Tuna Salad

• 10-12oz. drained canned tuna
• zesty bread and butter pickles
• a small celery heart + greens
• 2 colorful mini peppers
• 1 hard boiled egg
• part of an onion
• 1 clove of garlic 
• Kalamata olives*
• 1-2T dark grainy mustard
• mayonnaise to hold it all together

Chop, mince or slice all the vegetables the way you like them.  Combine everything in a medium glass bowl.  Serve with Norwegian crispbread and vegetables or fruit.  *This needed something a bit more savory, so at the very end I topped it with some chopped Kalamata olives. not shown.  Mmmm. . .Just right! . . . Lin

A 'Grate' Cilantro-Curry Egg Salad

In a medium bowl, GRATE the eggs and combine with these ingredients:

3 hardboiled - steamed eggs*

*If - like me, you've had trouble peeling hardboiled eggs you made a couple days ago and chilled - gently crack them, then gently squeeze them while in a pan of cool water.  Leave them a couple minutes.  The shells will come off so nicely!  In soaking, the water gets between the egg and the membrane, making peeling e.a.s.y. !

1-2t coriander (cilantro) chutney

~ this stuff is spicy--start small

2-3T grated sweet or dill pickle

some finely chopped bell pepper

3 celery ribs - minced-diced

1t med-hot curry powder

1t mild seasoned pepper

3T finely minced chives

mayonnaise**

Gently mix well then chill a half hour or so, to bring out all the flavors. Today I used only mayonnaise, but I've used mayo-sour cream, at about a 50-50 ratio.  **IF I had thought of it, I would have done a mayo-plain Greek yogurt combination today.  Yogurt and curry are a great duo, especially with a drizzle of fresh lime juice!  Today  I used the amount shown, then drizzled in about 1T of pickle juice.  Worked well and tasted spicy and savory 😋

Serve in a pita, roll in a tortilla - add crumbled bacon for a breakfast burrito, make into a soft white bread sandwich -or- my current favorite, spread it on seedy-nutty-grainy Norwegian Crispbread. . .

This was SO good for lunch today!!  Lin

A Great Grilled Sandwich

2 slices of your favorite bread

4 slices of smoked turkey or chicken

lots of thinly sliced onion

mayonnaise

2-3 slices sharp cheddar or Swiss cheese

grape tomatoes or other fresh vegetables

Assemble all the ingredients on one slice of bread. Top with another slice, buttered on the outside. Put buttered side down on a hot griddle. Butter the top slice. Flip after 3-5 minutes. Cover, turn off heat and wait another 3-5 minutes. Serve with a fresh vegetable garnish. . .Lin

BLT Egg Salad

4 strips of bacon

1med. onion

2 zesty dill pickles

5 hard boiled eggs

mayonnaise

Cut the bacon into tiny pieces and fry as crisp and brown as you can. Scoop out the pieces onto layers of paper towel and pat to remove excess fat. Finely chop the pickles, onion and eggs in a medium bowl then add just enough mayonnaise to hold it together. Serve over lettuce leaves with tomato slices or on bread as a sandwich. Serves 4. . .Lin

Smoked Turkey-Cheddar Melt

8oz. deli-sliced smoked turkey

3 sweet, spicy dill or regular dill pickles

3oz. shredded sharp cheddar

1T± spicy brown mustard

½c± real mayonnaise

~ finely chopped onion or celery – optional

Chop the turkey (ham or beef) and pickles using a food chopper. Grate in the cheese (cheddar or Swiss) then mix together with mustard and mayonnaise. Put a big spoonful on top of bread or rice cake. Put under the broiler or microwave a short time until all is melted together the way you'd like, a lot or a little. Serve with fruit or vegetable slices. Makes about 5 sandwiches. . .Lin

Turkey Salad

8oz turkey

sweet pickles

dill pickles

½ med onion

1t brown seedy mustard

¼c ± mayonnaise

Optional Ingredients:

½c celery

½c craisins

Chop turkey, pickles and onion. Add mustard and mayonnaise. Serve on bread, rice cakes or as a salad, over a bed of mixed greens. . .Lin  

Dressing for Reuben Sandwiches

pickles – dill, sweet or a mix of both

¾c mayonnaise

¼c catsup

2T  spicy-seedy mustard

Chop pickles very fine and combine with the other ingredients. We had a piece of unsliced corned beef leftover from our St. Patrick's Day dinner yesterday. This was my first attempt at Reuben sandwiches so this may not be traditional, but they turned out well and tasted great.

Spread the insides of the bread slices with dressing. Top with corned beef, Swiss cheese and drained sauerkraut. Grill or eat cold. With a little water added to loosen it up, this dressing would also be good on salads. . .Lin