Tuna Pasta Salad

Tuna Noodle Salad

Every now and then Owen and I get sick of leftovers for lunch. Today I tried something different and made enough so Kevin can take some to work for lunches next week!

I whipped out my tuna salad recipe. I made a few changes from what I usually do since we have been trying to eat healthier, more organically, and more clean!  I omitted the gajillion cups of mayo and used a half cup of plain Greek yogurt instead. I did throw in 2 tblsps of mayo to keep a little bit of that mayo-y flavor.  

I had a gigantic bag of fresh peas that my parents brought down when they visited this past week, so I spent a good portion of yesterday afternoon shucking peas for my salad. It took about an hour(and 2.5lbs of peas) to come up with the two cups I needed! Needless to say, Owen found the container and was stuffing his face full last night, so I had to shuck some more today. We love fresh peas from Wilfert's Farm Stand back in our hometown!  

Enough with my rambling. Here's the recipe!

3 Cans of Albacore Tuna ( I prefer to use wild, pole caught tuna, Tuna isn't over-fished this way, and you are guaranteed to get all tuna.)
1 Box Pasta of Choice (I used Fiori)
2 - 3 Cups of Peas (Frozen or Fresh)
2 tbsp Mayo
3/4 Cup Plain Greek Yogurt
1 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, and Celery Salt to taste! 

Boil water and cook the pasta until tender.  Drain and add to bowl.
Add tuna and peas.

In a smaller bowl, mix mayo, yogurt, and vinegar together.

Add to big bowl and combine.

Add salt, pepper, garlic, and celery salt and mix!

Enjoy!

Optional Add-ins: diced onion, diced celery, diced water chestnuts

This salad was a huge hit with Owen! 

Busy, Busy!

I haven't posted recently because A LOT has been going on!

In April, we had our son's 2nd birthday party! It was a huge success, even though I was deathly sick with bronchitis.  We are so lucky to have such great family and friends who helped get our house cleaned and all the food cooked for 40 people!  I had known for a while that it was going to be themed Sesame Street. We had amazing pulled BBQ pork sandwiches, German potato salad, and lots of fresh fruits and veggies!  

As you can see, we had a great time and I love planning Owen's birthday parties! Our close friends and family members were there to celebrate!

 In May, my husband started the interview process with a company located in Madison and by June 20th, we knew we were moving! So far it has been the biggest move of our lives! We had 5 weeks to pack, organize our Uhaul stuff, find a tenant for our current(now previous) house, and find people to help us!  Shortly after my husband was offered the job, we drove to Madison to look at houses/duplexes/apartments! We signed a lease and out of 69 other applicants, we were chosen for a beautiful 2 story, 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom house! We loved our old house, but this move and job is a very great thing for our family!  We moved to Madison on August 1st and it has been amazing so far!  Kevin started his new job on August 4th and I worked on getting the house in order and getting Owen and Bear situated to our new environment.  So far so good!

We signed a 2 year lease on this baby, so we plan to do some work to really make it feel like ours this time.  Our first step will to paint some of the rooms.  Specifically Owen's room and our foyer/staircase/upstairs hallway.  I'm hoping we will be able to paint the main floor bathroom, if the landlord allows us to take down the wallpaper border.  Our new house is located just 3 short minutes from my brother and sister-in-law's house!  Periodically I will post our before and after pictures of each room in our new house and the corresponding projects with each room.

Now I'll fill you in on a few things I've been up to since we moved! I started pre-making Kevin's lunches and having ready to go stuff in the fridge so he just has to make his sandwich in the morning.  One thing I wanted to try was a veggie dip.  A few months ago, I purchased an amazing little dip packet at a CHD symposium I attended in Milwaukee.  There was an organization selling their handmade products called The Women's Bean Project.  This organization is great! They focus on providing transitional employment for women that are chronically unemployed or impoverished.  Typically these women were victims of domestic abuse and are trying to stand on there own two feet after going through a difficult time.

Check out their website here:  Women's Bean Project

Anyways, if you know anything about me, it's that I love dill.  Okay, not just love, I'd seriously marry it if I could.  I had a packet of their Dillicious Dill Dip mix from the symposium I attended and I decided to whip up a batch (which I ultimately ended up eating almost entirely by myself, um yeah, I have a serious problem).  I just followed the directions on the back, but instead of sour cream, I used 8oz of plain greek yogurt.

Last weekend we traveled up to our friend's cottage and had so much fun! I have no photos of our trip, because we were too busy enjoying the Northwoods!  

That's all I have for now! Keep your eyes peeled this weekend for our first project, The Garage! 

Chicken Curry

It's been a while since I posted! We moved to our new house in the beginning of December and I have a beautiful new kitchen!

We have been experiencing below zero temps on and off the last few weeks, so I figured it would be nice to make something warm and inviting.  Tonight I made chicken curry which was gluten free, dairy free, and soy free.  My son Owen has terrible eczema that we've struggled with since he came home from the hospital at almost 2 months old.  We've recently decided to try to heal his eczema from the inside out and try an elimination diet.  The first thing we are eliminating from his diet is gluten.  So far it has been an easy switch and he doesn't seem to mind it.  I made this even before we made the switch to gluten free and I've made it the same way (well almost since most of the time I don't measure ingredients, I go by taste.)



Chicken Curry

Ingredients
-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
-About 2 cups mixed veggies, you can use fresh or frozen, I used a frozen organic green bean, red pepper, and carrot mix from Costco(keep in mind if you use leafy type veggies, the will wilt so use more than 2c. IE cabbage, kale, spinach, etc.)
-1 can of coconut milk, unsweetened (coconut milk is naturally gluten free, but double check the labels! I used Thai Kitchen brand)
-2TBSP curry powder ( you can use less or more, your preference)
-1tsp ground coriander
-Salt & Pepper to taste
-Coconut oil or olive oil
Serve with cooked rice (Brown or white)

Directions

Start your rice first, once you get going with the chicken you won't have enough time for the rice to finish at the same time.  Tonight we tried out the new rice cooker my husband gave me for Christmas!

Cook the chicken in a pan or a wok in the oil of your choice. I prefer to use organic cold-pressed coconut oil or organic olive oil.  I usually salt and pepper the chicken while it is cooking.

Once your chicken is completely cooked (make sure by cutting a few bigger pieces in half and checking the color or use a meat thermometer which should measure at 165 degrees for chicken), drain off any excess liquid, if needed and add your mixed veggies with your chicken.  When the veggies are mostly cooked, add your coriander, curry powder and coconut milk.  Let it simmer for a few minutes, and it's ready to serve over rice!

I apologize for my pasta dishes for chicken curry! Nice bowls are on my wish list! :)

I hope you enjoy it!