Tuna Pasta Salad by Stace (getting the ball rolling again)

I miss this blog! So I am posting some yummy summer recipes (this may be my only one. I need to try out some more) to get us going again. Life took over for a while, but I do enjoy sharing these memories, and I want to start adding to them again.

This is a great summer dish - easy, quick and delicious. Dude and I started making this in our apartment in McKinney, the year we were married, the same year I was completing my student teaching and he was searching for a steady job to help support us. It was a lean year (understatement) and we needed some new ways to eat tuna fish!

We have tried this with many noodles over the years, but our favorite is the organic, veggie, spiral noodles we found at HEB recently (in the bulk section -- good price too...about 1.50 a pound). We have used spinach pasta with good results, and Target sells a looped, veggie pasta (name escapes me right now) that is pretty good too. I have never actually measured the mayo or miracle whip or other ingredients. The following measurements are estimates. You just add until it looks moist and tastes good.

Ingredients:
16 oz Tuna (canned or vac-pac)
1/2 cup Mayo
1/2 cup Miracle Whip
1 T dill relish (optional)
2 boiled eggs, chopped (optional)
16 oz of veggie pasta
3 T capers (optional)
3T chopped olives (optional)

Directions:

• boil water and cook pasta according to directions (al dente is best). Drain and set aside to cool.
• pound tuna with meat tenderizer (to get out those chunky pieces that clump together)
• add mayo, miracle whip, eggs and relish
• mix until moist
• add to cooled pasta and mix thoroughly
• add capers and olives and toss (or serve on the side so picky eaters do not have to pick them out)
• serve cold

Lyd (16) made this for us two nights ago, and it was delicious; she did a great job. This is the one meat dish that she would eat when she was going through her vegetarian phase. Bo (our toddler) even eats it (tons of it) even though he does not like tuna plain, so I guess it is a good way to get the kids to eat tuna, better than tuna casserole anyway. Enjoy! I would love to see some good summer recipes on here. Feel free to share.

Edited to Add - (07/21/2011) - Just made this for lunch today, and I used a combination of organic whole milk yogurt and a tiny bit of organic mayonnaise instead of the mayo/miracle whip mixture. I also have been using dried dill weed instead of relish (since Nicole suggested it). Boddhi cannot eat miracle whip or regular mayo, so we have had to tweak a few recipes. I may try to use all yogurt next time and see how it turns out. I intended (but have not yet) to try making my own mayo -- maybe another time.

posted by Stace