Tuna fish recipes and tips to transform this inexpensive canned

Tuna fish recipes and tips to transform this inexpensive canned staple into a family treat

Canned tuna has been a staple of the American pantry for decades. Most often, it becomes the standard tuna sandwich on white bread, packed into lunch bags as a once-a-week regular. When tuna is on sale, most shoppers stock up, with that sandwich in mind. However, served too often, tuna sandwiches can easily become a disappointing addition to your menus. Here we've got some suggestions on how to prepare some interesting variations of tuna fish recipes, for lunch and dinner entrees, as well as a few tips which will leave the family wondering if your new dish is really that old, boring canned tuna.

Canned tuna is available packed in oil or water. There's no difference in price, but tuna packed in water is definitely superior in taste. Tuna packed in oil leaves an oily and unappealing taste that remains, no matter how well you drain it. Tuna packed in water and well drained simply has a fresher taste. Most people who dislike canned tuna attribute their dislike to the oily, mushy texture of the product. The moral to this story is that tuna fish recipes made with tuna packed in water always deliver a better result.

The second key to successful tuna fish recipes is what type of tuna you buy. The difference between tuna and albacore is enormous. When you shop the canned tuna section, you have probably noticed that the fish is available as 'chunk light tuna' or 'albacore'. Both are tuna, but the albacore is a much better grade. While albacore is more costly, the texture is quite firm, with a cleaner taste. To my way of thinking, it's worth the extra price. Albacore is similar in the 'bite', to chicken or a firmly fleshed fish, such as halibut.

Adding a teaspoon of lemon juice brightens the taste and eliminates that 'fishy' taste some people find objectionable. Snip a couple of tablespoons of fresh parsley and add to the mix. Preparing canned tuna fish in this way gives all tuna fish recipes a good start.

Instead of just mixing up the tuna with some mayo and slapping it on the bread, try one of these variations, using the preparation outlined above: add your mayo or salad dressing and set the tuna aside. Thinly slice a tomato and a small red onion. Spread the tuna on a hoagie roll and top with the veggies. The crunch brings a nice contrast of textures to the sandwich. You might also add a small can of sliced olives, or a finely sliced stalk of celery to your tuna mix and pack it in some pocket bread, lined with a crispy lettuce leaf. Add finely diced tomatoes for a delicious, juicy sandwich. Why stop there? Alfalfa sprouts are another winning topping to the pocket bread style sandwich.

For lunch or dinner, a chef's salad made with chilled tuna salad as the centerpiece makes a tempting and economical meal. This is also a good recipe for diet conscious people, full of protein, fiber and antioxidants, almost absent of fat and low in calories, which means you can enjoy a little extra dressing! Pile your greens on the salad plate, heap a generous serving of tuna in the center and surround it with tomato wedges, avocado, hard boiled egg slices and thin slices of onion. Serve with a chunk of crusty bread and you've got a veritable feast.

Tuna fish recipes, in the form of hot entrees, give you yet another way to serve an inexpensive and quick, but hearty dinner. Boil a batch of egg noodles and drain, removing the noodles to a large bowl. Butter a 2-quart casserole dish. To the noodles, add 2 cans of tuna, 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup and a cup of milk. Slice 5-6 large white mushrooms, 2 stalks of celery and dice 1 red bell pepper. combine the veggies into the tuna-noodle mixture, mixing well. Spoon into the casserole dish and top with a small bag of crushed potato chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until heated through. Delicious!

Sadly, I haven't yet come up with tuna fish recipes suitable for breakfast! That may take some doing ...