Tuna Casserole

I was never a fan of canned meat as a kid. I flat out refused to try tuna for a very long time, and I'm not sure if it was my aversion to fish or my aversion to canned meats. When I was just dating my now-husband, he introduced me to tuna salad sandwiches. I actually enjoyed the one he made for me, so I started making them. Like, all the time. I lived off of tuna salad sandwiches in highschool.

After I got married, my husband made a tuna casserole. I loved casseroles, and I loved my tuna salad, but tuna and pasta? I wasn't sure. Once again, I enjoyed it, and after that, I started making tuna casseroles. We both liked them quite a bit, so they become a staple in our early days of meal planning.

When we started eating gluten-free, I wanted tuna casserole, but I couldn't use a can of cream of chicken soup anymore. Instead of googling how to make a gluten-free version, I just made it up. It took a few tries, but I figured it out. M and I love it, and it's super easy, and uses things we have on hand (which most of the stuff I make up does). It's not dairy-free yet, but I'm getting there.

Day 61: Breakfast Casserole

I made breakfast for dinner. Like many a human being, that was one of my favorite things growing up. My mom would make big stacks of fluffy waffles, and I'd painstakingly fill every single square hole with syrup. Or she'd have a big plate full of soft pancakes, and we'd cover them with sliced bananas, strawberries, whipped cream, and syrup. Waffles were more common. Either way, she'd freeze all of the leftovers and we would heat them up for breakfast in the weeks to come. Way better than freezer waffles.

I haven't actually tried either pancakes or waffles, yet, but I do have some gluten free waffles in the freezer that my mom bought for me.

Now that I'm an adult, I don't have breakfast for dinner much. Hubby isn't as big a fan as waffles or pancakes, and I'm not as big a fan as bacon. We would often (once a month or so) go for dinner somewhere that served all day breakfast because I wanted breakfast, and he didn't. But I wanted eggs and hashbrowns and toast and all of that.

Guess I can't do that now... Well, maybe I could. It'll be awhile before I do.

Anyways, we needed to have dinner tonight, and the only thawed meat in the house was bacon. I didn't really want bacon and eggs. I found hashbrowns in the freezer, so I searched for "hashbrown bacon" on Pinterest, hoping for something that used both, not literally hashbrown bacon.

I read a couple recipes and then came up with my own.

So here it is, my Breakfast Casserole. Or my Hashbrown-Bacon-Egg Casserole. Or my yummy food.


12 ounces (or so) frozen hashbrowns
1/4 cup butter, melted
6-10 slices of bacon
1 cup shredded cheese
3 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons Lowry's seasoning salt


You need enough hashbrowns to cover the bottom of your 8x8 pan. I measured out 12 ounces, but then added a few more to make it perfect.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Pour the melted butter over the hashbrowns and put them in the oven for about 25 minutes. You really just want them to be warm. I stuck them in (still frozen) while the oven preheated, and checked them every few minutes.

While the hashbrowns warm up, cook the bacon. You want it crisp enough to chop, but don't burn it.

Chop the bacon into small pieces, and set aside

Beat the eggs with a heaping spoonful of sour cream. I'd guess it was about 1/4 cup, but I just stuck a spoon in and mixed it into the egg. Add the seasoning salt now too.

This is my egg beater. Sadistic or no?

When the hashbrowns are warm, sprinkle the bacon on top evenly.

Add the cheese, and then evenly pour egg mixture all over dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a knife comes out clean.

Also fantastic with ketchup. Or at least my husband thinks so.

Day 56: Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole

There are three things I want from the dinners we make.

1. Gluten Free, obviously
2. Delicious, or at least enjoyed by my husband
3. Healthy

Guess which one usually gets left by the wayside? Yeah... We're not so healthy all the time.

Tonight though, I won on the first two. I usually aim for easy too, and this was easy, but time-consuming. I found it on Pinterest, of course, and my hubby agreed to make it for his turn to make dinner, mostly because bacon was involved.

It's really easy, you mash potatoes, mix them with some cream cheese, other stuff and spices, put that in a casserole pan, and then sprinkle cooked bacon and cheese on top. I threw the potato mix in my KitchenAid, so they were whipped and creamy without any elbow grease at all.


5 1/2 cups mashed potatoes (I used 3 large baker's potatoes, and got 4 cups)
1/2 cup milk
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
8 slices bacon crispy cooked and crumbled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Peel, quarter and boil potatoes for 15-20 minutes, or until soft. Drain potatoes and beat with a mixer until smooth.. Add milk, cream cheese, sour cream, parsley, garlic salt, and nutmeg. Beat at a medium-high speed until nice and creamy.
Spoon into a 9x13 baking dish (I used an 8x8 because I had less potatoes) that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Top with cheese and bacon. Cover and back for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese melts.
Serves 12 people.


So yeah. I meant to halve it, which is why I bought three potatoes, but I had close enough to the right amount that I just added the same amount of other ingredients. It came out very very creamy, and made a ton. Hopefully we'll actually eat the leftovers...

Day 37: Easter Dinner

One of the things most celiacs seem to struggle with is holiday dinners. Your choices seem to be:

1. Go to a restaurant with your family, and hope they pick a safe one, or eat beforehand, and don't eat anything there.
2. Make the whole dinner yourself, and include little to no items with gluten.
3. Go to a home-cooked dinner and either risk it, or don't eat anything.
4. Help somebody make a dinner so that it is gluten-free and you can trust it.

I kind of think celiacs have trust issues...

So, I didn't actually decide to do anything with either side of family. I kind of figured if either want to make a meal, I don't want to complicate their lives, but I might show up. Instead, Banana decided to do an entirely gluten-free dinner with my help. She did make most of the dishes, but I was at a minimum aware of what was in them, and mostly just stirred things together when she handed them to me.

Tonight was the night, although we've spent much of the last week prepping (to minimize work today). The dishes on the table were:

1. Ham
2. Scalloped Potatoes
3. Mashed yams, with a glaze
4. Green beans
5. Spinach and strawberry salad
6. Deviled eggs
7. Rice casserole
8. And Trifle!

Okay, so everything was just so delicious that as soon as everything was ready we just dug in, and I completely forgot to take pictures for you! I took some after dinner, which might show you how delicious everything was... But really, I'm sorry this looks like somebody's leftovers. It was just too good to waste time taking pictures!

Ham is one of those sketchy meats that usually contains gluten. As such, we were hunting for one that said gluten-free, when we found a bone-in shoulder that said gluten-free. Not the usual type, but it was GF, so we were happy! We mixed up maple syrup, mustard and brown sugar and brushed it on the ham and then covered it and baked it for about six hours. It went in the oven just after lunch, and came out in time for us to carve and serve. We repeatedly brushed more glaze on over and over throughout the day. It came out tender, juicy and delicious.

Scalloped potatoes usually contain flour. I don't really know why though. You don't add it to the milk to thicken it, you put it as a layer between the potatoes and then pour milk over top of it. So we just scalded the milk a little longer, made it a little thicker, and skipped the flour altogether (as per suggestion of Banana's aunt). It was really delicious. There were of course layers of thinly sliced potatoes, and sharp cheddar cheese and swiss, and I think onions and spices. I didn't put it together, but I did supervise it's baking time. Which was until the potatoes were soft, and then remove the tin foil until the cheese browns. It was a very creamy, cheesey dish.

The yams are pretty self explanatory. We peeled and chopped a few sweet potatoes and then put them in the oven with a lid on until they were mashable, and then we mashed them. We boiled equal parts maple syrup and butter until it thickened (and tasted amazing) and then drizzled that on top of the mashed yams and cooked them a bit longer.

The green beans were put on the stove with a bit of garlic and some butter until they were cooked. And then we ate them.

The spinach salad was really simple. Spinach, sliced strawberries, slivered almonds, crumbled goat cheese, poppy seeds, and a raspberry vinaigrette. Very simple, but flavourful! And easy peasy to toss last minute.

We mostly made deviled eggs because I remembered I had a deviled egg plate I've never used. And Banana wanted to dye Easter eggs with her cousin, who is spending the weekend with her. So she dyed eggs, and then we deviled them. Mixed the yolk with mayonnaise, a bit of mustard and a splash of vinegar, topping them with paprika.

The rice casserole was probably one of my favourite dishes. We cooked up a bunch of wild rice and brown rice blend, and then mixed it with slivered almonds, dried cranberries, and slices of dried apricots. It was very colourful as well as sweet. Half an hour or so before dinner, we poured about half a cup of veggie broth over it and baked it. Chicken broth would be just as good, but we were also cooking for a vegetarian.

Ah! And my favourite dish! The trifle! I could probably devote a whole post to this one! Mmm... Layers of homemade lemon pudding, GF pound cake, freshly whipped cream, blueberries and raspberries! Does it get better than that? Okay, it might. I don't know. I haven't had every trifle ever. But this was perfect. Banana's ten-year-old cousin actually put this all together, that's how easy trifles are to make. She also decorated the top, which I just loved. 

I don't think the eight of us got even halfway through this thing, despite how amazing it was.

So! That's my gluten-free Easter dinner. Not as hard as it sounds, huh? I mean, if you're going to cook everything at home, you need to be careful about reusing bread knives, cutting boards and pans, but if you are aware of cross-contamination, and ensure things like mayonnaise and honey either come from a squeeze bottle or are brand new, you should be fine. Things like that tend to be things other people forget or don't think about, but if you help or remind them, it's sure to be simple!

Hoppy Easter, everybody!

Day 24: Tuna Casserole

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

My mom asked me yesterday to meet her for lunch today during her lunch break, so we went to Boston Pizza. It must sound like I go there all the time, but you need to know it's one of two mid-price restaurants here. There's a few more expensive ones, and a lot of cheaper ones, or family restaurants, but BP's and Original Joe's are the extent of that style of dining. No Applebee's, Montana's, Rock Creek, The Keg, Earl's.... Nope. Just two BP's and one OJ's.

Anyways, so I braved the outside world this afternoon and unburied my car from a foot of snow. No exaggeration. Yuck. I picked her up from work, which is ironically where I used to work until June, and then we went for lunch.

When we talked about it, she said she wanted their original lasagna. It's like lasagna noodles with bolognese sauce and then baked with cheese. That sounded heavenly, so I set my heart on a gluten-free version. Since the noodles and toast were the only offending things, I ordered their Boston's Lasagna, sub GF noodles. Well, they have a create-your-own pasta menu, which is where you actually find the GF noodles (also where it says to add $1 for GF) and you could order bolognese noodles baked with cheese. So the waitress punched my order in like that; Gluten-Wise noodles, bolognese sauce, baked with cheese, and my mom just got the lasagna, but my bill came out $1.50 more than hers. Not sure if you're following still, but basically, we ordered the same thing, and I should have paid $1 more, but the way it was punched in, I had to pay $1.50 more.

So I was just ranting to my mom about how gluten free people basically have to eat inferior food. Why can't I order a pasta dish off the normal menu and sub the noodles? Why does my only option have to be create-your-own? So my mom pointed it out to the waitress, who reacted with a "Here, I'll go get the menu and show you." Which basically means "I did it right. You're wrong." But when she came back, she had a new bill for me, that wrote it up as Boston Lasagna, sub Gluten-Wise noodles, and said she didn't realize there would be a price difference. So that was great, and I thanked my mom, because I wouldn't have said anything.

I spent most of the afternoon at the gym with Banana, after I dropped off my mom again. I managed three rounds on the circuit, and then 4.5 miles on the upright bicycles. That was intense. My legs were like jelly when I got off. But we were thinkers and brought our swimsuits! So we went and sat in the sauna for awhile. Amazing how intense sweaty heat feels great when there's a foot of fresh snow outside. Also, it did wonders on my would-be sore muscles.

For dinner, I made tuna casserole. I know, yuck right? I like it actually, as does my hubby, so we have it occasionally. It's an easy pasta dish that isn't pasta, beef and sauce. I kind of just wing it when it comes to the casserole part. Mostly because most of the recipes I find call for something I don't have when I want it. The easiest recipe I've found calls for cream of mushroom soup, which is something I don't like so I don't keep on hand, but now I can't eat, so it's fine that I've already found my way around that. Last time, I just cleaned out my fridge into the casserole, mixing the last of the sour cream with the last of the milk with some chicken bouillon  to make a cream of chicken like soup. And it actually tasted great. Hubby liked it way better than the version he usually made. The recipe also calls for breadcrumbs and parmesan for the topping, but parmesan has always been on our no-no list (it makes him throw up) and breadcrumbs are a given... This time I wrote down how much of what I used, so next time I make it, I'll have a yummy recipe for you guys!

Day Six: The Potluck

I am so sick of this rollercoaster of feeling better and worse.

Actually, it would be a pretty lame rollercoaster, because I usually wake up feeling okay, feel good by coffee, feel a tiny bit worse by lunch, and then about an hour after lunch I just start declining until five o'clock.

Then, I either pump myself up enough to be in a good mood for my husband, or am feeling so cruddy that I'm just plain grumpy and can't handle the idea of dinner. After dinner, I usually balance out at an average "not so great" until bed.

It seems related to eating. When I don't eat, I feel okay. But I'm not eating gluten. Well, maybe today I did... But that's just today! The last few days, I'm completely sure I didn't consume a tiny drop of it at all. I know that it's going to take some time to feel okay again, and my digestive system will take awhile to recover, but I just want to not be sick anymore.

So, the potluck at work was today. I really only signed up to go because I haven't met most of the people I work with. My job doesn't effect anyone else's (except one) and their jobs don't really effect me, so I only meet people outside of my specific office space intermittently. And I decided a department-wide potluck would be a great idea. Mind you, that was before I got "dx'ed". 

All morning, I just sat at my desk, with these peanut buttery oatmeal bar things just smelling amazing, and me worrying about lunch. I brought a little container of gluten-free crackers, and a rice cake, in case there was cracker food and/or there wasn't much I could eat.

At noon, I wandered downstairs with my pan of dessert looking for a room of people I didn't know. Sounds like a great idea, huh? Well, I followed my nose and found it. And sure enough, I didn't know anybody. Haha.

Overall, it was actually pretty fun. One person asked me if I worked in IT, and what my name was, and then the lady who organized it admitted to not having any idea who I was when I emailed her to tell her I was coming. I've worked there since last May.

Everyone loved my dish, and most asked for my recipe, which is a sure sign of a potluck hit.

I really should have cancelled, or poked my head in and left or something. I shouldn't have eaten there. I avoided all the dishes with noodles, bread crumbs, and croutons, or any obvious gluten, but you know how many things have secret gluten in them. So eating a bunch of homemade unknown dishes is really not a great idea.

I had some coleslaw, some salads, some shrimp dip, some of a cheese ball, a bit of ham, and some spicy little meatballs. Honestly though, any of them could have been bad.

So, the lesson learned today is potlucks are bad. Except maybe a "gluten-free potluck". Wouldn't that be fun? Anybody up to planning one? Then I could find yummy safe dishes. Hmm...

It makes me sad. I've always loved potlucks; I even have a cookbook meant for potluck dishes. Ah well, just one more sacrifice, right?

I actually haven't felt any worse today than yesterday, though. So maybe I was safe. I felt a little groggy this afternoon, and had a hard time focusing on my computer screen, but I might blame that on my job being so boring my mind is going numb. 

For dinner, my lovely husband made bacon-wrapped sausage and fried mini potatoes. So my second lesson from today is that just because I can't have gluten, doesn't mean I have to eat healthy. ;)

I planned on making my potluck dish again, and taking pictures this time, so I can give you the recipe, but I felt pretty wiped after dinner. So, when I get around to it / when my hubby begs me to make it, I will share it with you.

Unhealthy, and gluten-free. Mmmmm....