Tuna Cakes

I have a soft spot in my heart for pantry meals. Those wonderful meals where you don’t have to pick up any ingredients because you already have them in your panty. Ingredients  that are possibly odds and ends left over from another meal you made earlier. Sigh, those meals are blissful. This is one of those meals and another recipe from the American Heart Association. It’s so low fat I didn’t mind pairing it with tater tots and melon. It was a regular “use what you got” meal!

Sunshine in the park at 7pm?

This spring (ok, it’s not spring for another four to five days) has been lovely. This time last year was so cold and yucky that the thought of going outside made me very sad. This year the weather has been warm and wonderful. Little one is busy busy busy playing outside. I love the fact that little one enjoys outside time. We spend lots of time going for walks, playing in the back yard and yesterday we went to one of the bigger parks in town.

All this outside time means very little kitchen time. Right now, this is a sacrifice I am willing to make. But we still have to eat and I value family dinner time too much to just give in an order take out. Enter this amazing pantry meal. Even though the recipe calls for whole wheat crackers I will typically use whatever type I have on hand. Saltines work well as they don’t compete too much for flavor. I omitted the horseradish because I never use it for anything else and I really don’t care for. I’ve added flax seed, wheat germ and various seasonings depending on my mood and what was in the pantry. Don’t be afraid to experiment with flavors. Tater sauce, cocktail sauce or yogurt dill sauce are all a dip dipping sauce for these cakes.

Enjoy!

13 oz. tuna in water, drained and flaked

2 eggs
1/3 cup crushed crackers
¼ cup green onions, chopped
2 tsp. Dijon
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper

In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients. Shape into 6 cakes about 2 ½ inches in diameter.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Pour the oil into the skillet and swirl to coat the bottom. Cook the tuna cakes for six to eight minutes, or until golden brown on both sides, turning once. Serve with the sauce on the side.

Adapted from American Heart Association Low-Cal Cookbook