Tuna on Pizza???

I'm no Tony Bourdain but I do consider myself an adventurous eater.

I've done some traveling in my time.

I've eaten giraffe in Kenya, an unkown street food in Malaysia, and maybe even more daring... beef tongue. (The thought of french kissing a cow crossed my mind more than once but I got it down and chased it with vodka like any good Russian would do. Consequently - I was in a Russian resaurant at the time - in Baltimore.)

All that said, I don't like to mess too much with my pizza.

Most definitely NO fruit (sorry you ham & pineapple crazies).

So the thought of putting Bumble Bee tuna on a pizza was definitely a challenging one for me.

The fact is, I'm a big baby.

Because not only is this recipe REALLY EASY, it's REALLY GOOD and made me feel like a real gourmet!

Mediterranean Tuna Pizza

Buy or make a pizza crust. I have done both and my theory is - some people are just not good at making their own pizza crust.

Then top with the following ingredients:

1 can of Bumble Bee Tonno in Oil

1-2 strips of Prosciutto torn into smaller pieces

Feta cheese

fresh tomato slices

Mozzarella cheese

Brush the pizza crust with olive oil and spread the toppings evenly across reserving the mozzarella cheese for last. You can add red pepper flakes too.

Place into over and follow pizza crust baking instructions - but usually it's about 10-15 minutes.

Mine looked like this

and it was truly delicious! Everyone had a slice if not two.

So yes, you CAN have tuna on pizza as well as on a few other surprising things.

For more great Bumble Bee recipes visit BumbleBee.com then let me know what you are going to make!

Janine

Disclosure: As a member of the Bee Squad Bumble Bee is my official sponsor to attend the BlogHer 11 conference. I have received a box of product for my family to use as we explore the Bumble Bee line of products and document the experience here. I may at some point offer a giveaway and that product will be supplied at not cost to me.

Go for an easy Hot Lunch instead of a cold sandwich with Bumble Bee Salmon

Do you prefer a hot or cold lunch?

Lunch, when I am working at home is typically a cold sandwich or salad. Sometimes, I heat up soup.

Today, however, we had some leftover cous cous and green beans, but nothing warm to go with it.

Then I found the Bumble Bee Salmon can from my #BeeSquad package and thought I'd try and make some salmon cakes that didn't require baking. When I'm ready for lunch I'm READY for lunch, you know what I mean?

Here's what I did and it turned out PERFECT (for me anyway):

1. empty contents of Bumble Bee Prime Fillet Atlantic Salmon into a bowl and add a spoonful or two of mayo (instead of egg so it doesn't have to be baked to be cooked through)

2. add bread crumbs (I used slightly seasoned Panko style which are lighter in flavor) and form into patties. Place patties in hot skillet with oil already heated through.

 

 3. Once browned on both sides, cover with a lid and turn heat to low to heat the patties (again, for temp only since there's no raw egg).

Serve with last night's leftover cous cous and greenbeans!

blury photo but I ate it too quickly to take another!

This was EASY and QUICK and was deeelicious. I might squirt lemon juice if I had some but the mayo made the salmon cakes a little creamy which gave it enough flavor for me.

Janine

 

Disclosure: As a member of the Bee Squad Bumble Bee is my official sponsor to attend the BlogHer 11 conference. I have received a box of product for my family to use as we explore the Bumble Bee line of products and document the experience here. I may at some point offer a giveaway and that product will be supplied at not cost to me.

Bumble Bee is getting sloppy (Joes that is)

As a member of the Bee Squad I get a heads-up on all kinds of cool things you can do with Bumble Bee tuna and seafood products.

Bumble Bee has a new video series of kid-friendly recipes that are easy and taste great!

The lastest video is how to make sloppy joes using Bumble Bee tuna.

WHAT?!!?!

I know - but trust me - it looks really good and tastes even better!

Check it out:

What you need:

Warmed Sloppy Joe sauce

Bumble Bee Chunk Light tuna

Buns

The tuna will warm up quickly if the sauce is already hot. Serve it with some carrot sticks and celery sticks (instead of fries) and you have an easy, healthy summer meal!

Check out all of the Bumble Bee Food kid-friendly recipes and let me know if you've tried any!

Janine

I'm a member of the Bumble Bee Bee Squad!

I know what many of you are thinking...

What they hey?

Until you learn how much I love tuna fish.

Tuna is to me what pizza is to you the morning after a late night

In college the morning after a late night party all of my friends would get greasy comfort food like pizza or burger. Me? I always got a tuna melt.

It's comforting. It's inexpensive. It's filling. It's actually quite good for you too!

I still love tuna and eat it at least once a week. I specifically like Bumble Bee so I was thrilled when they asked if I'd join the 2011 Bee Squad in exchange for paying my way to BlogHer '11!

"You want me to work with my favorite tuna company and eat a bunch of Bumble Bee products and write about it? Um, how do I say this... HELL YES!"

And so it begins.

Exploring the Bumble Bee product line

I recently received a welcome kit in the mail complete with all kinds of Bumble Bee product as well as an apron which makes me feel like a real cook!

 

The Mister quickly ate the seasoned cans of tuna called Bumble Bee Sensations (Lemon & Pepper, Spicy Thai Chili and Sundried Tomato and Basil) before I had a chance to write about them properly or even write up a fancy recipe.

Here is the one close-up shot of the cans I got before they disappeared into his stomach:

BUT, I can at least tell you what he said,

"Am I in trouble again?

Oh. OK. Sorry.

Next time I'll take a picture before I eat them.

Um, they were good! Didn't even need mayo. Get more of them."

And that last part, "Get more of them" is what is key here folks.

That means he really like them. And I like the no mayo because both of us need to be watching our calorie intake.

In the next few months I'll be highlighting various family-friendly Bumble Bee recipes like the tuna pizza I made (seriously good), the Bee Well for Life program (which donates $.10 a mile to breast cancer research), and the way Bumble Bee practices what they preach with encouraging their employees and business to be healthy and green.

Now I'm starving and off to make myself a tuna melt!

Janine

Disclosure: As a member of the Bee Squad Bumble Bee is my official sponsor to attend the BlogHer 11 conference. I have received a box of product for my family to use as we explore the Bumble Bee line of products and document the experience here. I may at some point offer a giveaway and that product will be supplied at not cost to me. All opinons expressed here are my own and you are welcome to contact my college roommate to verify I did, infact, eat tuna melts regularly and you can leave a comment here for The Mister to verify just how many cans of Bumble Bee tuna I have purchased and are currently stored in my basement before I ever became a Bee Squad member. Actually - someone please do that. Make him work a little for the tuna, right? Kidding. This disclosure is getting too long already and was obviously not approved or reviewed proior to being published.

Cooking Matters class part 2: the chef and the food and what matters

If you are new here you might want to read Cooking Matters class part 1

Learning to cook takes a dash of curious mixed with a pinch of bravery

Cooking Matters is a program developed by the folks at Share Our Strength and supported by the wonderful people at ConAgra Foods Foundation that helps those in need learn to shop, and prepare healthier meals while staying on a budget. In this economy, this is something we can all learn to do better and the boot camp and classes I sat in on were chock full of useful advice!

As someone who cooks but does not consider herself "a cook", I often fumble my way through a recipe. Occasionally I have a moment of genius (where I am brave enough to risk an entire meal) where I decide to toss in fresh basil and curry and somehow it works.

But usually I stick to my same-old recipes. 

Now imagine you are someone who lives below the poverty level and you have barely enough money for food. You might not even have a stove! To say cooking would be a challenge is quite an understatement. Yet this is what many people face every day.

Eating is Important but Cooking Matters

The Cooking Matters program not only covers nutritional information, but each lesson involves a real chef leading a cooking lesson using a recipe that participants will repeat later that week at home! In the classes I attended we learned the proper way to cut (an onion, a carrot, kale, chicken, etc), simmer, and even how to keep cutting boards and the work surface sanitized.

We learned about seasoning with onion and garlic and pasta water instead of adding salt.

We learned that you can't keep the oil heating too long or it will start to smoke...and then the smoke alarms will go off and then the building is evacuated and then...well you can imagine.

Most important was the exercise of working together to prepare a meal.

Cooking together with people, as a family, with fresh ingredients really can make a difference in our lives.

Cooking gives us time to chat and get to know one another. It allows us time to appreciate the food we have, the color, the vitamins, and the techniques used to prepare this life sustaining element, so that we can nourish our bodies. This process, this thing called cooking, also seems to nourish our souls.

Cooking, not just opening a package and reheating, matters.

For more information on Cooking Matters and how you can get involved with your local Share Our Strength partner or food bank visit cookingmatters.org and how to participate.

Janine

Disclosure: ConAgra Food Foundation and Share our Strength paid for my trip to Texas and I will receive a stipend for my work helping to tell the story and promote Cooking Matters. As always, all opinions and experiences are my own and this post was neither reviewed nor approved prior to being published.