Tuna Noodle Casserole

Now my dear husband LOVES Tuna Noodle Casserole and surprisingly ES loves it too. With our new obsession looking for MSG and Splenda I actually sat and read the contents of ALL of the Cream of Whatever Soups at the Commissary as my recipe for Tuna Noodle Casserole calls for Cream of Chicken Soup, and all of them had MSG. So I thought to myself, well I guess we are NEVER having that meal again. Then a few days later I found a recipe in Better Homes and Gardens. They had an entire article about traditional casseroles and a new modern twist to it. Low and behold NO Cream of Whatever Soup!! So I had to give the tradition version a whirl.

It was last nights dinner and I have to say the taste was SPOT on, but unfortunately it was a little dry. I suspect that this is due to the fact that I probably reduced the sauce a tad too much as I was running around being a crazy unorganized cook! :-) So next time I make this, as soon as I see the sauce has thickened oh so slightly I will stop cooking it.

Here is the recipe and my modifications will be in parentheses.

Prep: 25 Minutes Bake: 30 Minutes Oven: 375

Ingredients:
3 cups medium noodles (elbow)
1 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter (light butter)
1/4 all purpose flour
2-3 TBSP Dijon Style Mustard
2 1/4 cups milk
12 oz chunk tuna drained (Costco brand tuna has the best taste!)
1/2 cup bottled roasted red sweet peppers, chopped (ours were moldy so those were omitted)
Potato chips, optional (I cubed up slice of bread and mixed in 1TBSP melted butter)

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In large saucepan cook noodles according to package directions. Drain; return noodles to pan.

2. For sauce, in medium saucepan cook celery and onion in hot butter until tender. Stir in flour, mustard and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Add milk all at once; cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly, whisking to remove any lumps.

3. Gently fold sauce,tuna, and peppers into noodles. transfer to lightly greased 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Top with chips. Bake uncovered, 30 to 35 minutes, until heated trough. Let stand 5 minutes.

Serves 4 (mine made at least 6 servings).

Nutrition Information according to BH&G's ingredients:
419 calories
16 g fat (10 g saturated fat)
110 mg cholesterol
720 mg sodium
36 g carbohydrates
2g fiber

Quote of the Night

My mom has been visiting for the past two weeks. As some of you know, I am not a huge fan of cooking dinner and I am really not a salad eater so there is usually not salad on my table (let's be real, Blunoz is the only one that would eat AND enjoy it). I always come up with some other vegetable that the boys MAY eat.

Anyway... Since I don't really enjoy cooking, Rachel Ray has become a staple of my life. So tonight we had Rachel Ray's BBQ Spice Chicken and Salsa Salad. I had prepped the entire meal, including chopping up the veggies for the Salsa Salad when Mom came into the kitchen and asked if I wanted her to make a salad. My response was "I already did." Can you guess her response?

"You DID?!" (I wish I could convey the tone of shock and disbelief here). I am surprised she didn't just drop to the floor in shock!

Yup... this about sums up my life. :-)

Anyway, if you checked out the recipe you will note RR serves it with Pumpkin Polenta. I have yet to find the ingredients for that one (guess the commissary only carries pumpkin in the fall). So we eat it with Hawaiian Sweet Bread, YUMMO! ;-)

Favorite Movies

When I stop to think of what my all time favorite movies are, Drew Barrymore movies keep popping into my head.

The Wedding Singer



Never Been Kissed



Ever After



Music and Lyrics


Don't watch this next video if you haven't seen the movie, HUGE spoiler! :-)



Fever Pitch
and yes, even Home Fries.

And of course we can't forget E.T. :-)

But I would be amiss if I did not mention two of my other favorites that do not include Drew Barrymore.

The Cutting Edge and The Princess Bride



Now that I have shared my weird obsession with you all, I hope you have had a good laugh. :-)

Just wanted to share.

While watching a FoodTV special awhile aback, I think it was a biography of chefs or something, Duff Goldman of Ace of Cakes was on. He had a statement about his childhood that I just loved.

"While it was a challenging time, I don't want to say it was character building but it just makes you stronger and able for you to be able to deal with a lot more challenging situations... There is so much that can happen when you are a kid and you can gather strength from it or use it as a crutch. And I chose to use it to be stronger."

Choose to be stronger. 'nough Said. :-)

I am Legal

I am now officially legal to make right hand turns from the left lane in the state of Hawaii.

My Virginia Driver's License was about to expire and after much procrastination I undertook the process of getting a new Hawaii Driver's License.

1. Go get the Driver's Manual from some place like Longs or Borders Books.
2. Read/Study the book
3. Go take the written exam and pay your money and get a new license.

Well, step 3 deemed more difficult than necessary. I looked online to see where I could go get a license and was lead to believe that I could go to the facility at the Pearl Ridge Mall. So I dropped YB off at school, came home, exercised, showered and got ready. I went over to the Pearl Ridge Mall, filled out my application and waited. Once it was my turn I was informed that they do not do out of state license transfers as they do not administer the written test. I could go downtown or go to a town out west. I opted for Kapolei. I had a couple of hours before I had to go get YB so I headed out there.

Well, my fancy wancy Acura MDX Navigation system does not work in Hawaii so I had to wing it, and yes I got lost. I finally found the building, went in and stood in line and by the time the guy had entered all my information into the computer it was time for me to head out to get YB. Thankfully they guy told me that I could come back within 24 hours and finish the process.

YB and I headed out this morning. When we arrived there were 4 people already taking the 30 question multiple choice test. When I finished my test and double checked it, there were 3 of the original 4 left in there taking their test. When I left with my beautiful new license those 3 were still in there taking the test. I sure hope it was a different test, but I don't think so.

My biggest complaint with this system is that they do not tell you if you got any wrong or not and if you did get something wrong, what it is so you could make sure you know the correct rule. Or maybe I just got them all right!

One thing that was confirmed for me is that you are NOT supposed to cross a solid white line, except in unusual circumstances and with great caution. I cannot tell you how many people get on the highway here and automatically cross that solid white line. I also have to say that I was a tad dismayed to see that not anywhere in the driver's manual did I find anything specifically telling me that I could NOT make a left from a right hand lane or vice versa! :-)

If anyone is interested in my copy of the Driver's Manual, let me know.

I am now off to go make lefts from the right lanes and rights from the left lane. :-)

Clorox Green Works

Ok, I am not a tree hugger, but I am not that into chemicals either. So I have been quite intrigued since I first saw an ad for Clorox Green Works. I finally bit the bullet and picked some up at Costco (I know, try in bulk, I am crazy) with the coupon in their latest mailer.


I picked up the Clorox Green All-Purpose cleaner. I might be addicted! First of all it smells incredible! Fresh and lemony! Second it cleaned REALLY well and left a nice shiny counter top.

Now, I realize it isn't antibacterial, but in all honesty is that really needed? I want my kids to have healthy immune systems, be able to resist infection (what doesn't kill them, makes them stronger!). Now I am not saying that we never use antibacterial because I do wipe down the space where I work to prepare dinner and use antibacterial hand soap in the kitchen. But we have regular soap in the bathrooms.

Ok, so I digress. Anyway, the point of this post was to praise Clorox Green Works for making a cleaner I love. I mostly love the scent but it did a great job cleaning the counters and I am sure I will be going through that large jug of cleaner I picked up soon! Of course where the chicken drips, I will be sure to clean up with something anti-bacterial. Or maybe I can just spray with that Clorox Anywhere spray... ;-)


DH... maybe we should buy some stock in Clorox... I might be an addict (like my Kimberly Clark addiction that has paid off well)!

I am going to pick up the Natural Bathroom Cleaner next time I go to the commissary and see what that does... has anyone else tried these products?

Protocol

So I learned something new yesterday. Well, actually I learned lots of new things yesterday but one thing that I thought I should share was a couple of etiquette issues.

1. If your DH is in his Mess Dress uniform (you know, that tuxedo one) you should be in a floor length gown! Yes, this was a shocker to me. I just went and bought a dress for the ball on the 19th and it is NOT floor length. Panic attack! Well, not really but I was in a bit of a tizzy over it. At this point in DH's career I am supposed to be stepping up into a leadership role with the other spouses and setting a good example to the younger folk. Yes, I see you all Rolling on the Floor laughing at this thought. :-) It scares me too. ;-) So I talked to a more senior submarine wife and she assured me that she is NOT wearing a floor length gown and not to worry too much. This is after all, Hawaii. But for those of you not in Hawaii... well you decide. Contemplating this new information, it actually made sense to me.

In Summary: Mess Dress = Floor length gown
SDBs or Chokers = cocktail dress. Complement what your significant other is wearing.

I have a crazy week ahead of me before the ball. But another wife did tell me about a great store at the outlets that has beautiful gowns super cheap. So if I can, I will head up there and see what they have and hopefully be able to return my more expensive cocktail dress. :-) But if I don't make it up there, oh well!

2. BMW... Did you ever sit down to a formal meal and wonder which bread plate is yours? Just remember BMW... from left to right looking at your place setting you will find your BREAD plate, your MEAL, and your WATER.

I hope everyone has a wonderful time at their respective Sub Balls!

This is why I am cranky!

Okay, so i have been super tired lately. I have been waking up in the middle of the night and having a very hard time going back to sleep and the lack of sleep is really starting to get to me.

So last night I went to bed early with great intentions of having a very good night's sleep. So I dozed off just as DH came up to brush his teeth and then next thing I know I am listening to him open and close the drawers in his bureau. He gets his clothes out the night before with the intent of not disturbing me in the morning. So then he starts conversing me with topics that are not calming and soothing. Okay, up for another half an hour. :-)

Midnight: ES is standing next to me tapping me to wake up because he has had a bad dream. I get ES back in bed and come back to find DH has sprawled on my side of the bed. Got to shove him back over... yea he slept through ES coming in. Ok, back to sleep I go again...

3am: Ring, Ring, Ring... THE PHONE?! DH is acting CO this week and unfortunately I took our bedroom phone downstairs yesterday and forgot to bring it up so I go dashing for the guestroom phone (yes DH is still sleeping). Unfortunately I get to the phone too late but with the caller ID I know it wasn't the boat. It was Private Name/Private Number. They didn't leave a message... who called us at 3am. I am guessing it is some ding bat on the east coast who forgot we live in HAWAII! Yes, DH woke up when I came back to the room with the phone but of course went quickly back to sleep. After waiting a few more minutes to see if the phone company is just slow processing the voice mail, I eventually fall back to sleep. Turns out it was someone from the east coast who forgot we were 6 hours behind. So my first question is, if it is work related and you think it is after 9am, why are you calling my DH at home? Shouldn't he be at work?! UGH

5am (ish): DH is up and I am thinking... hmmm he is up early for a Wednesday morning. The PT Nazi starts PT later than regular command PT on Monday and Friday. Well, he comes back to bed so I have to ask what he is doing. "Getting some eye drops". WHAT?! Eye drops in the middle of the night? Ok, back to sleep.

6am: DH's alarm goes off... and goes off again 5 minutes later. :-)

6:4o: My alarm goes off... the DJ's are droning on and on about something... I fall back to sleep.

6:50: They finally play music that brings me to my senses. Dash out of bed and get the ball rolling to get ES off to school on time.

So, this is why I am cranky. Hopefully tonight will be better. :-)