Tuna Broccoli Bake

This casserole recipe makes a delicious meal. Instead of using a can of creamed soup, the recipe uses a French white sauce made from scratch as a base. Although making the white sauce uses up another pan, it is easy to make, so give this recipe a try. The fresh sauce serves as a good base for this casserole. The recipe makes a small casserole, but could easily be increased to make a larger casserole to feed more. Also, Mom's recipe indicates that it can be frozen before baking, making it a good make-ahead meal.

One ingredient in the recipe is just listed as savory. My best guess is that it is McCormick savory seasoning, which contains a number of ingredients including basil and paprika. Rather than recreate the seasoning, I used parsley. But you can use any seasoning of your choice.

Tuna Broccoli Bake 

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 3 Tbsp. flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. savory 
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1 cup shredded Swiss 
• 2 cans tuna, drained
• 1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed

Cook butter, stirring often. Blend in the flour. Stir in milk, salt, savory, and pepper. Cook and stir over medium heat until mix thickens and boils. Combine sauce with the remaining ingredients. Turn into a casserole. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Sweet and Savory Meatballs

Homemade meatballs are easy to make and allow for customization of flavor and size. These meatballs were a hit. They make a hearty meal or could easily be used as an appetizer. The recipe uses a variety of flavors to make a tasty sauce to accompany the meatballs.

When I made these meatballs, I made them medium sized. A smaller size meatball would be good for an appetizer, and a larger size meatball would be fun for a big meal. The recipe calls for serving the meatballs with rice, which would be delicious. I had some elbow macaroni on hand, so I used that instead. Whether you use pasta or rice, be sure to add it into the pan to let it soak up the sauce. When I made this dish, I also added some spinach to the sauce to add flavor and vegetable to the dish.

Sweet & Savory Meatballs 

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/4 cup fine dried bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. butter or oil
• 1 can golden mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup canned tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp. vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. soy sauce
• dash pepper
• cooked rice or pasta

Mix beef, crumbs, onion, egg, and garlic; shape into 16 meatballs. In a skillet, brown the meatballs in the butter or oil; pour off fat. Add remaining ingredients except the rice or pasta. Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes or until done. Stir now and then. Serve with rice or pasta. Enjoy!

Pretzels

These soft baked pretzels are so delicious that it can be hard to stop eating them. Pretzels usually have a recognizable brown color that results from dipping the pretzels in boiling baking soda water that gives the pretzel a chewy crust. This recipe does not call for that step. You could certainly dip these pretzels in the boiling baking soda water before putting them in the oven, but the pretzels were delicious even without that step. I especially enjoyed eating the pretzels fresh out of the oven.

The recipe calls for using bread flour, but I did not have any on hand, so I just used all-purpose flour. Bread flour has a higher gluten content and creates a chewier bread. I found these pretzels to be chewy enough, but may try using bread flour next time. As for the size of the pretzels, I made them so that each one was about the size of a hand, but they could easily be made smaller or larger, depending on your preference.

Pretzels 

• 3 quarts bread flour
• 1 quart water
• 1/2 ounce yeast
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cup butter.

Dissolve the yeast in part of the water. Dissolve the other ingredients, except the butter, in a mixer with the balance of the water. Add the yeast solution. When partially mixed, add butter and mix to a smooth firm dough. Allow the dough 15 to 20 minutes to recover. Divide the dough into one ounce units and roll out each into sticks about 14 inches long. Form each dough stick into a pretzel, pinching the ends into place. Place the pretzel on a greased pan, wash with some welted butter, then proof until double in size. Bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes. Allow to cool. Enjoy!