A great way to change up your tuna sandwich

Darra's Famous Tuna Waldorf Sandwich Filling
(recipe from allrecipes.com, pic from rebeccabent.com)

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon prepared Dijon-style mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (6 ounce) can oil-packed tuna (mine was water packed)
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and diced
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1 teaspoon sweet pickle relish
• 4 large croissants
• 4 leaves lettuce
• 4 slices Swiss cheese

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, curry powder, salt and pepper. Add tuna, shallot, apple, walnuts, celery and pickle relish and toss until all ingredients are coated with dressing.
2. Lightly toast the croissants. Split in half, place a lettuce leaf on the bottom half of the croissant and fill with tuna salad. Top with a slice of Swiss cheese and the top half of the croissant. Serve with a dill pickle and potato chips. 

I haven't had tuna in a while because it's not really that exciting.  Well, this recipe impressed me, and I will make it again.  I didn't even have tuna, shallot, or swiss cheese and the flavor still came out great.  The apple and walnuts (or pecans) added a great flavor along with the subtle curry taste.  Yum!  

Clam Chowder

Clam Chowder

• 2 (6 1/2 oz.) cans clams(chopped or minced, depending on the size of clam chunks you like)
• 1 c. chopped celery
• 1 c. chopped onions
• 2 c. diced potatoes (I used red and kept skin on)
  
• 1/2 c. butter
• 1/3 c. flour
• 1 qt. half & half (I used nonfat, and it was great!)
  
• 1 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 t. pepper

1. Drain clams, save juice. Combine vegetables, clam juice, and enough water to cover vegetables.
   
2. Simmer till vegetables are soft. Add clams and cook 2 minutes.
   
3. In a separate pan, melt butter. Whisk in flour and cook to make a roux (2-3 minutes-no lumps). Add half & half, salt and pepper and cook until thick. Add to vegetable mixture.
   
4. Serves 8.

This was a tasty soup! Olivia even ate it..well, with exceptions of the clams and potatoes and celery. Ha ha. Anika loved it, as she is a willing eater for the most part. We'll make this again. Great for leftovers. Quick, too. Instead of getting out another pan, I melted the butter in the microwave, then whisked in the flour, and dumped that into the pot with the veggies and clams and stirred for a minute or so. Then I added the half and half to that...the consistency was just fine that way, so if you want to make it even faster, feel free to do that.

Fruit and Veggie dinner

Sweet and Sour Shrimp and Veggies
(adapted from recipezaar.com)

• 1 12 oz bag frozen stir fry veggie blend
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped into large pieces
• 4 carrots, chopped into large but thin pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (or garlic powder)
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1/3 teaspoon cayenne (or more to your tastes)
• 1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined (about twenty or so 26-30 count shrimp)(I use salad shrimp from Sam's Club; it's already cooked and cheaper for more)
• 1 1/2-2 tablespoons cornstarch
• water
• 1 can pineapple slices (as little or as much as you like)

1. Saute carrots in vegetable oil over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add garlic and onion, cooking for another few minutes.
2. Add juice, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, and cayenne.
3. Add shrimp and vegetables and pineapple, cooking until heated through and simmering.
4. Mix cornstarch and water, (a couple T water), and add to the simmering mixture, stirring frequently until thickened.
5. Serve over rice.

This is a quick, tasty meal. I make it a habit to always have a bag of stir-fry ready veggie mix in my freezer. This sauce would of course work well with chicken too!

Szechwan Shrimp (or chicken)

Szechwan Shrimp

• 4 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 12 ounces cooked shrimp, tails removed

1. In a bowl, stir together water, ketchup, soy sauce, cornstarch, honey, crushed red pepper, and ground ginger. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in green onions and garlic; cook 30 seconds. Stir in shrimp, and toss to coat with oil. Stir in sauce. Cook and stir until sauce is bubbly and thickened. www.allrecipes.com

We love shrimp and have never used it in recipes before. We bought a big bag of salad shrimp at Sam's Club for about 8 dollars and it should go a long way. It worked well in place of the larger shrimp. I doubled the sauce and used a bag of frozen stir-fry veggies. This was great! Anika likes shrimp but O and I didn't. Russell loved it, and I enjoyed it, though next time we are trying an Orange Shrimp hopefully resembling P.F. Chang's!