Mayo-free Tuna Salad (with avocado)

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Everyone in my house loves tuna. Tuna is cheap and easy. But, mayo is gross. Actually, I love the taste of "real" mayonnaise, but there is nothing real about the (yummy) gloopy white stuff that comes in the convenient little jars at the grocery store. I think doing away with store-bought mayo may have been one of the hardest real food conversions for me. Homemade mayo is delicious, but the eggs make me worry about sending it in Little Bear's lunch. My solution has been to make tuna salad with olive oil and a bit of vinegar (plus the typical tuna salad accoutrements). It's ok. But, not great. 

How to make it great... Let's try avocado! {spoiler alert, it was amazing!}

Scoop one avocado into a bowl.

Add a few tablespoons of unrefined olive oil, a good squeeze of lemon or lime, and whatever spices and mix-ins you like in your tuna (today I just did salt, pepper, garlic powder and dill).

Smoosh it all together, making the mixture as smooth as possible.

Add tuna and mix with the avocado mixture while flaking the tuna.

Eat.

Yum!

I measured, but tuna is so dependent on the brand, draining, and type that you'll probably have to play with the proportions to make it just perfect. As a starting point, 1 avocado + 2 tablespoons oil should be good for 2-ish cans of tuna or 4 of the single-serve packets.

"Hamburger Helper" Beef Stroganoff

I love taking everyday nasties (fake, processed foods), and making quick, easy substitutions. Today I ventured into the world of Hamburger Helper. I actually grew up on the stuff. We had Hamburger Helper or Tuna Helper about once or twice per week. As a kid, I hated ground beef, so I always dreaded HH nights...

Ground beef and I have made our peace, but now I have a whole list of other reasons to hate the stuff. In all reality, you might as well get fast food or a frozen meal (Stouffer's frozen lasagna is truly a better choice here). Look at the ingredients in this "American classic":

Their "wholesome family meal" advertising is total crap!

I timed my healthy version meal start-to-finish at 45 minutes, but that included measuring, tasting, remeasuring and retasting AND photographing it all.  I'm willing to bet that, in a time crunch, I could go from raw beef and whole onions to the table in under 30 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1/2 medium onion (about 1 cup, chopped)
• 2 tablespoons unrefined olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh garlic, minced (2 cubes)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) flour
• 2 cup beef stock
• 1 1/2 cup whole milk
• 10 ounces frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 1/2 teaspoons worchestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 12 ounces whole wheat egg noodles

Directions

Finely dice the onion. This is where I am so grateful for not-so-fancy kitchen gadgets!

Heat the oil over medium heat until it is ripple-y when you swirl the pan.

Add the onions, garlic, and salt. Saute until the mix is slightly golden. {this is by far the biggest time suck of the whole recipe!}

While the onions are sauteeing, bring a big pot of salted water to boil and cook the noodles according to the package directions. When they are done, drain them and return them to your cooking pot.

My Kroger just started carrying these whole wheat
egg noodles, and they are REALLY yummy!

When the onions are ready, add the beef and cook until all the pink is gone.

Kroger also has grass-fed beef now! Woo hoo!

Add the flour and mix well. The beef will get sticky and clumpy.

While whisking, add the broth and then the milk.

Stir in the vegetables (fresh greens would wilt in nicely, too!). Add the worchestershire sauce and parsley.

Cook until the sauce thickens. If it thickens too much, add some more broth or milk to thin it out. If it it way too watery, add some cornstarch or arrowroot powder (mix with a bit of cold water first!) to thicken it up.

Add the sauce mixture and the sour cream to the noodle pot and stir well.

Done!

Little Bear and I love mushrooms, so I sauteed some with butter, salt, and a bit of red wine to top our dishes with. Husband despises mushrooms, or I would have just mixed the sauteed shrooms in with the whole pot...