Tuna Patties

Do you sometimes feel like you don't have the "time" to cook dinner so you just go get fast food? You are not alone! I certainly have fallen in that trap more than once.

From March 15 until June 15 of this year, thanks to the COVID-19 lockdowns and closures, I cooked every single meal at home. That's not a huge deal for me because I enjoy cooking. But I certainly had to plan meals to minimize going out to the grocery store. I tried limiting my shopping trips to every 2-3 weeks because it was just such a fiasco to go shopping; from the long lines to the empty shelves. So, I stocked up as much as I could and made a list of meals. During this time I was still working my job since we own a specialty hardware store and are considered essential, so sometimes I wanted to make meals that were quick and easy.

So here are a few tips that maybe you can use to break that fast food habit.

* Make a list of all of the meals your family likes - add a list of ingredients if that helps you.

*Make a list of meals you would like to learn to cook or test on your family.

*Take a look at your calendar to see what appointments or other plans you have so you can schedule easier meals on nights when you are busier.

*Make a meal plan. Doesn't have to be fancy. Just write down what you plan to make for dinner so you can be sure that if you need to take something out of the freezer the night before, you can.

Sounds easy, doesn't it? Well, honestly it is easy. But you do have to change your mindset a little bit. You know what else? You actually will have more time because it is just as fast, sometimes faster, to make a lot of different kinds of meals at home as it is to go get fast food. In fact, I did order a pizza the other night and it took more than an hour for it to get to us! I sure could have made a pizza a whole lot faster and I wouldn't have wasted the time waiting for one to arrive!

You can also make healthier foods. Even if you are making burgers and fries at home, they will be healthier than anything you get at a fast food place.

So that picture that I included up there is one of the meals my family likes. Well, it is only part of the meal actually. It is Tuna Patties. Some people prefer Salmon Patties. I ain't picking out all those bones! Plus I don't like salmon. So we have Tuna Patties. Usually we have lima beans with our Tuna Patties, but sometimes we will have broccoli, or some other vegetable. My son and I like to squeeze a little lemon on our Tuna Patties, but hubby doesn't.

Here's the basic recipe. So, one thing you should know is that I rarely measure when I cook. I've been cooking so long and I cook to what our tastes are. Any recipe can be altered to suit your tastes.

TUNA PATTIES

(makes 4 patties)

2 cans of tuna. (I use Wild Planet Wild Skipjack Light Tuna.)

1/3 Cup Bread Crumbs. (If I am out of bread crumbs, I crush up Saltine Crackers.)

1 egg. (Egg is used as a binder. If your mixture isn't holding together, just add another egg.)

Salt and Pepper to taste. (I add this at the table since we all have different tastes.)

Olive Oil

Drain tuna and place in bowl. Mix tuna, bread crumbs, and egg together. Make 4 patties. It does help to squeeze the mixture together before patting out the patty. Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat. Olive Oil has a low flashpoint. DO NOT HEAT ON HIGH! Add patties to the pan. Cook until the first side is well browned. Flip over and cook until the other side is well browned. Remove from pan and Enjoy!! (It only takes about 15-20 minutes to make these.)