It's a tunaful day in the neighborhood....

 

It's tuna time here at Nutwood!

 

Last night, we used up a loaf of French bread and made some big yummy tuna sandwiches. (It was also very hot, so I didn't want to turn on the oven!) Lots of onion and lettuce, and some provolone cheese melted on top. I have tons o' tins o' tuna in the pantry, so it was a good way to use up stuff that I had on hand.

 

Tonight we're having a couple of nice thick tuna steaks. When they thaw, I'll marinate them in a bit of teriyaki sauce, and broil them. I'll mix a little bit of wasabi powder into the teriyaki (NOT the stuff I marinate the fish in--yuck!) for a dipping sauce, and I also have some teriyaki noodles to serve on the side. The rain has cooled things down enough that I think I'll also bake some egg rolls.

 

One of our favorite appetizers is seared tuna, and tonight's steaks are sashimi grade yellowfin, but we agreed that seared tuna is really rich, and too much to eat as a meal rather than an appetizer. I'm definitely looking forward to having some seared tuna in San Diego, though!

 

I'm surprised when I hear people say they don't like tuna. I think it's mighty tasty, and so does our cat! Ha! He might get a tiny little taste or two, but he's really good about not begging for food.

 

While I'm talking about food, I'll share a recipe posted by Deb over at Kitchen Chatter. I thought it sounded really good, although I modified a couple of things, which I'll write about after the recipe. One of them was adding ground beef, and Deb, bless her heart, puts up with me when it comes to that...she's a vegan. I hope I don't hurt her feelings too much when it comes to our carnivorous ways!

 

Before I get to the recipe, Ken and I just had a sighting of a bunch of baby turkeys! Yippee! I wasn't able to count them, but I'm guessing there were 8-10 babies. The wild turkey population is thriving in the area, and NO, you may not hunt our turkeys! Okay, here's the recipe.

 

Southwest Skillet Dinner

1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper -- chopped
2 cloves garlic -- minced
2 T chili powder
½ t salt
½ cumin
1 can tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
1 can corn or 1½ C frozen corn
8 oz whole wheat elbow macaroni or other pasta, cooked 
hot sauce to taste

Saute onion, green pepper, garlic, chili powder, salt, and cumin until vegetables are tender. Stir in tomatoes, breaking with spoon. Add kidney beans and corn; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Toss with elbows.

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I added a pound of ground beef, and sauteed it along with the onion and garlic. I omitted the bell pepper, because Ken doesn't care for them. I left out the salt and hot sauce, because I'm trying my hardest to get us to cut down on our salt consumption <grin>, and I don't like things too spicy. I used rotini instead of elbows, and while I think I do have some whole wheat pasta down in the pantry (I'm trying to start using that, too, since it's better for us), I think this was just plain ol' pasta. I also added a bit of cheese on top, and I know that's not the healthiest thing to do, but you'll get my cheese when you pry it out of my cold dead fingers!

I thought it was pretty tasty, and Ken said he liked it, too. There's enough left for a lunch for him on Monday. I think it's pretty economical, too, even if you double it for a family. It was nice to be able to cook this on the stovetop on a hot day, instead of having to use the oven! Lately, I'm just loving anything that includes rice and/or beans. (Come to think of it, I bet this would be good using rice instead of pasta.) Am I hankering for New Orleans or something? Heck, yeah!

Do you all use cumin? I never did until Ken's Mom told me about it several years ago and sent some home with me after a visit. I just love it now, and never make a Mexican dish or southwestern dish without it. The chili powder and cumin are very mild, but add a nice spice to this dish, and as Deb suggested, if you want more heat, add the hot sauce or some cayenne pepper.

If you give this a try, let me know what you think.

Tags: Tuna steaks, skillet dinners, cumin