Easy Tuna Salad
The perfect tuna salad recipe! Filled with veggies, eggs, and relish, it’s a simple summer dish that is great for any picnic lunches. This can be used on top of salads, in wraps, sandwiches, or stuffed into those garden tomatoes!
2 5-7 oz cans tuna, drained and shredded
1½ cups finely chopped celery hearts (include center heart leaves as they have a ton of flavor)
2 whole carrots, peeled and finely diced
½ cup finely chopped red onion
4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and finely chopped
½ cup mayo (can add more/less based on preference)
½ cup sweet pickle relish (I try to drain off most of the liquid in the jar.)
½ Tbsp yellow mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Drain tuna, place in large bowl. Shred with fork until pieces are small. Add all of the above ingredients, and stir until well combined.
2. Serve on bread, salads, wraps, in tomatoes, or eat with crackers or cucumber slices. Enjoy!
Tips
- If you’re trying to cut calories, substituting Greek yogurt for mayo is a great alternative!
- Use low carb wraps like pictured for a great low carb option.
Fried Green Tomato BLT with Garlic Aioli
The perfect twist on your classic BLT sandwich. With local gardens and farmer’s markets overflowing with tomatoes right now, it’s the perfect time to use those green tomatoes! Make sure the green tomatoes you use are very firm when you’re picking them out for this sandwich!
Fried Green Tomatoes
2 large, firm, and round green tomatoes, sliced to about ¼ inch thick
1 cup panko
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
2 eggs
¼ cup milk
1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
Lots of fresh ground black pepper
Garlic Aioli
½ cup mayo
Juice of 1 lemon
3 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
For Sandwiches
5 buns or bread for 5 sandwiches
1 lb cooked bacon
Choice of toppings: lettuce or greens, red onion, fried egg, etc.
Oil for frying
1. Mix together all the aioli ingredients, and set in fridge.
2. Make breading stations. In one bowl whisk eggs and milk, second bowl place flour, third bowl mix panko and cornmeal. Divide Cajun seasoning, garlic powder, and pepper between the three bowls.
3. Slice tomatoes. Place in egg mixture, flour mixture, back to the egg mixture, and then the panko/cornmeal mixture. Press down to ensure panko sticks.
4. On medium heat, heat about ½ inch of oil in a pan until it reaches 350°. Add tomatoes, cooking about 1½ minutes on each side until golden brown. Place on cooling rack.
5. To assemble, smear aioli on both sides of your bread, top with your toppings like lettuce, bacon, fried tomatoes, and red onion. Enjoy!
Tips
- Cook your bacon in the oven on baking sheets for perfectly cooked bacon every time!
- Sprinkle a little brown sugar and red chili flakes on your bacon for a little sweet heat.
Pastrami Melt with Jalapeno Coleslaw
This is a unique sandwich melt with a spicy twist! It takes less then 20 minutes to make and is sure to be a hit! This recipe takes your classic pastrami sandwich and adds a bit of heat with this yummy jalapeno slaw!
For Sandwich Melt
8 slices rye bread
2 Tbsp butter
1 lb thinly sliced pastrami
8 slices Swiss cheese
4 Tbsp favorite mustard
Coleslaw
½ fresh jalapeno, deseeded and chopped
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar (sub sugar free sweetener for sugar free option)
¼ cup mayo
½ 14 oz bag pre-shredded coleslaw mix
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, mayo, and sugar. Stir until salt and sugar have dissolved. Cut jalapeno in half and de-seed. Finely chop half of jalapeno and add to mayo mixture. Add in coleslaw mix. Store in fridge until ready to use.
3. On a baking sheet covered with a piece of parchment, toast half of bread (these will be sandwich bottoms), and place bread pieces on parchment. Butter half of the un-toasted bread pieces, and face them butter side up. On remaining four toasted pieces, evenly distribute pastrami and then place two pieces on cheese on top of pastrami. Place in oven for 10-15 minutes or until cheese has melted completely (can get golden brown if you like some crunchy cheese).
4. Remove from oven. Spread a tablespoon of mustard on each piece of sandwich-top bread pieces. Top each pastrami melt with coleslaw, and then top with toasted bread tops (mustard side down). Serve immediately, and enjoy!
Alysha Yoder is the photographer, food stylist, blogger, and recipe developer behind A-Yo Kitchen. With a passion for all things food, many of her recipes are inspired by her worldly travels, her many cooking classes abroad, and all the veggies and fruits her home gardens produce. She has been a photographer for over 15+ years and previously worked in the corporate food sector for almost 10. She now is a small business owner running her studio, A-Yo Kitchen, out of York, PA, where she serves not only local clients but worldwide as well.
