I made spaghetti and meatballs one night..Big deal! When you make your own sauce, and top it with two kinds of real Italian cheese, it does get to be a little bigger deal..When you do it when the snow is falling hard, and you need a warming, filling, spicy dish- now it is a big deal! It hit the spot- 'nuff said!
The next night, with more snow falling, I remembered Katherine's favorite homey food- tuna noodle casserole... I was a newly wed, when a product called Hamburger Helper came out. It was a huge marketing success, followed by different flavors, and a Tuna Helper! Newlyweds are notorious for being broke a lot, and as I didn't know much about cooking then- we used a lot of both products! As I found out I could duplicate darn near everything that came out of a box better and cheaper, we forgot about this filling, tasty one plate meal. I made our version of Tuna noodle casserole, and it brought back memories- and hit the spot! 12 oz. of solid white Albacore tuna, flaked..buy it on sale, it is the least fishy tasting tuna there is! For a sauce, I mix Cream of Mushroom soup, milk, with cheese and spices, stirring into cooked egg noodles, topping with bread crumbs, and baking uncovered until bubbly (30min.@350F). Simple things done well..
Next post will be my 500th...whoda thunk? I'll try and make it a barn burner!
47 comments:
When I first became a single mom, we ate a lot of Hamburger Helper! Cheap and easy it was. Didn't taste too bad, either.
I am never ashamed of my humble origins..people didn't immigrate here because things were going so hot where they came from...At first, people were ashamed, but worked hard, succeeded, and now are ashamed they were ashamed in the first place! I earned what I have, and am proud of anyone who make sacrifices to have a better life..it's fair.
Spaghetti sounds so good...
Michelle- I do it right, even though simple..the sauce is the trick of it!
Tuna Noodle Casserole. It's the first thing I asked my mom to make when she brought me home from the hospital when I had meningitis. It means I'm safe.
Kate- Comfort food at it's best!
You make your own sauce too?
Not much on the planet that can hit the spot like spaghetti and homemade sauce!
When is Buff's Super Recipe Book going to hit the streets?
I am on such a spaghetti kick these days. I really need to go all out with the good cheeses and meatballs and do it properly one of these evenings.
SPAGETTI! Yum! Now I am hungry! Iknow what's for dinner tonight now!
Look really good dear Buffalo Dick. My son Gerardo die for spaguetti, the best he make the sauce and is so good.!
Your 500 th post? Oh my God! we have to celebrate!! cheers!! gloria
We eat spaghetti a lot these days. It's like hubby and I are still newly weds 19 years later! Not really just still broke.
Tuna Helper was not my favorite as a kid. I just had to eat way too much of it way too often. Your version sounds pretty darn good and I'll have to give it a try one of these days.
FYI, I've never eaten rabbit.
;)
Congrats on almost 500 posts! I'm sure that post will make me hungry too!
wow. congrats on 500! definitely good comfort food for snow days...more coming for us next week...
a barn burner - thats where its at! I have always liked the meat, noodle, casserole concept - and it is way easier to be your own "helper" geez you could make it rocket science if you wanted but thats a lot of math!
Yep, simple and frugal is sometimes the best, most comforting foods :-)
Looking forward to your 500th post! That is really awesome. Congratulations.
I remember Hamburger Helper it was like the greatest cheapest way back then ( so, we thought) to make a good meal. As for tuna casserole, I could never quite get passed opening a can of tuna and heating it up-
Its been way too long since I've had a good tuna cassarole. Sounds gooood!
xoxo
500th?! Wow, no wonder you're dogging on me to post - you blog bunny style! I'd love to get a look at your spaghetti sauce recipe. I'm still tweaking mine. Whenever I "create" something with burger, Mr. H dubs it Hamburger Helper (and then he gets seconds.)
You are one prolific blogger! 500 is impressive. Can't wait to see what you post.
Spaghetti is a tummy-warmer and tummy-filler. And it's a frugal dish, too. Bet yours is spicy and cheesey.
However... cannot get into canned tuna. No matter how it's served. I DETEST it.
Our diet has changed completely since those far off days - it's now a lot healthier! Well done on getting to your 500th post (next one), I missed my 500th I think I've done about 670 now. How time flies!
RLM- Italian or Mexican at least once a week!
T.T.- Get good, real imported Parmesan and Romano- expensive but the good stuff goes further than domestic(more water content)..
Christie- Easy, and fast to make!
Gloria- I can't believe I'm going to hit 500 either!
Momster- I like rabbit! Been a long time since I've had it..
Brian- In Michigan, we've learned to endure...
DogB- Other bloggers awaken our memories, don't they?
Martha- It doesn't have to cost a fortune to be good, does it?
Velva- When I discovered solid white Albacore, I liked it a whole lot better!
Char- Me either, and I'm glad I did!
Vickie- I change pasta sauce to fit the taste- sometimes sweeter, sometimes hotter- always full of herbs and spices!
Barb- Some folks have different likes and dislikes..I like tuna fish salad packed in a half a muskmelon...
Ake- Your third anniversary made me check mine!
That sounds tasty. Time for my dinner, me thinks.
Tony- Welcome! I do gourmet, but also do simple things done well...
I gave you an award!
I too got caught up in the Hamburger Helper craze. I agree, a marketing success. I love tuna casserole. Thanks to you, I'm going to be craving it now until I make it. Throw in some velveeta and top with some crushed up potato chips - yum. :-)
We all need this right now (at least hte East Coast, entire state of TX and Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, oh and the North!)
Spaghetti and meatballs is also one my favorites to make on a cold day. :) I always make sauce at home. My husband doesn't eat onions and all the bottled sauce has onions. But you're right, no bottled sauces can beat homemade ones. Looks great!
Spaghetti and thick meat sauce are on the menu for tonight. Great food for a cold night, indeed! And my dearly beloved wouldn't touch "Tuna Noodle Bake" (as it was called in his family) for love nor money. Not that it thrills me, because I still like my food segregated...fussy!
Christie- Thanks! I deserve nothing!
Highlander- It just helps us remember, and enjoy the simple things..
CDB- You know it, kiddo!
Sook- I love onions cooked, hate them raw!
Margie- Viva La Differance!
Wow 500 Yeah!! You know how much I really like hearing about your family, the food that surounded you...and yes even the time when you are in a money crunch!! I always get that warm fuzzy feeling! happy Valentines day to you and your lovely wife!
wow.. 500 next post cant wait to see what it will be. Can u believe Ive never had Hamburger Helper? Never not once. Hope you have a Happy VDay!!
I could hardly cook when I got married, but learned a lot of cooking afterwards! :)
There seems to be no end to the cold weather this year. We had an intensely cold winter ( by our standards) this year.
I made pork tenderloins in sour cream sauce and bleu cheese chicken a lot when I got married. I rarely make that stuff anymore...now it's mostly quick and easy stuff (and boring).
I NEED to spice things up in the kitchen, Buff!! Help meeeeee!!!!
Darngirl- Happy V-day to you too!
Donna- We were light on cooking skills back then!
Mona- We've had worse, but this one is bad enough..
Ily- We all get in routines...Tomorrow, I make a kind of special meal for Valentine's Day..
Yeah, I've been making comfort food up the wazoo, too. With 44 inches of snow in one week and 6 more on the way, we Philadelphians are gonna need it!
UrbanV- Snow fall is about normal here, but it won't warm up and melt! Wind has been blowing more snow into drifts..
Hell, it's not snowing here and that STILL sounds like a big deal. I love homemade spaghetti.
Chris- After any snowfall here, the plows, sanders, and snow trucks go round the clock to get the major roads cleared-usually within 24 hrs..
I could live off seafood and I am so making tuna noodle casserole tomorrow!! Yummm!!!!
Rachel- Wait until you see tomorrows post, if you like seafood!
I make some mean Italian food!
One of my favorite dishes of all time!
The spaghetti and meatballs, I mean. I also love Hamburger helper, but I'd run an extra 2 miles a day if I could eat spaghetti everyday.
Happy 500th! I just noticed that I have posted my 900th.
... and, I'll have a heaping bowl of comfort food to celebrate!
--Terrace Crawford
www.terracecrawford.com
www.twitter.com/terracecrawford
otin- It is arguably my best group to cook.. Good stuff!
Angela- I make a mean pizza(from scratch!), my lasagna was in a newspaper, and my meatballs are to die for!
Terrance- 900! Wow! Welcome!
Damn now I want this, I came over here hungry Buff, and you always feed my soul and make me hungry for more all at the same time!
ChefE- Plain food is the soul of us all...don't cha think?
Post a Comment