Slimmed Down Salmon Casserole

Few diet books suggest you eat casseroles. Why not? Because traditional 1950's casseroles contained huge amounts of saturated fat and calories. But you know what? They don't have too!

When I was working during the 1990's I needed to save time, and prepare healthy meals. The only way I could fit in work, exercise, and musical theater (my hobby at the time) was to prepare casseroles and freeze them ahead. I found lots of casseroles and "slimmed them down".

I've always found "slimmed down" casseroles were the easiest way to balance my diet, limit calories and save time.

Here's a hint to control portions and save time. Like most casserole recipes, this one is designed to serve 6. My family consists of 2 adults. So, I bought several 2 portion size Corning/Revere casserole dishes. When I make a casserole, I make a full recipe. Before the final cooking, I split the casserole into 3. I took a picture of two casserole dishes piled inside one normal casserole dish so you can see how small they are.

Before freezing, I label the dish. Notice that Corning sells plastic lids. To label, I cut a piece of tape, and stick it on the lid. I write "Salmon Casserole" and the date on the lid. Corning also sells glass lids. You need one glass lid to use cover the dish in a hot oven.

Lucia

Salmon Casserole

2 C skim milk.
2 T corn starch.
12 oz of egg noodles. (Whole wheat is best if you can find them.)
1 14 to 16 oz can of salmon, drained. (Or 14-16 oz. cooked salmon. 16 oz is a pound.)
1/2 chopped onion.
1/2 lb (8 oz) frozen corn.
1 T dill weed (optional-- you can test other flavorings.)
1 chopped bell pepper. (I use orange, but you may use green, yellow, or any color you like.)
Salt to taste. (If you use canned salmon, you won't want to add any salt. If you use fresh salmon, you could start by adding 1 t )

1) Prepare a white sauce:

Pour 1 3/4 C of the milk into a heavy pot that holds at least 1 quart, reserving the 1/4 cup in the measuring cup. Stir 2 T of corn starch into the measuring cup.
Place pot over a high flame and heat until almost boiling, stirring to prevent milk from scorching. When nearly boiling, stir corn starch - milk mixture and pour into hot milk, stirring vigorously. When milk is boiling, turn down heat to low (to prevent milk from boiling over). Continue stirring for about 1 minute.

2) Add other ingredients to white sauce. (The purpose of stirring is to keep the mixture from scorching. You may not need to stir often, depending on the thickness of your pot.)

Add onions, and stir while heating until mixture begins to bubble again.
Add frozen corn, and stir while heating until mixture begins to bubble.
Add bell pepper; stir until mixture begins to bubble.
Add salmon, dill weed and salt. Stir gently.
Taste and adjust seasonings. Since you are going to mix this with bland noodles, you may want the seasonings slightly strong for your taste.

3) While preparing white sauce/ salmon/ vegetable mixture, cook egg noodles according to package directions. The directions will be approximately like this:

Fill a large pot with water, place over high heat until water boils.
When water is boiling, add noodles.
Boil noodles for 5-9 minutes. (The time will depend on the brand of noodles. The brand I use suggests 7 minutes. Thinner noodles take less time, thicker noodles take more time.)
Drain noodles.

3) Mix all ingredients together.

Pour all ingredients in a large bowl and stir gently. (It's ok to put everything in the pot if the pot is large enough. If you do, take the pot off the heat.)
Pour ingredients into casserole dish or dishes.

4) Freeze or cook.

If you are freezing, label the casserole dish, seal and freeze. When ready to use, place in the refrigerator the night before cooking and allow to defrost. (This saves cooking time compared to defrosting in the oven.)
When ready to cook, preheat oven to 300 F. Cover the casserole with a lid, place in the oven, and heat 10 -30 minutes. (It takes about 10 minutes if the casserole was already hot because you just made it. It takes about 30 minutes if the casserole was taken from the refrigerator.)

Serving Directions

This casserole makes 6 servings. So, spoon approximately 1/6 of the recipe on each plate. I also serve a steamed vegetable with this dish. I usually pick something green, like brocolli or green beans.

Tips

To limit sodium, use fresh salmon. If you can tolerate sodium, use canned salmon. I find that Bumble Bee canned salmon has relatively little sodium. If you use that brand, the total sodium in this dish will be fairly low.
I can get whole wheat egg noodles at the local Eagle supermarket. These provide more fiber than other egg noodles. But ordinary egg noodles are fine.
Nutritionists recommend you eat "fatty" fish like tuna and salmon regularly. (I write fatty in parentheses because fatty fish is generally lean compared to most other meat! It's just that nonfat fish have practically zero fat.) "Fatty" fish provides essential omega-3 fatty acids, which are required for good health. I try to eat some at least once a week.
If you are concerned about blood sugar spikes caused by noodles, you probably shouldn't worry when eating this casserole. The protein in the salmon will slow down the dreaded blood sugar "spike" followed by a blood sugar trough that causes the "sugar blues". How does the protein do this? First, protein slows the digestion of carbohydrate. So, the carbohydrate will enter your blood stream slowly; this prevents the sugar "spike". Second, as you digest the protein, you encourage your body will produce glucagon. Bet you haven't read about glucagon, but you're read lots of scary stuff about insulin. Well, insulin, which your body makes after you eat a high carbohydrate meal, encourages your body to transfer blood sugar into your cells; this tends to lower your blood sugar. (High blood sugar damages your brain-- so you need this too happen.) The "low blood sugar" guru's warn you that this will make you hungry and cause the sugar blues. Well, if your blood sugar gets too low, it can. Fortunately, glucagon can come to the rescue. Glucagon causes the blood sugar to pop out of the cells when your blood sugar is too low! So, if you eat protein with your carbohydrate, your blood sugar will regulate itself more easily. Insulin will help lower your blood sugar if it's too high; glucagon will raise it if it's too low. You'll feel just right for a long time after the meal!

Lucia