The last time I made Tuna Fish Surprise was in home economics class in seventh grade, which was...hmmmm....over 50 years ago. That was the first time I ever made the dish—a can of tuna fish, a can of cream of mushroom soup, crumbled potato chips, and, I don't know what else. I have a vague feeling we baked the tuna fish on sliced bread. It was after all public school, the 1960s, and the objective to teach us, girls, how to prepare delicious fare cheaply and quickly within 30 minutes or less.
The home ec teacher let us give our dish away to other teachers, which meant being able to roam the hallways during class hours. So, yeah, you bet I went that way. I chose Mr. Anthony, the gruff old science teacher. Why should all the favorite teachers get all the good stuff?
Yesterday was the second time I made a version of the dish. After consulting the cookbooks and the Internet, I figured anything could be put together for this dish. Thus, it's name. Uh-huh. Got it.
To two cans of sustainable tuna fish, I added leftover brown rice, leftover homemade mushroom soup, one rye crisp, a cup of frozen green peas, two stalks of green garlic, and about a cup or so of crumbled potato chips. I also mixed in creamed horseradish and juice from one lemon. The mixture was dumped into a buttered casserole dish, then topped with a thin layer of shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
Result: The Husband thought it was tasty. Me, okay. Molly the Cat sniffed it and turned away.
Typical ... the cat is the pickiest out of all of us and the husband will eat anything put in front of him. LOL!
ReplyDeleteYup! hahaha
DeleteI might try this...might:) I took a homemec Class and I once put into my speghetti tons of pepper, they were not amused. I lobe your sketch and hope you are doing well
ReplyDeleteBack then in the day (hahaha) home economics was a must in middle school. Sewing in 7th grade, cooking in 8th for girls. Woodshop for boys. I would've loved taking woodshop. Probably in the 1970s, the schools stopped being gender biased. It's too bad the schools don't have teach these life skills anymore for both girls and boys.
DeleteMolly, how could you, hahaha. This is Dexter, Demon Ginger God of Mischief's favorite dish. I've been making it ever since I remember because it's so cheap and easy (insert joke here).
ReplyDeleteI remember a friend of mine dropping by one night and laughing his arse off because I had just made it. He couldn't get over the fact I made a casserole!
Anyway, my version, macaroni, half the mac n cheese powder, milk, tuna, peas, sometimes sauteed carrots (sliced rounds) sometimes a bit of fresh lemon squeezed on tuna (large chunks in water), sometimes corn, sometimes ground beef instead of tuna, sharp cheddar cheese mixed in and on top. Sometimes breadcrumbs sauteed in butter, sometimes crumbled chips on top and if making the ground beef version, topped with tater tots.
I obviously eat this way too often, but it sure cleans out the fridge (and often me).
Yummmm. Reading your versions, I realize I make tunafish surprise without the tunafish. At least once a week, I throw leftovers together into a casserole or fried rice dish. Like what I'm going to do once I get up from the desk.
DeleteMolly probably wanted her tuna fish plain and unadulterated. Did you try giving her just the can to lick? We used to have two Siamese cats and when I'd open that tuna they'd be right there. And I confess I opened those cans and made that casserole for the six of us more often than I'd like to admit.
ReplyDeleteNow if I open tuna it is for a tuna salad, which I still do like.
That girl is so picky, it drives us crazy. She'd rather "starve" than eat something she doesn't like. Canned tuna is one of them, whether it's ours or canned catfood. But, she will eat freshly cooked fish.
DeleteWow! ... that sounds like a tasty treat ... but, yeah, Molly probably didn't appreciate the addition of ... everything else, in her tuna. :D
ReplyDeleteI wonder if she'd like seared tuna. I know I do. If only there was a reliable source to buy it around here.
Delete