1. This was a breeze to make.

2. It was really, really good. My wife loved it, and wasn’t expecting to. A friend I invited over for dinner loved it more and ate two large bowls full.

3. It DID make a lot — I brought in a huge dish of it for lunch the next day (today) and it was even better re-heated, the flavors having had time to blend, I’d imagine. I also brought in a dish for a friend who was intrigued by the recipe — she’s having it for dinner tonight.

4. No one even noticed the fact that it was whole wheat noodles, which I like, because any incremental things that can make a meal healthier are good news in my book.

Thanks again for sharing this, Johanna!

25 min 10 min prep
2 tablespoons dried chopped onions
3 tablespoons water
1 lb lean ground beef
1 1/2 cups chicken broth (I use Swanson’s)
1/2 teaspoon salt (less if broth is salted)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
6 hamburger buns
mustard, to taste
chopped fresh onions, to taste

Soak the dried onions in the water.

Crumble ground beef into a hot skillet and cook over medium high heat.

When the soaked onions have begun to soften and expand, add it and any remaining water (if any) to the beef.

Stir frequently as the meat browns, using a wooden spoon to break the meat into small crumbles.

When the meat has browned, add the chicken broth, salt and pepper.

Cook until liquid is ALMOST gone, about 10 minutes.
Serve meat on buns with mustard and fresh chopped onions.
ENJOY!

Am I the only one that thinks tuna casserole was that disgusting thing your aunt made when she didn’t have anything else in her kitchen? Don’t get me wrong – I love comfort food. Mac and cheese: yum. Meatloaf and mashed potatoes – yum.

Tom: Yes!

Let’s hear it… anyone else want to see a semi-regular recipe feature from comics pros?

Bill: aw, what a great picture of family dinner you evoke.

Too bad I can’t have y’all over for leftovers — I’ve still got more than half a pan left!

I normally use two standard cans of tuna. But… I prefer using Albacore whole tuna. Chunk tuna is the bottom of the barrell variety. Call me a snob. ;)

Another thing I love to cook are chicken legs. Fantastic value at the store for a pack of legs. Some people aren’t really into the leg part of a chicken, but it’s the juiciest part of the bird.

- two chicken legs, skin on.
- one chopped onion
- one chopped carrot
- one chopped fennel bulb
- a few garlic cloves
- balsamic vinegar
- olive oil
- salt/pepper
- oven safe frying pan

• preheat oven to 350 degrees
• salt/pepper both sides of the chicken legs (you can also add some cayanne pepper to make it hotter)
• preheat the pan with the oil over medium heat.
• add chicken legs, skin-side down and cook for about five minutes… until the skin is golden brown.
• toss the veggies and garlic cloves in a bowl with salt/pepper, balsamic (a splash or two), olive oil
• when you turn the legs over, add the veggies to the pan and put pan in the oven.
• cook for about 35-40 minutes.
You can also serve this with rice, but the veggies come out great and roasted.

The other thing I do is sautee the veggies before I make the casserole. This helps soften them up and mellow out the onions. My veggies are usually onions, carrots, celery and occassionally diced fennel.

But, especially for Lily, the highlight are those crispy french fried onions on top. Heavenly.

Johanna… you can bother me anytime.