Sharing A Trip And A Treat With Grandpa

Some of you know that a lot of the time I write some of my posts in the middle of the night when I have a diabetic low and don’t want to go (or can’t go) back to sleep right away. It gives me something to do to pass that time, and since my legs are usually too wobbly and I’m a little shaky to do anything else constructive, I either read or take to the computer to do what I do best – type and talk!! Hahaha —what a combination!

The other night something sparked a memory of my Grandpa and Grandma S. and their visits to our farm. I loved to sit and listen to the "older" folks talking, but Grandpa always liked to go fishing when he came to our place. With the Pecatonica River running right through our farm and just below our house in the pasture, it always made for a good little fishing excursion. I liked to go fishing with Grandpa but he, of course, hated that I always wanted to talk while we were fishing. He would bring a couple fishing stools, his pole, I would bring mine (my brother Gary and I had cane fishing poles at the time), his tackle box and always a snack or two which my Mom and Grandma prepared for our little outing. We would get all set up and I would talk, talk, talk and Grandpa would shush, shush, shush.

One morning as we were fishing, I had my pole in it’s station, wedged in and resting on a makeshift holder waiting for a fish to come along and tempt fate with a bite of my worm. I was behind Grandpa practicing my dance moves (I was in ballet at the time) all the while yack, yack, yackking away. Grandpa had just caught a fish, added it to the pail, and had rebaited a worm on his hook. He stood up to cast away, scolding me he was trying to catch another fish and I should be quiet. As he held his pole up and yanked it back to cast out into the river, the line flew back and when he snapped it forward, off flew the worm. Yep, you guessed it – right into my open, yackking mouth. Oh my Lord, I gasped and choked and swallowed the worm. It is just amazing that I didn’t die of choking on the worm at the time because Grandpa would never have been able to save me. He was practically rolling on the ground laughing. Of course, he did add in something about "that’s what I get for keeping my mouth open when I was told to keep it shut." The worm never had a chance of finding a muddy little home again because when I gasped, it was one swallow and he was gone.

I ran up to the house crying. Not much sympathy there, either. Everyone seemed to think it was funny and told me I had nothing to worry about as the worm would travel its course like any other food that is digested.
　
When Grandpa made his way to the house and was outside cleaning all the fish he had caught, I went out to see if he was mad at me. He still had to chuckle some but said he would expect that I would still go fishing with him. I am sure he thought a lesson learned here would mean a quieter fishing experience the next time. Well, he was wrong. I was still the same yacker, because the lesson I learned was just to make sure I did not sit or stand behind him while I was talking.

I know a couple people said that they wanted some more of my recipes and since I had another throw together this last weekend, I thought I would share it. Although, I have to confess that most of my meals/dishes are throw-togethers, I own a lot of cookbooks (and subscribe to a few food magazines) plus I have put together a whole set of cookbooks of my own which include a lot of recipes from magazines and others that offer me inspiration for dishes. My wish is to copy each volume (binder) for my family but I don’t know if and when I will get to that. It will have to be another one of my "first day of the month" projects to get started. That will involve a lot of scanning, copying, printing, etc., because I have literally thousands of recipes and each category has their own binder. Casey is already designing the covers for each of my binders. He is, of course, using the logo he designed for this blog.
　
Anyway, back to that recipe -- which to go with my story -- is a fitting fish recipe. Here’s my quick take on Tuna Noodle Casserole that I have devised since my husband is so picky. It contains no peas but still looks great without them. (He hates them; I love them). My husband does not like mushrooms so if using cream of mushroom soup, he gives me the evil eye. I am tired of using cream of chicken soup, so I made up my own recipe. Yes, it seems like quite the wild mixture of spices and flavors, but they do marry well together in the end product. This is the kind of mixture that even my picky sons would eat.
　
Shari’s Tuna Noodle Casserole

Noodles (Approx 1/2 bag)
1 lg can tuna (I prefer Chicken of the Sea in water), drained


Sauce:
1 cup milk
1-1/2 to 2" of American cheese slices, torn into pieces
1/2 cup sour cream
4 T. Ranch dressing
1 tsp Garlic/Herb seasoning (Durkee’s)
1 T. Garlic Powder w/parsley
1/2 tsp pepper

Topping:
1/2 cup shredded Romano cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
paprika
1 cup(+) of rolled potato chips crumbs
　
Cook the noodles in large pan with salted water until done; drain. While noodles are draining, in the same (now empty) pan on medium (to medium-low) heat, add milk, seasonings and then whisk in the ranch dressing and sour cream before the milk gets too warm; gradually add the cheese slice pieces. This mixture will be a little soupy. Once the cheese is melted stir in the tuna and be sure that you pull apart the chunks as you stir it in. Then add the drained noodles. Stir good. Next pour the noodle mixture into a 13x9 buttered (or use Pam) Pyrex dish.

Once the noodle mixture is spread out into the pan, prepare the topping. First I sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top of the mixture, then do the same with the Romano cheese and then shake some paprika over that (not heavy, just lightly). Last, I go for my bag of potato chip crumbs* and sprinkle them over the top. Cover with tin foil and put in a preheated 375 degree oven for a half hour. (Note: if the noodle mixture is soupy, don’t worry – it will bake out nicely. If it is dry, then add 1/4 cup more milk to the noodle mixture before putting in the Pyrex dish).
　
If you haven’t read my other posts, then you probably don’t know about two things that I love: (1) Pyrex dishes and (2) *saving my potato chip crumbs. To refresh your memory (or enlighten you), when my potato chip bags get empty and there are just crumbs or the stuff in there that no one wants to eat because you can’t pick them up very well, I dump them in a large ziplock baggy. This goes for all kinds of potato chips (sour cream & onion; BBQ; Ruffles; Wavy Lays, etc.). They just give the whole mixture a little extra flavor. When I want to put a little crunch layer on a dish, I take the baggy out and roll over it with a rolling pin (open a corner first or the bag will pop). Then I dump out how ever much I want for a topping; close the bag up and save it for the next time. As long as I didn’t put any holes in the bag, I keep adding more to it. Waste not, want not!
　
I served this with some homemade garlic cheese bread and some buttered/peppered green beans . Did you notice the dairy theme going on here!! Well, come on, we are dairy farmers, remember!!. Bottom line, Bob had on a happy face. It also makes for good food on a Friday during Lent. Hey, he’s Catholic; I’m not. But either way, that would make his mamma proud with the thought that he was attempting not to eat meat during Lenten Fridays.
　
As you have noticed, this is not fresh fish from the Pecatonica (which I was never fond of anyway), it is canned tuna which suffices my tastes. I have fond memories of fishing with my Grandpa on the Pec River on our farm. I also loved the special homemade tastier treats made by my Mom and Grandma that we had on those fishing trips. It was the fresh "earthy" snacks made by Mother Nature that creatively landed where they were never meant to that which I am trying to stay away from. (There's just not a whole lot of protein in them!)