Tuna Noodle Casserole

I made this for Tony, although I secretly wanted it too. It was fun making a classic without one of the usual ingredients, a can of cream of something soup.



1-2 T EVOO
1 small Onion - finely diced
1 Leek - sliced and cleaned
1/4 Red Bell Pepper
4 Cloves Garlic - diced
Salt
Hot Sauce (I used chili garlic sauce) - to taste
3 T Butter
1/4 cup Flour
3 cups Milk
White Pepper
Juice from 1/2 Lemon
Zest from Lemon
1 cup of Peas - steamed for one minute
small palm full of Dried Parsley
small palm full of Capers
2 6oz cans of Tuna - drained
10oz Dry Noodles or Pasta (I used Mafalada)
Pot of Boiling Water - heavily salted
about 1 1/2 cups of Cheese - separated (I used Sharpe Cheddar and Parmesan) - shredded or shaved
about a 1/4 cup of Panko Bread Crumbs

Preheat oven to 400°.

Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion, leeks, and peppers.

Tomato, Swiss Chard, and Asparagus

After going out to a big breakfast this morning, and anticipating a decent Sunday dinner, I wanted something light and quick for lunch. I started by boiling about a cup of veg stock in a sauce pan with a small pad o butter (just for fun). Then, I added 1 diced tomato, 1 large roughly chopped garlic clove, and a 1/4 cup or so of chopped rainbow char stems with s/p. For extra flavor, I threw in a bay leaf and a slice of jalapeño, which I discarded before serving. After tasting for seasoning and adding a pitch of salt, I reduced the tomato mixture by half.



Then, I added a hand full of chard leafs and sliced asparagus. This cooked covered for a minute or two over low heat, till the char just wilted.



This would be nice on pasta or rice. It would also make a great vegetarian meal simply mixed with a can of warmed beans. For this lunch, I incorporated breakfast leftovers by mixing diced turkey sausage into the veggies. I served the colorful dish with reheated hash browns mixed with a little feta cheese to add a creamy element to the dish.



It took me about 20 minutes to cook this gluten free meal, not bad for a three hour cook. Tony didn't need that much time to eat it though. His plate was clean in about 2 minuets!