Guess what's for dinner!

I had a bit of fun yesterday sending out on my Facebook page this picture and getting a bunch of different responses to my call for a guess of what was for dinner.

I got everything from "Pizza" to "Tuna Loaf". I guess you could actually make a pizza with these ingredients, but it is not one my kids or I would be eager to try. I have also, believe it or not, not ever tried a tuna loaf let alone know how to make it.

So what did I make for dinner? Tuna Croquettes!

It is a simple and healthy recipe, and most times I have all but one of the ingredients at home (celery is not always in my fridge).

Ingredients:

3 (5-ounce) cans of water packed tune, drained and shredded.
3 large celery sticks (or 5-6 ready-packed small celery sticks) finely chopped
1 round slice of red/purple onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup bread crumbs
2 large eggs
freshly ground pepper and salt to taste.

This yields about 30-36 kid sized croquettes. I prepared this in 20 minutes (give or take for some picture taking) and cooked them in about 5-6 minutes.

I drained all 3 cans of tuna and placed it in a large mixing bowl. I added the celery, onion, bread crumbs and eggs. I also ground some fresh pepper (not too much because my 6 year old boy has a sensitive palet and pepper is "HOT AND SPICY" according to him) and a bit of salt.

Here is where you can't be afraid to get messy. I actually enjoy this part a lot.

I mix all the ingredients by hand, literally. I squish it all together and start making little balls, small enough to fit in the palm of my hand.

Then I flatten them out a bit and lay them on a well oiled grill. You need enough oil to sauté your croquettes, which means it is not deep frying but just lightly fried. About 2-3 minutes on one side, then you flip them over to get a golden brown on the other side. I also keep the grill on medium or medium-high heat to avoid having the croquettes stick and not need as much oil.

As a mentioned before, this is a fast and healthy recipe. More elaborate recipes include some mashed potatoes to help keep the croquette together, but that adds starches, carbohydrates and calories to the recipe. We are also a low carb and low-glycemic diet family, so even though it is definitely a much yummier croquette with the potatoes, we stay away from it and keep all the flavor going with the onions, celery and pepper in it.

This is what my plate looked like

A few sides, and lots of salad. My kids love their rice and beans, and I am increasing how much salad they eat, so their plate looked a bit different than mine, yet it had the same sides.

I do admit, my daughter did say "Mom, next time, can you make them without the celery?" because she is not a fan of celery, but once we got some ketchup out for her she stopped complaining.

From kitchen to table in less than 30 minutes. Not bad for a school day.

Tuna croquettes are definitely one of my "fast cooking" go-to recipes when I didn't plan ahead my dinner, and my kids love them.

What are some of your "fast cooking" go-to recipes?

Rossana G-A




FTC Disclaimer: I am not compensated to write this post.