Tuna Fish Salad

 Okay, everyone knows how to make tuna fish salad.  Mix some mayonnaise with some canned tuna, bam, done.  Maybe some pickles added in.

However, there are a lot more things you can do to it, to add flavor, texture, and nutrition.  I have honed my recipe over many years, taking bits and pieces from various recipes I liked, until I ended up with what I will share here with you - and I really love the result.  It is, in my opinion, the best tuna fish salad, and I have had a number of other people agree with me.

This recipe will be somewhat less precise than most.  A lot of how much of this or that to add comes down to personal preference.  So play around with it until you find the magic ratios for your tastes!

It is also for a very large batch. We like it a lot, and eat it almost nonstop besides dinner for about a week, at which point it starts to taste not quite as good, so it's the right size for us.  It is also conveniently proportioned for pre-prepared ingredients, but you can make smaller batches, of course - you just have to do more chopping.

Galumpus

 This is another of my personal favorite meals.  I mean, tomato and meat sauce, pasta, and loads of gooey cheese - what's not to love?  I got both my own love of it and the recipe from my paternal grandmother.  I have absolutely no idea where she got the recipe (she definitely didn't come up with it herself; she was not what you could even vaguely call 'creative' in the kitchen), nor the name, which is bizarre to say the least.

Slovenian Grilled Catfish

 

There is an old Slovenian saying that fish must swim three times: first in water, then in oil, and finally in wine. In keeping with this saying, the subtle taste of this recipe goes beautifully with a good white wine. 

This recipe is known as "Na Tržaški Nacin", or "Fish as from Trieste", and any fatty fish can be substituted effectively for the catfish.  Although fairly simple, those who have had this recipe often consider it hands-down the best recipe for catfish.

 

 

Slovenian Fresh Vegetable Salads

There is nothing to compliment a good meal quite like fresh salads. Here is a selection of traditional Slovenian salads perfect for the summertime, or any time.

With the advent of summer, plenty of fresh local vegetables begin to be available. One of the best ways to enjoy them is with as little alteration as possible - salads are a wonderful way to maximize their flavors with a minimum of effort. Enjoy these traditional Slovenian salad recipes; there's something for everyone, and every meal.


 

Refrigerator Pickles

 There are few things I enjoy more than gardening and growing tasty foods.  One of my favorites to grow - quick, easy, and prolific - is cucumbers!  Since there's only so much you can eat at one time, and they really are prolific, this quickly means needing a recipe for pickles!

There are two main 'categories' of pickles.  Heat-canned pickles, which are shelf stable and can be stored almost indefinitely; and refrigerator pickles, which are simply cucumbers soaked in the pickling brine, and must be kept in the refrigerator.  For those unfamiliar, think of the difference between, say, Vlassic dills on the grocery store shelf, versus Claussen pickles in the refrigerated section.  The uncooked, needs-refrigeration variety are always my favorites, crisp and fresh tasting.

Homemade Ranch Dressing

This homemade ranch dressing recipe is based on one originally from my childhood best friend's family.  I have tried lots of recipes for ranch over the years, but this remains my very favorite, hands down.  The flavors are complex and lively, but don't overpower the taste of the fresh salad ingredients.  It includes all of my favorite aspects of various recipes, combined into one.

 

Spaghetti Sauce

Spaghetti is my absolute go-to meal.  It's easy, inexpensive, and you can make a huge batch and freeze it in single-meal servings in ziploc bags, saving even more via bulk purchasing, and allowing for super simple meal preparation later.

Because of this, the measurements I will be giving are relative, easily adjusted to the size batch you are making.  Just be aware so that you scale them appropriately.  I usually use a 3-lb container of ground beef, 6 jars of sauce, and about 4 large onions, for example.

For parents with vegetable-averse kids, it's easy to sneak in some extra veggies in this, too.  Just finely mince whatever veggies you like – carrots and bell peppers are great choices, for example, thanks to their nutrient contents – and add them midway through the browning of the onions.  By the time it's done cooking, they should be unidentifiable.

Cabbage and Potato Soup

This has been one of my favorite soup recipes for most of my life, slightly modified to be gluten free since we recently found out my spouse has Celiac's. (I used to thicken it with a roux, instead of cooking down some of the potatoes first.) It is always one of the first things my mind goes to when the weather starts to cool in the fall.

If you aren't as fond of garlic as we are, you can reduce it as desired – I think the original recipe called for about ¼ as much.

Pressure Canned Ham and Butter Bean Soup

 I have recently ventured into the world of home canning.  I am already in love!  I made a huge batch of my Vegetable Beef Soup, substituting frozen vegetable for the canned vegetables so they wouldn't turn to mush in the canning process; and, of course, only heated it up rather than completely cooking it, allowing it to finish cooking during the processing.  Being able to just pop the lid off, stick it in the microwave for a minute and eat it is just amazing.  Totally worth the extra time in the cooking/prep phase.

For my next adventure, I decided to do something with butter beans, since I've been told by my doctor to eat more high-potassium foods thanks to one of my medications.  Some poking around online and recipe browsing, and the basis for this soup was born.  It's rich and hearty, without being overly complicated.  The 15 pints I made won't last long!  This is definitely going to be a regular addition to our menu.

I used speckled butter beans for this first batch; regular green butter beans (aka baby lima beans) should work just as well – and possibly be more visually appealing.  Some hot sauce, like Cholula, would be a great addition/substitution for the vinegar, but unfortunately I can't use it (allergies).  Celery or bell peppers, if you have some on hand, would likely also be good additions.

Hybridized Slovenian Style Goulash

Back when I was first learning to cook on my own, I conflated two recipes my grandmother made when trying to replicate her goulash.  It wasn't "right", but as often happens, I decided I actually liked this new hybrid recipe even better, and so it is how I have made it ever since.  It has the basis of goulash - a sauce primarily made of cooked down onion and paprika with beef - but then has the addition of some tomato, mushrooms, and peas, making it a bit more interesting to eat.

This recipe is for a large batch; we usually get several 'fresh' meals, as well as several portions to freeze, which it holds up to quite well.  

Freshly Review - Day 1 - Initial Impressions

So, with my health being so poor for so long, but now good enough for my spouse to go back to classes, we've decided to give Freshly a try.

If you aren't familiar, they are one of these new trends of  "meal box plans" by mail.  BlueApron and Plated are the more well-known, but they send you ingredients which you then have to cook.  Since in my case, the standing-long-enough-to-cook is the issue, we opted for Freshly, which is ready-made meals which you just have to heat up in the microwave.  You can choose from 6, 9, 12, or 21 meals.  We opted for 6 meals to give it a try before we committed to any more.  The meals aren't exactly "super cheap" (ranging from $10.75-$11.50 per serving depending on how many you get), but it's about equivalent to fast food, and looks to be a LOT healthier.  I do feel it's a tad overpriced for the serving sizes at full price, but not so much that it is a deal breaker by any means.

Muffin Frittata Cups

These little cupcake frittatas are amazingly versatile, and even more tasty!

They are an easy way to 'sneak' in healthy veggies – you can change out what you use depending on your tastes, the season, or just what you have on hand.  They are also easy to make in advance – either a few days, kept in a bag in the fridge, or several weeks frozen!  Just pop them in the microwave when you're ready to eat them.

Delicious, nutritious, and made in advance; it just doesn't get much better than that.

Slow Cooker Salsa Pepper Beef

This is another of those fabulous super-simple crockpot recipes that will have you going back for seconds.  Rich and flavorful, this Mexican fajita inspired dish pairs beautifully with saffron rice and a little sour cream.  I served it with garlic-buttered Italian green beans, whose calm flavor went quite well with the more lively dish.

(I used a bit too much salsa, and have already adjusted the recipe accordingly; you may prefer more or less than I do.)

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Let's face it, most people love tacos.  I know my honey certainly does – tacos, fajitas, anything remotely Mexican.  But one of the things I hate most about making them is reading the ingredients list of the taco seasoning packets.  Ugh!

Luckily, I found several recipes that sounded good, and cobbled them together into a delightful recipe for home made taco seasoning.  And not only does it not have all the icky chemicals, it is by far the very best taco seasoning I have ever had!  It totally leaves the pre-made stuff in the dust.

Slow Cooker Balsamic Garlic Beef

This was quite tasty with a very different flavor than most of the crockpot recipes we've tried.  It was right on the edge of the level of sweetness I like meat to have, which was surprising since there was nothing particularly sweet involved except a little honey.  It combined marvelously with mashed potatoes with sour cream, and brussels sprouts with butter, salt and garlic powder.

Baked Banana Pudding with Meringue Topping Recipe

This sounds a little scary for beginner cooks, but trust me, it's not hard!  The key is patience; two of the steps take longer than you expect.  But the result is so very worth it; a delightful dessert either hot or cold, that is not overpowering in either banana flavor or sweetness.

Slow Cooker Simplicity Ham and Potato Casserole

This is a slow-cooker version of one of my favorite meals as a child, my grandmother's Ham and Potato Casserole.  It's an exceedingly simple meal, more so even than the original already simple recipe, but the taste is wonderful.  Just perfect for a cold winter day!

Chocolate Chip Cookies in a Cup

I have a new passion – or perhaps it would be more accurate to say addiction – for single serve, microwave desserts in a cup.  This is absolutely the most brilliant invention ever.  It's quick - from the decision to make it, to eating is less than five minutes.  It's easy - all you need is a measuring spoon and a mug, really; and it leaves no more mess behind than that, either, and no extras to store.  And it's delicious!  It is easily as good as most storebought cookies, and better than many homemade ones I've tried.

This particular recipe is the first one I tried, and while it is not perfect, it is easy to try, and quite good enough to hook me!

Lilypad Silicone Lids

Alright, so this blog is usually recipes and other direct cooking how-to's.  However, this is seriously the neatest kitchen "doohicky" I have ever come across, so I am making an exception.

Slow Cooker Thieves' Pork Roast

This is a recipe I actually made up on the fly this morning!  Yesterday I made a large batch of Thieves' Oil Concentrate, and it smelled so very delicious, that today I used the basic ingredients as the foundation of this recipe...  and it was every bit as delicious as it smelled!