What's More 1950s Than Tuna Casserole?

I'd imagine that most people have not only eaten, but have also cooked, tuna casserole. It probably has a million variations, most starting with egg noodles and cans of tuna and cream of chicken soup. Over the years, I developed a distinct distaste for cream of chicken condensed soup; it's too salty and it... tastes fake. Because my Tommy Lee also dislikes it, and I wanted to have tuna casserole once in a while, I developed this way of making it. It completely eliminates the cream of chicken soup, uses albacore tuna instead of regular, and I like to add jalapenos to it, too!

By making your own sauce - which is surprisingly simple, TBH - it put YOU in control of the salt and preservative content of your casserole, something that the test kitchens of 1950s wrested away from us housewives long ago. It's time to take it back.

Watch me make this childhood favorite with a new twist here:

And download the recipe card to print by CLICKING HERE.

Text Recipe:
Tuna (Melt) Casserole
2 or 3 cans of tuna
1 pkg egg noodles
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
3 tbls chicken boullion
1 tbls granulated onion
3 cups water
1/4 cup Half & Half
1 cup shredded cheese
Jalepenos (diced - optional)

For topping:
Crushed crackers
1/4 cup cheddar cheese

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare egg noodles per package directions.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter or margarine and add flour to make a roux. Remove from heat and mix in chicken boullion and granulated onion. Add water, return to heat, and whisk to combine until flour/butter mixture is fully incorporated into the water. Add Half & Half and bring to boil, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and add cheese, stirring to incorporate.

In a large baking dish, combine drained tuna, pasta, and sauce. Stir to distribute tuna and sauce evenly throughout pasta. Level the pasta, then top with crushed crackers and cheese, spreading to cover completely.

Bake in 375-degree oven for 20 minutes. Serve hot. Makes 6 to 8 servings.



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It's Still Winter? How About Some Soup? Mid-Century Kitchen Episode 9 - Tortellini Soup!

Nothing warms up your bones in the winter like a big, steaming bowl of tasty soup... so, despite the fact that it is now March and we ought to be thinking about spring time, we here in Idaho still have 2 feet of snow on the level and it's supposed to snow some more every day this week. With that in mind, I give you one of my favorite soup recipes: Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup!

With complex flavors and easy directions, this soup will likely become a favorite in your house, too! I can whip this up in about half an hour including prep time and it really hits the proverbial spot, I'll tell you what.

Watch me make it here:

Download the printable recipe card by CLICKING HERE.

Here's the text recipe:

ITALIAN TORTELLINI SOUP
1 lb Italian sausage
2 cups carrots (chopped)
2 cups apple cider (not juice)
4 cups water
1 pkg fresh/frozen tortellini (any style)
2 cans tomato sauce
2 tbls onion powder
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried basil
1 tbls dried oregano
2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp crushed fennel seeds
1/4 cup fresh Parmesan (optional)

Brown sausage in the bottom of your soup pot. Deglaze pot with apple cider. Add tomato sauce, carrots, and water. Add all spices. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer. Cook for 20 minutes or until carrots are fork tender. Add tortellini. Cook 5 minutes more or until tortellini floats to the top.

Serve hot and topped with fresh Parmesan cheese if you desire.

Serves 6 to 8. This soup is also fantastic reheated the next day!
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Lemon Loaf in the Mid-Century Kitchen with Molly Starlite, Episode 8!

Whenever I go shopping, I stop at Starbuck's and get myself a little treat, and, if they have it, I try to get their lemon loaf. But what if you get a lemon loaf craving at home and don't want to go to Starbucks? This recipe is an almost dead-on copy of the coffee chain's signature lemon loaf, but homemade! It's light, fluffy, lemony, and the thick glaze on top gives it just the perfect amount of sweetness!

This recipe is a family favorite - it almost never lasts the night after dinner - so it's perfect to take to potlucks or other gatherings to make sure you come back with an empty plate and no leftovers... not that you'd mind with as tasty as this treat is!

You can download the PDF recipe card HERE.

And watch me make this lemon loaf at my YouTube channel (make sure to subscribe or support me on Patreon!)

Coffee House Copy Cat Lemon Loaf
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
Zest of one lemon
1 tsp lemon extract
yellow coloring as needed

Cream together sugar, eggs, sour cream, and oil. Mix in lemon juice, zest, extract, and coloring. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet mixture. Pour into prepared loaf pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Allow to cool in pan. Remove from pan and top with lemon glaze.

Like what you see here? Want to help me make more awesome stuff? Support me on Patreon.com and get instant rewards! You could get a custom song, free copies of my books, free jewelry, a say in my projects, and so much more! Thank you for your patronage!

Episode Seven: Cheesecake Brownies!

Yesterday was, of course, Valentine's Day, and my valentine is a choco-holic! How to satisfy his sweet tooth but still make something unusual? How about Berry Swirl Cheesecake Brownies?! In my latest episode of the Mid-Century Kitchen with Molly Starlite, I show you how to make this dessert that satisfies any chocolate lover but is not too sweet at the same time! The chocolate ends up soft and gooey and the cheesecake is just tart enough from the cream cheese. And, best of all, this dessert goes together quickly - I was done in about 20 minutes and then one hour to bake - which makes it delightful to put in the oven for later while you're getting ready for your Valentine!








Watch me make one here:

Here is the recipe (download a PDF here):
INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
12 tablespoons butter (salted)
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

For Cheesecake Batter
8 oz (1 box) cream cheese (softened)
1/4 cup sour cream
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt.

Berry syrup

DIRECTIONS
Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8" by 8" square baking dish. Set aside
In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients for brownie batter and mix thoroughly, until all butter pieces are incorporated. Pour into baking dish and spread batter to edges. Set aside.
Rinse out bowl (or get a new one) and combine all ingredients for  cheesecake batter. Beat until all clumps are worked out of the cream cheese. Pour cheesecake batter on top of brownie batter and gently smooth to edges.
Drizzle berry syrup on top of cheesecake and swirl through with toothpick, making sure not to get down into the brownie layer.
Put in oven and bake for 1 hour or until edges of cheesecake layer are a soft, golden brown.
Allow to cool completely before cutting. Makes 9 servings.

Mid-Century Kitchen with Molly Starlite: Episode 5 - Birthday Cake Exfoliating Scrub!

As a teenager - or pretty much all through my life - I was never prone to acne or anything; I was really lucky. That is, until I quit smoking several years ago. Then, I got really bad cystic acne that took forever to heal. I needed to find something to exfoliate and moisturize my skin that wouldn't break me out worse.

After a lot of trial and error, I finally hit on this recipe while messing around in the kitchen one night:
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons solidified coconut oil
Vanilla extract

The sugar and vanilla work together to make this totally natural and edible paste taste like birthday cake, and the sugar works as a mild exfoliant to get rid of dead skin cells and dirt while the coconut oil is soothing and moisturizing! And as a lip scrub, this tasty concoction works wonders. I just saved some glass jars from my eye cream and fill them with this scrub. You can put the jars in your purse to exfoliate and scrub your lips anywhere, or keep it at your vanity for a quick pick-me-up for your face.

Watch me make it here:

Mid-Century Kitchen with Molly Starlite - Episode 4: Empty Bowl Potato Salad!

I, probably like a lot of people, didn't like potato salad when I was a kid. In fact, I don't think I willingly ate any potato salad even through most of my young adulthood. And then one day, I was a potential drummer's house for him to try out for my band and his wife served us all bowls of potato salad. Not wanting to be rude, I ate some. And I was shocked that I actually liked it. It wasn't weird in any way. It tasted like potatoes and bacon and there wasn't any weird crunchy things in it, but it had the taste of onions and pickles without the crunch of it.

But the audition didn't go well and I lost contact with that drummer and his wife and never got the recipe. So, I set out to make my own version, and this is the result! This potato salad is a crowd favorite to every place I have ever taken it to; I have never had to bring leftovers home when I bring this dish to picnics, potlucks, BBQs, etc. The secret is the inclusion of pickle juice and lemon zest and juice, which adds the traditional pickle flavor but kicks it up a freshness notch or two with the acidity of the lemon.

Alternate versions of this that I have made before when I have it on hand include adding bacon, but it really is delicious exactly like this. Watch me make it here:

Here's a printable recipe card. (Download & print PDF file HERE)

Empty Bowl Potato Salad
6 eggs (hard boiled)
5 medium potatoes (boiled)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
Zest & juice of one lemon
2 tbs pickle juice
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbs chicken bouillon
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp black pepper

In a large pot, cover potatoes and eggs with water and bring to boil. After 7 minutes of boiling, remove eggs from water and set aside to cool. Continue boiling potatoes for another 10 minutes or until fork tender in the middles. Remove potatoes from hot water and allow to cool.

In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon zest & juice, and pickle juice and whisk until combined. Add in spices and seasonings and whisk until incorporated.

Peel and dice potatoes and put in large mixing bowl. Peel & rinse eggs and set aside.

Add dressing to bowl of potatoes, gently folding to combine until all potato pieces are coated.

Slice eggs on egg slicer and add 4 of the eggs to the bowl of potatoes. Gently fold to incorporate.

Transfer potato salad to serving bowl. Top with remaining two eggs, arranged in a pretty pattern for serving.

Serves 6 to 10.

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The Mid-Century Kitchen: The Cocktail

Nothing is more important to the mid-century meal time than the quintessential cocktail. Over the years, I've tried a lot of liquors; not many have suited my tastes, and fewer mixed drinks really call my name. So, I devised my own (you wouldn't really expect anything less from me, would you?). I call this drink "Cheerio's Cherry" because it tastes like cherry punch and my Grandpa called me Cheerio (because I had as much energy as the Cheerio Kid).

Watch me make a Cheerio's Cherry in the Mid Century Kitchen:

Download the recipe card:

As a PDF: CLICK HERE.

The Mid-Century Kitchen with Molly Starlite: Cooking with SPAM?!?!

One of my all-time favorite dishes growing up was this rigatoni pasta and Spam concoction my mother made every other Sunday afternoon. It's creamy, the Spam adds salt, and the BBQ chips on top add the perfect crunch.

Though a lot of people turn their noses up at Spam, it really is the key component to this tasty dish of comfort food. This casserole takes less than half an hour to put together, 20 minutes to bake, and is also GREAT to take to potlucks! (You'll come back with just an empty pan, I promise!)

No, it's not gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, lactose free, low carb, or low calorie, but it is darned delicious!

Here's the recipe in text; a printable recipe card is below, in both JPG and PDF format, and you can follow along with my video (below), too!

INGREDIENTS
1 can of Spam (any flavor - I like Hickory Smoke)
1 box of rigatoni noodles
2 cups of milk
1/2 cup of flour
1/2 cup of butter
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup crushed BBQ potato chips
Salt & Pepper to taste
Paprika for color (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Pre-heat oven to 375-degrees.
Prepare pasta according to box directions.
Dice Spam into small cubes and put in foil-lined baking pan (no sense in making more work for yourself)
Melt butter in saucepan over medium-high heat.
Add flour to butter to make a paste.
Add milk to roux (your flour/butter mixture)
Whisk constantly until sauce reaches a medium-thick consistency. Add salt & pepper to taste. Remove from heat and set aside.
Drain pasta (do not rinse) and add to baking pan. Stir in white sauce and mix until fully incorporated.
Top with a layer of cheddar cheese, a layer of crushed chips, and a second layer of cheese. Top with a sprinkle of paprika, if desired.
Place in pre-heated oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Serves 4-8 people for a main dinner meal; many more at a potluck.

Click to view larger or print.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD PDF OF RECIPE CARD.