Catz in the Kitchen

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Weekly Menu 11/1-11/7

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I can't believe Halloween is over and November is officially here. Josh and I were talking on our drive home last night about how once November hits, it's like full on Holiday Season. (Which makes me very happy)

Josh and I are already talking about what we would like to do with the kids this holiday season. This is my favorite time of year. The food, the colors, the decorations, and the music and movies; and I can't forget the holiday commercials. Remember the Campbell's Soup commercial with the little boy who is the snowman and once he eats his soup he melts into the boy? I love that commercial.

How was everyone's Halloween? Ours was good. The kids had a lot of fun and got a decent amount of candy. Grace was a cowgirl and little Eden got Gracie's old chicken costume.

Super Cute, huh?!
The Chili I was supposed to make yesterday, never happened. Sunday Mornings, are just not great mornings for me to try and prepare something. I'm always running late, haha!
Monday
Soy Chicken, steamed broccoli, and 
roasted parmesean potatoes
Tuesday
Leftover Lasagna and garlic bread
Wednesday
Crockpot Three Beans and Sausage with rice
Thursday
Stuffed Shells and rolls
Friday
Crockpot Harvest Ham with Sweet Potatoes
and carrots
Saturday
Josh and I will be at a wedding in the evening so we'll be eating there :)
Sunday
Sausage Ziti ( Josh would make this meal) Not sure what sides...
Back-up Meals

Chicken with Mustard Gravy and corn
Chili and Homemade Cornbread
Crockpot Stuffed Peppers
Snacks/Treats

and
Maybe a Berry Pie
Are you trying anything new this week?

Weekly Menu 10/25-10/31

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What a week this has been! My kids were sick all last week, which really sucked because the weather was beautiful and I had some fun things planned for them, but because of Grace having a fever and Eden having a cold, I didn't want to expose them to other people. Josh had an incredibly busy week. He helped teach two classes last week to a group of Personal bankers, as well as drove down to Salem to see his new branch that he'll be taking over November 1st. Josh, wouldn't you know it, ended up getting sick too. He started coming down with it on Friday and I told him,"if you could of picked a day to get sick, Friday would be be the best day" so he could spend the weekend recovering. Which he did.

Friday, I went to a Pampered Chef party. I'm so glad I went because it was actually something I was interested in. I've been to other parties like this before, but they never really interested me because it wasn't something I really wanted to buy or had the money to buy...but I found several things I really liked and I ended up making a wishlist of things that hopefully down the road I can pick up as I get more money or save for it. But, I had such a good time revisiting with friends from high school. Some of these ladies I hadn't seen since graduation and some of the others on rare occasions. So it was a treat for me, plus I was childless for the night...which was a bit weird since my kids are pretty much joined at my hip :) I did end up buying one thing. I bought a Chipotle Rub, (mainly because Josh loves the flavor) and I can't wait to use it. The dinner we made as a group used the rub and as soon as the rub comes in the mail, I'm going to make the dinner for Josh. It is delicious, it was called a Chipotle Chili Cornbread Bake and it was beyond yummy!

We didn't get around to carving pumpkins this weekend. The rain and Josh's cold stopped that from happening, so I think we'll try and do it this week sometime. Speaking of rain, oh my gosh, it's a constant downpour here, which I'm loving. It's a nice change and it makes warmer meals seem that much better because it's colder outside. And it was really cold, rainy, and windy last night so I made the Pumpkin Nutella Bread and it is so tasty! Josh was against trying it, but once it had cooled and I cut myself a slice and offered him a bite, and that was it, he had to have his own slice plus one for his lunch today :) Silly Boys :)

Monday
It's a new Rachael Ray recipe from last week and it looks delish!
If you click the link you can watch the video :)
Tuesday
Roast with carrots and red potatoes and gravy with a side of green beans
Wednesday
Lasagna with a Cesar salad and garlic bread
Thursday
(Awana Night)
Chicken nuggets and mac and cheese
Friday
Stuffed Peppers and not sure what else
Saturday
Maybe Josh will make his Sausage Ziti??
Sunday
(Halloween night)
We have a yearly tradition of Chili and Cornbread before we go trick or treating
I have a new cornbread recipe I'm itching to try :)
In case our Saturday meal doesn't work out with Josh cooking, I have a back up meal of my Soy Chicken I can make. 
Snacks/treats
I felt really bad for Gracie because I had promised her she could help me with the Pumpkin Nutella Bread, but because she's been sick and coughing all over the place, I told her I would find her a special treat to help me make.
Chocolate Chip Cookies...
Pumpkin Muffins of a kind, maybe...
Not sure...
if we carve pumpkins, I'll be roasting some seeds as well :)
Do you have any special Halloween food traditions you do with your family?

Weekly Menu 10/18-10/24

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At this moment, that wonderful husband of mine, has run out to our grocery store across the street to pick up the remaining grocery list items we failed to pick up yesterday. We would all be out together, except that my dear Eden is sick. She has a cold, I want to keep her inside as much as possible so she has a chance to get better. Colds and Flu's seem to be epic right now. Everyone is sick. Even my mom, who is never ever sick has the flu. :( I'm praying hard, that I don't get sick. I've been invited to a Pampered Chef party at the end of the week and I'm looking forward to having some time away. I rarely accept invites out because I would almost always prefer to be with my family. But I think it's important for me to get away once and awhile.

Last week, I made some delicious muffins ( be on the lookout for that blog soon) and my mom's amazing and incredible Apple Crisp that I will never ever post, per her request. It's a family secret :) And the day I was going to make the day before I was planning on making the Pumpkin Bread, I had an allergic reaction to purple onions. So, I won't ever be buying, cooking, or eating those again. Are there any foods your allergic to?

I have yet to make the roast...which is fine since I have 3 roasts camping out in my freezer right now, ( I love the bogo sales at Albertson's) and instead of the Roast, Josh made incredible breakfast burritos last night. We were going to take pics so he could blog it, but we lost track of time and he got to involved in the cooking before we remembered.

Monday
Since Eden is sick...I think we're just doing a frozen Pizza...
Josh was going to find something at the store
Tuesday
Sloppy Joe's with homemade sauce and ground turkey breast
and maybe some Kettle Chips on the side
Wednesday
Lasagna and a side salad
(new recipe)
Thursday
Awana Night
Pig's in a Blanket...something easy and filling and the kids love it.
Friday
Josh is on his own tonight since I'll be at the Pampered Chef party
unless I get sick :(
Saturday
Chicken Stew with herb and cheese biscuits
Sunday
Slow-Cooker Stuffed Peppers with ground turkey breast
(new recipe)
I also have two back up meals in case I have to switch it up.
As far as snacks and treats go, I haven't given it to much thought. I know I'll make the Pumpkin Bread recipe...but other than that, not sure.
Snacks/treats
& 
Chocolate Chip Cookies
What's on your menu this week?

Weekly Menu 10/11-10/17

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How was everyone's weekend? Ours was good and still going actually :) I love the excuse for any little holiday because most likely, the bank will be closed which means more time with the husband :) always a good think in my book :)

This weekend, we needed to run a few errands. Nothing big...but I really wanted to go to Ross to look around. For those of you who know my husband, he despises Ross. He hates how busy it is, and how there are never enough associates to ring you up, and he hates the disorder of the store. But, I was able to convince him to take me there on Saturday and make him stay while I looked around without any complaining. He did it. He was so perfect while we were there, I was so proud of him. We picked up a Pizza Stone set for $7.99 which got really good reviews online and I got a shirt and one of those draped cardigans I'm always wearing and I found Josh a new barbecue scrub brush.

Sunday, we said goodbye to our sister,  Jessica, ( my SIL) because she left for Ecola Bible School in Cannon Beach. It was sad, but I know she is going to have a fantastic time.

For dinner last night, we did finally make our very 1st homemade pizza. We'll Josh made it and I helped. I cut olives and made sure there was plenty of cornmeal for the dough. It was an experience and maybe I can get Josh to blog it because it is a really funny story. It turned out...thicker than we would of liked. We don't like thick pizza at all, but it was still really really good. The Pizza Stone is amazing!

Well, here's the menu for this week.


Monday
Sheppard's Pie, (with ground turkey breast)  with a side salad 
and I'm finally going to make my Apple Crisp
Tuesday
Maple Roasted Chicken with veggies and potatoes
Wednesday
Tater tot Casserole with green beans (maybe) and some bread
Thursday
I think Josh is planning on making his Vodka Penne with a salad, 
and maybe some French bread
Friday
Crockpot Broccoli Cheese Soup with maybe a side sandwich
Saturday
Breakfast Burritos with sausage, hot sauce, eggs, and potatoes :)
Sunday
Roast with potatoes and veggies
Saturday is up in the air a bit...I'm hoping that maybe Josh and I can go on a date. There's a movie I really want to see and we have some gift certificates for dinner out options. But this is the plan for the week. I'm really excited about a few of these recipes because 2 of them are new, (Maple Roasted Chicken & Broccoli Cheese Soup) so I am looking forward to how those may turn out. 
Special Treats

I'm making Apple Crisp tonight 
and as previously planned for the last few weeks
I want to make that Nutella Pumpkin bread. 
I would also like to make some muffins this week- I'm thinking blueberry muffins with an orange glaze :)

A whole other enchilada- Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

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Mexican food is a favorite in this house, can't you tell? I'm perfectly happy eating Josh's amazing Chicken Tacos almost weekly or making my mom's amazing Cheese Enchiladas monthly. But sometimes, variety is the spice of life or even sometimes a little bit of change can do ya good. I like change, as long as it turns out good :)

I came across Tiffany's Bean and Cheese Enchiladas recipe a few months ago and thought it looked yummy and easy and a nice change, so I went ahead and copied the recipe down. Have you checked out Tiffany's blog Eat at Home? It's awesome. I love her and her meals :)

What I like about this recipe is you kind of make your own refried bean mix. You get to get down and dirty with the beans and mash them till they burst :) Sounds like fun doesn't it?! This recipe is super easy. It's really only a matter of mixing things together in a skillet.

I know that picture probably looks a bit insane, but I promise it is tasty stuff. Once I mashed the beans, I put them in a skillet along with some tomato sauce and taco seasoning. And then I just got it all warm and bubbly.  I let that simmer for awhile, while I heated up the tortillas in warm/hot oil...careful...don't burn your pretty little fingers with that oil...it get's mighty hot!

I poured some of the bean mixture into the middle of the tortilla with some shredded cheese and tucked the ends in and rolled.

( I have to admit, I made a mistake and wrote the recipe down a bit wrong. I poured in some of the enchilada red sauce into my sauce pan and I didn't reserve any of the red sauce to pour over the enchiladas. They came out super tasty anyways)

I baked it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Which gave me time to clean up my mess of dishes and let Josh cook our side of rice. These enchiladas tasted awesome. The kids loved them. Eden loved them so much she was wearing some of it on her clothes, haha!
This recipe is a Mexican favorite now and I can't wait to make them again...so I can make it right, lol. Please forgive this last picture...it's not the best, but we were starving, hahaha! Btw- might I mention these Enchiladas are very very filling, so do yourself a favor and start with one :)
2 cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 TB butter
15 oz can Tomato Sauce
¼ cup taco seasoning
10 oz can enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cheese
8 flour tortillas
Mash the beans in a bowl. Melt the butter in the skillet. Stir in the beans, half the can of tomato sauce and the taco seasoning. Cook until hot and bubbly.
Mix the enchilada sauce with the remaining tomato sauce. Pour in a bit of a 9x13 baking dish and spread it around.
Spread some beans on a tortilla and top with shredded cheese. Roll up and place in the pan. Fill the rest of the tortillas. Pour the sauce over the top and more cheese to the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

How we do milk...(Tips of the Trade Series)

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When I was a little girl, (very little) we lived in N.E. Portland and I remember getting into the car with my mom and driving into town to go get our milk...in a drive through. Yes, back in the good ole' days there was a dairy drive-through called Senn's Dairy (I'm sorry, that's the closest link I could find for it) where you could purchase the best milk in beautiful glass bottles. I remember the people being friendly and always smiling to me...but most of all, I remember the way the chocolate milk tasted. It was out of this world crazy good, and I have never found a place that has carried milk that can replicate it's flavor. 
We all have heard the dangers of plastic. It's filling landfills, it can cause cancer, and now...from what my mom and Dr. Oz and other news stations have said, that certain plastics being released into the air are causing the hormones in our children to speed up and for whatever reason...puberty tends to be hitting earlier than usual. ( you hear that mom's better start putting leash's on your kids, lol)
So I've begun following in my mom's footsteps and we have begun by buying glass bottles to store our milk in. I would rather be proactive (maybe even foolish) and safe than not do anything at all. 
The Benefits of using glass vs plastic are, it's BPA free of course, the milk stays colder, and the milk just tastes better to us. 
The only con I can come up with for using bottles is they can be hard to find and when you do, they are spendy. The deposit for one is usually $1.50.
If your interested in looking for some glass bottles to store your milk in for your home, I would suggest going through some of your grocery stores. Our local Thriftway carries them and you can also find them sometimes at Antique Shows. For us locally in Oregon, my mom has found another place in Happy Valley that sells them. But you could always go straight to the internet and order from some sweet Amish folk. This Website, sells the bottles and my mom says she has dealt with these people before and they are very friendly. 
And if anything else, the glass bottles full of milk look beautiful in a fridge :)

Tasty Travels

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As much as I could remember, I did take pictures of most of the amazing meals we ate on our week long vacation. I really wish my pictures did the food justice...because they tasted and looked incredibly amazing.

We got to Sunriver around 6:15pm and after we unloaded everything and got the kids bed set up, we met my parents out a Mexican Restaurant in the Sunriver Village. I didn't take any pictures of that meal because we were tired from traveling, ( Eden never napped in the car) we were starving, and we were busy trying to get Eden to stop dunking the chips in her water glass....oh kids!

The next night, we went out to The Trout House with my parents. We had a window seat and the view was quite lovely. However...Eden's behavior was majorly stressing me out. She was tired and in no mood for a restaurant.

we split the Grilled Caprese Bruschetta with my parents...
IT was to die for!
I had the Seared Wild Salmon that was brushed with an Apricot Garlic glazed with caramelized pears
fried capers and garlic mashed potatoes and it was INCREDIBLE!
The next day (Tuesday) we spent most of the day driving to the Crater Lake Lodge for lunch and of course the views. I highly reccomend going there to eat. All four of us adults got the Northwest Fish and Chips which was made with Alaskan Halibut that was fried in a beer batter with fries and their homemade Slaw...and it was all incredibly amazing and filling.
Yes, I had to sneak a bite before I remember to take the picture...I just couldn't help myself it was so good!
Our kids got Hot Dogs and these were amazing gourmet hotdogs...super yummy. Grace ate all of hers and Eden ate half...which she ate later on as leftovers one afternoon.
That night Josh and I brought the girls back to the cabin and he made Tomato Soup (out of a can) and grilled cheese sandwiches while I got the girls bathed.
It was super delicious!
Even Eden loved the soup...especially after she discovered she could dunk her grilled cheese in it :)
Wednesday, we did some more bike riding and came back home to the cabin where Josh made us all Turkey sandwiches out of croissants.
It was yummy and it hit the spot. My man makes some amazing sandwiches!
After lunch drove into Bend to our favorite area; The Old Mill District. We walked along the stores and gazed at the Deschutes River and it was a great time and that night we ate at Blondie's Pizza. And it was sooo good! I ate so many slices...of course we had been biking miles and miles every day so I was earning that pizza. I wish I had taken a picture of it...but we ate it to fast, lol! The Pizza is very similar to Abby's Pizza and Pietros Pizza. Very very Yummy.
Thursday night, we made my parents dinner. Our favorite Summer Grilling meal, Grilled Chicken Bruschetta. We would of gladly taken pictures, but the grill stopped working so we had to transfer everything inside and then the smoke detectors were going off which made Eden scared...so no pictures. But we did have a salad and Bread with it...I have a pic of the Bread.
Lovely shape to it eh?
Friday was our date night. Josh and I were incredibly blessed and fortunate by our extremely generous friends who offered to buy us a nice meal out...which we did :) Thanks guys...you know who you are :) Josh and I had originally planned to eat at the South Bend Bistro in Sunriver...but after spending a few hours in the Old Mill District of Bend a few days earlier we decided to eat there. It was a toss up between Anthony's  and Greg's Grill. But after Josh walked into Greg's Grill and was met by the manager who took an interest in Josh, asking him about his family and work and then proceeded to give him a tour of the restaurant along with facts like when the best time to eat it, Josh was sold...and impressed and after I peeked inside...I agreed that is where we should eat. So we did...And...I might even dare to say that it outdoes Portland City Grill. It's completely different...still fancy and nice, but more casual. I can't wait to go back and eat there again :)
We started by having a Field Green Salad with dried cranberries, toasted hazelnuts, and poached pears with a raspberry honey dressing...AMAZING!
Josh had the Oregon Beef Filet Mignon ( those sweet potatoes in the back of the plate-
OUT OF THIS WORLD!!! They tasted like candy...no joke)
I had the Grilled Salmon which had this amazing Chili and honey glaze...I could always eat Salmon like that!!!
One of the best Salmon's I've ever ate...easily!
And for dessert, we each had the 4 berry cobbler (Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries) with a poppyseed pound cake and vanilla bean ice cream to top it off. I ate in record time ( it was sooooo incredible) that Josh was laughing at me at how fast I inhaled it.
We had some seriously good food...but not only that, we were seated in such a fantastic area. We had a table at a window on the far right side of the restaurant with a beautiful view of the Deschutes River and we were so lucky we got to see the sunset and all the ducks and geese flying around. It was perfect...completely perfect!
Our view after dinner when we were walking along the waterfront :)
So romantic!
Saturday was our last full day in Sunriver :( and we met up with my parents again at Blondie's Pizza for pizza and beer. Again, the food was fantastic...and the mood of everyone at the table was reminiscent and somber. None of us, were ready to leave. :(
Sunday morning, after we got the cabin cleaned up and back in shape we went to the Trout House again, but this time for breakfast. As a rule, we normally go there once for dinner and once for breakfast. All week long in Sunriver, the weather was always sunny and in the mid-80's. But Sunday morning we woke up to clouds...which was fitting since we were leaving.
We were lucky to get a window view again and it was beautiful...though we were all so sad. Grace had French Toast for breakfast which she inhaled. Eden ate half a slice of the french toast and some of Josh's and Mine Wheat toast...and Josh and I both got the Carnivore Omelette.
A ham, bacon, and sausage omelette with country gravy on top and a side of toast, and yukon potatoes. 
The Trout House Excels in their breakfasts!
After we ate, we walked along the water for a moment before saying goodbye and heading out of Sunriver to come back home. 

We didn't want to leave. It was the best family vacation we've ever had and were counting down time to whenever we can go again. I'm missing it so much already. 
So there are my tasty meals from our trip to Sunriver. I highly encourage you to hit up some of those places if you ever venture to that part of Oregon. Your stomach will thank you for it :)

Weekly Menu October 4th-10th

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I'm back everyone!!!

Did you miss my posts? I missed posting; I found myself wanting to share things with you all...but because of cheap-o me...I only had the free version of blogpress on my phone...and I just got Josh last night to gift me the $2.99 version.  So Yay....maybe in the future, I will blog from afar.

I have so many posts ideas floating around in my head and I can't wait to get the oppertunity to share these posts with you. I am coming upon a very busy week...so please...bear with me. Grace and I, officially start 1st Grade tomorrow and I'm not to sure about how the schedule will go...I doubt Eden will be happy that I'm stealing away her playdate 4 days a week...and I don't really want to school during naptime...because...well I use that time for me to do whatever I want...is that selfish??? I mean, we, mommies need our time too.

Monday
We're having our friend Jared over tonight :)
Josh is grilling Steaks with a Mesquite Marinade
 with Sweet Potatoes with a melted butter & brown sugar topping and Foccasia bread with Garlic and Olive oil.
Tuesday
Spaghetti with whole wheat pasta, corn, and Garlic bread.
Wednesday
Bean and Cheese Enchiladas and spanish rice
Thursday
Leftovers
Friday
Homemade Pizza ( yes, I'm finally getting around to it)
Saturday
Sheppard's Pie and Salad
Sunday
Pot Roast with veggies and potatoes
Special Treats:
Tonight, I'm making my mom's "Famous" apple crisp
(unfortunatly, I have promised my mom I would never post the recipe :( so sorry guys...)
Nutella Pumpkin Bread

I WON!!!

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How many of you follow some freebie/frugal websites? I do, I follow several. I like them because they're not always about getting free stuff...but alerts about good deals and savings with coupons and such. But sometimes, there are giveaways...and I love me a good giveaway.

I'm not someone who will enter a giveaway just for the sake of entering. If I'm going to take the time to fill out my info, I want it to be for something I am really interested in. But sadly, I never ever win. In fact...I've hardly ever won anything in my entire life. I can count on one hand how many times I've won something free. But today...I won something...YAHOOOOO!!!!

This morning I was cruising through my emails and some of the sites I follow through facebook when a giveaway for a free signed cookbook caught my eye. It was an autographed copy of Holly Clegg's Trim and Terrific "Too hot in the kitchen's cookbook: 200 simple and sassy recipes! How cool!!! I've never looked through one of Holly's cookbooks, but I have heard of her and I have heard really good things about her recipes. So when I entered...I didn't think twice about it. But sure enough...I got an email a few moments ago informing me that I had won and I had 48hrs to respond. Of course I responded right away and sent in my info! I'm totally excited to of won a cookbook. They aren't something I buy that often because of the price tag...so Free is looking real good to me right now :)

Maybe once I've had a chance to peruse the cookbook I'll try out a recipe and blog about it :)

Tuna Casserole

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Let's face it, Fish, is expensive and incredibly good for you. It doesn't seem fair that all the healthy foods for you are also some of the most expensive. But a great way to get a little fish in your diet, is by using canned Tuna. I'm very fortunate that I can get wonderful tuna for free. My Grandpa was a fisherman and when he passed, my grandma sold his boat to one of his friends in return for keeping her in stock of Tuna and other fresh fish.

Tuna, unfortunately, can be high in mercury...but only if you eat to much. When I was pregnant with Gracie, I lived on Tuna Fish sandwiches with sliced pickles, lot's of mustard and pepper. I was, of course, very careful not to eat to much though. I don't eat many tuna fish sandwiches now...I can only eat them once and awhile, but when I'm pregnant...I crave them, a lot!

As a one income family, I want my kids to love fish. But, fresh fish can be hard on a budget. Growing up, we always had fish in the house and we would eat it quite a bit and I firmly believe that's why I love it so much because from a young age I was introduced to it. I want my kids to love fish too. I'm not worried about Grace, she adores it. But Eden is still growing and still deciding what foods she likes and doesn't like.

This tuna fish meal has been called many names. But we know it in my family as Tuna Casserole...however my brother, along with many other's call it Tuna Noodle. This is a meal I grew up on and loved eating and if you've never tried it, I promise you'll love it too.

Most of the time when I make Tuna Casserole, I make it earlier in the day and keep it in the fridge till Josh calls to tell me he's on his way home. But yesterday, I had a stomach ache that wouldn't go away...so I made it while Josh was on his way home...which actually worked out perfectly because I made Josh run back out into the world and grab a few things for me from the store.

First things first, I always boil my noodles first because they tend to take the longest. Normally I use elbow noodles, but I accidentally used the rest of the elbow when making my macaroni and cheese the other day. So I used mini ziti noodles, and they worked really well. Really, you can use any small pasta you have on hand. It doesn't really matter. Once the water was boiling, I dumped in the pasta and salted the water. *quick tip- to help your water boil faster, put lid of the pot on top and it will boil in about ½ the time*

While the pasta was cooking, I went ahead and drained the juice from the tuna and added it to my greased casserole dish  and shredded it up with a couple of forks. I then added the mayo and peas. Your going to want to take the frozen peas out of the freezer a little early so they aren't a clumpy mess...or just throw them in a small bowl and put them in the microwave for about 2 minutes.

I got that all tossed together and then I began making the cheese sauce. In a small saucepot, I combine one can of cream of celery soup, shredded cheddar cheese, and milk.

 

I stirred it into a figure 8 motion until it looked like this...

 

A beautiful mixture of melted cheese and warmed milk...yum! I just kept the saucepot on low once melted while I drained the noodles. I carefully added the noodles to the casserole dish...and then a little bit at a time, I added the melted cheese mixture until it was all combined evenly.

It went in the oven for 25min on a temp of 425. Which left me plenty of time to get the dishes washed and put away. I made a simple easy fruit salad of chopped apples, sliced bananas, and mandarin oranges to go along with this.

At 25 minutes, the Tuna Casserole looked like this, and was done.

Crispy and golden on top, and warm and soft on the inside! Josh likes a little bread and butter to go along with this and it helps compliment and complete the meal.
It was so yummy, I had Josh serve me seconds...and then a smaller third portion...and we have leftovers...which will be dinner tonight :) Grace loves it...normally Eden gobbles it up, but last night she was picky although she ate most of it...and Josh tells me every time I make it, that "he always's forgets how good it is" which I'll take as a compliment. It's a really easy meal that you can make a couple days ahead of time if you like or even freeze and cook later on :)
Tuna Casserole
Mom's recipe
1 can of tuna, drained
3 ½ cups noodles, any small pasta will work
½ cup mayo
1 cup sliced celery, optional and I don't use it
⅓ cup sliced onion, optional and I don't use it ( I like my mom's note here in my recipe card...she wrote "Ya Right" because I barely cook with onions)
¼ cup green pepper, optional and again I don't use it
1 cup frozen peas
1 teaspoon salt ( sometimes I don't use any)
1 15oz can of Cream of Celery soup
½ cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
 
* I have added the green pepper and celery before to this, but Josh preferred it without and I cook to please. But feel free to use and add those veggies*
 
Preheat oven to 425
Cook noodles in salted water till done. Drain! Combine noodles, tuna, mayo, veggies, and salt in greased casserole dish.
 
Blend soup, milk, and cheese in a small sauce pan- heat through till cheese is melted. Add to the noodle mixture- in casserole dish.
 
Bake 20-25 minutes
Serve & Enjoy!