only costs $6.95; literally half of some of their regular entrees.

When fall comes, I always love to try new soup, stew and chili recipes so finding this one was fun. It's the Olive Garden's "cheater" recipe but I tweeked it a bit. It was so simple, just throw the ingredients in and let it simmer for an hour. Then we paired it with some bread and butter and had an awesome meal. I found the recipe here.

Zuppa Toscana Soup 

1 lb mild Italian sausage

3 cans chicken broth

2 cups (16 ounces) whipping cream

salt and pepper (to taste)

3-4 potatoes sliced thin

1 turnip, sliced thin

2 large carrots, chopped

1/2 onion, diced

Place all ingredients into a soup pot. Cook on medium for 1 to 1-1/2 hours until the vegetables are tender.

Serve with crackers or your favorite bread.

Enjoy!!

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