I was not in love with cooking last night. As a matter of fact, I’ve been off all week. It’s been one of those weeks. You know them… when you had great intentions of cooking up lovely meals every night, and somehow as soon as you got home from work in the afternoon, you get distracted by trick-or-treaters (or lack of them), “time-to-pay-the-bills” night, cats that have decided to puke up a week’s worth of food (this is more fun to clean up than you can imagine!), a husband who doesn’t feel good, and just other fun stuff in general. I don't know how I'll ever squeeze cooking in if we ever have children!
And honestly, I really didn’t want to insult your intelligence by posting a tuna salad recipe today… I mean doesn’t everybody know how to make tuna salad? But then I thought… not everybody knows how a Southern tuna salad is made… and you just can’t live without knowing this…
FIRST: You must have Dukes Mayonnaise on hand… you cannot make a decent tuna salad without Dukes mayonnaise. There is no other mayonnaise… anyone who thinks so just isn’t right!
SECOND: Eggs, my dear friends… you must have chopped up boiled eggs in your salad… YES it’s simply tuna salad, but it’s not a proper Southern tuna salad without eggs chopped up in it!
THIRD: Sweet pickle relish… diabetics beware; you know everything in the South has to be super sweet: From the tea, to the cornbread, and YES, my friends, to the Tuna Salad!
SO for you southern-impaired cooks: Here’s the recipe… now go mix yourself a big bowl of tuna salad, THE RIGHT WAY!
Southern Style Tuna Salad
2 cans tuna packed in water, drained
3 eggs, boiled and chopped
¼ cup sweet pickle relish
¼ cup DUKE’s Mayonnaise
2-3 Tbsp. prepared mustard (like French’s)
2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. freshly chopped parsley (optional, but sure makes it pretty!)
In a medium sized bowl, mix together tuna and chopped eggs. Add relish, Duke's mayo, mustard, pepper, and salt. Mix together well. Correct seasonings to taste. Sprinkle chopped parsley on top. Serve with gluten-free crackers or gluten-free bread for sandwiches! Yum!!
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Before I learned about the super big techno world of cooking blogs earlier this year, I was acquainted with a few good cooking websites. I loved these sites! I found tons of recipes, and one of my favorite sites was (and still is) The Hillbilly Housewife. The original owner, Maggie, started this incredibly helpful website.
From frugal recipes, emergency $45 weekly menus, to budget conscious shopping strategies, this is a great site for frugal living, and even though on this blog I haven’t focused on that aspect of my life yet, frugality is one way that husband and I have learned to save money and be prepared for our future. But we’ll get to that later…
One of the best recipes I snagged from Maggie’s kitchen is her copycat for Wendy’s frosties!! I happen to be a frostie addict. When we were dating, Michael and I used to buy the super deluxe frosties, and eat every bite, with ice-cream headaches to follow! Now, 3 years into marriage, (and with the big "30" fast approaching) we're more conscious about weight, so we've scaled down to the Jr. size, but I still crave them!
As always I’ve changed a few things from her original recipe (which was beautifully and naturally gluten-free!). The variations for this recipe are endless, you could make strawberry frosties, caramel frosties, dark chocolate frosties, fruity frosties… it’s really up to you! I personally go for the chocolately goodness of the original!! This recipe uses powered milk and ice water. I think it tastes very much like a Wendy’s Frostie, but if you’re opposed to using powdered milk, or just don’t like the taste: use regular whole milk, or even try this with soy milk or a nut milk if you’re casein free. You can also replace the sugar with Splenda if you prefer! I’d love to hear about your own variation!
Super Yummy EASY Chocolate Milk Shakes
(AKA kinda like Wendy’s!)
1-1/2 to 2 cups ice water
1-1/2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
2/3 cup sugar
¼ cup Hershey Syrup
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 1-1/2 trays of ice cubes, as much as you can spare
2 tablespoons heart healthy oil
*1 egg white (OR a 5 second spray of non-stick gluten-free cooking spray)
Place all of the ingredients into the blender, including the oil and the egg white, or nonstick spray. If you want thicker milkshakes use less water, and vice versa. The blender will be very close to FULL. MAKE SURE to place the lid on. Process for several minutes until well blended. Pour into cups and serve. Makes 4 HUGE SERVINGS!! You can freeze the leftovers, for chocolate ice-cream the next day! YUM!!
*NOTE: I know there is a lot of controversy over using raw eggs. I have eaten raw eggs in homemade Caesar salads since I was a child. I’ve never had any issues with eating raw eggs, but if you are opposed to this, please use the cooking spray. YOU NEED to use one or the other for the right consistency in the milk shakes. The lethicin in the egg whites or the soy lethicin in the cooking spray helps to properly bind the milkshake to the right consistency. ALSO, you can certainly leave out the oil in this recipe if it bothers you, but the fat in the recipe truly helps the consistency, as well as the taste. Trust me on this!
Give it a shot and let me know what you think!
1-1/2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
2/3 cup sugar
¼ cup Hershey Syrup
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 1-1/2 trays of ice cubes, as much as you can spare
2 tablespoons heart healthy oil
*1 egg white (OR a 5 second spray of non-stick gluten-free cooking spray)
Place all of the ingredients into the blender, including the oil and the egg white, or nonstick spray. If you want thicker milkshakes use less water, and vice versa. The blender will be very close to FULL. MAKE SURE to place the lid on. Process for several minutes until well blended. Pour into cups and serve. Makes 4 HUGE SERVINGS!! You can freeze the leftovers, for chocolate ice-cream the next day! YUM!!
*NOTE: I know there is a lot of controversy over using raw eggs. I have eaten raw eggs in homemade Caesar salads since I was a child. I’ve never had any issues with eating raw eggs, but if you are opposed to this, please use the cooking spray. YOU NEED to use one or the other for the right consistency in the milk shakes. The lethicin in the egg whites or the soy lethicin in the cooking spray helps to properly bind the milkshake to the right consistency. ALSO, you can certainly leave out the oil in this recipe if it bothers you, but the fat in the recipe truly helps the consistency, as well as the taste. Trust me on this!
Give it a shot and let me know what you think!
