On sushi bars, chocolate bowls, and tuna shells

I had a really interesting conversation with one of my good friends this morning.

She was telling me about some venison tips she made for dinner last night, how they didn’t turn out, and about how she attempted to salvage them (and failed).  She talked about her frustration in having a failed recipe, why she thought it might have failed, and how she’s been very lucky in that she’s had very few failed (inedible) dinners over the years.

Well.  Let me tell you, that’s really not the case here.  I have had some real doozies . . .

like the time I made California Sushi Bars.  Spent. All. Freakin’. Day.  Took them to a party.  Looked amazing!  Cost a fortune!  Tasted like ASS. 

Or, how about when I made chocolate bowls.  The idea was great (paint melted chocolate on bottom half of balloons - deflate balloons).  The result was hot, splattered chocolate everywhere when the balloon burst mid-painting.  Three times.

Then there was Monday.  I’ve culled my recent magazine purchases for a number of fish and dairy recipes to try out and share with you during the Lenten season.  My first pick was Stuffed Tuna Shells from a publication that must not be named (lest I go off on a completely different tangent).

Anyhow, the picture in the magazine looked great.  The idea was compelling - use jumbo pasta shells instead of noodles in a casserole type dish.  The result was crap-tastic.

I was frustrated.  I mean, there were multiple problems with the recipe.  There is no way anyone had tested the recipe, because it just didn’t work.  But, I refused to give up, because I love the idea.

So, tonight, we had Stuffed Tuna Shells, again.  My kids just roll their eyes.  Hubby tolerates me.  Look, I was on a mission, o.k.?  Good news.  They worked.  They worked pretty darn well, too.

 

The first attempt tasted sort of like a salmon patty stuffed in a crunchy shell, covered with a bitter, parsley laden sauce.  The second attempt tasted like good ol’ fashioned comfort food, dressed up just a tad.  Oh, and these came in around 180 calories and 8 grams of fat for two stuffed shells with sauce.  Yippee!!

Stuffed Tuna Shells
Not from a magazine title that starts with Eating and ends with Light

Serves 8

16 jumbo pasta shells, cooked according to package directions
7 oz. of light white tuna in foil pouch
2-4 oz. of sliced mushrooms (I used canned)
1 small onion, chopped
3/4 cup of 2% milk shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup of light mayo
1 1/4 cup of fat-free evaporated milk, divided
1 10.5 oz. can of low-fat cream of mushroom soup
1/2 tsp. celery salt (to taste)
1/2 tsp. black pepper (to taste)
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs (Panko works well)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a small bowl mix tuna, mushrooms, onion, 1/2 cup of cheese, mayo, 1/2 cup evaporated milk, celery salt, and pepper.
• Mix soup and remaining evaporated milk in a seperate bowl, whisking to remove lumps.
• Pour 1/2 cup of soup mixture into the bottom of a shallow casserole dish.
• Stuff each shell with about 2 tablespoons of tuna mixture and place the shell on top of the sauce.
• When done stuffing the shells, drizzle the soup mixture over the shells, and sprinkle the open section of the shells with bread crumbs.
• Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup cheese over the top of the shells.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until bubbly.

One last little thing.  This is not the first time I’ve made a recipe from this magazine that comes out nothing like it is supposed to.  The ideas are good, but the recipes are not well tested.

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