A New Lunch Idea

I always struggle with what to make for lunch. Our lunch repertoire is definitely boring. We mainly cycle through sandwiches, (ham, turkey, grilled cheese, pizza grilled cheese, egg salad and tuna salad), macaroni and cheese, ramen noodles, spaghetti-O's, and tuna pasta salad. BLAH! I'm always on the lookout for new things to add into the rotation. Leftovers for lunch are my favorite, but we rarely have leftovers. And with Eric home for lunch most days, we wouldn't have enough leftovers for all of us anyhow. I'd also really like to do away with the convenience foods. Lunch is the only time when I use them anymore, and that is a result of my lack of lunchtime creativity. So, I was very excited when I stumbled across a new idea. Tuna cakes and tuna burgers! I actually came up with the idea while watching Rachael Ray on the Food Network. I believe she was making cod croquettes. (I tried calling ours tuna croquettes, but Eric didn't really go for the name. I guess tuna cakes sounds more manly.)

Here's the recipe:

For each can of tuna, add 1 egg, 1/4 c. breadcrumbs, 1 stalk finely diced celery (include the leaves too), and 1/4 c. finely diced onions. That's the base and I think it would be pretty adaptable depending on your family's tastes. I add about 1 t. mustard, 1/2 t. hot sauce, salt and pepper. Once everything is mixed together (it's easiest to do by hand, just like meatloaf) decide if you want to make burgers or the little croquettes. With 1 can of tuna, you can probably get 4 - 5 burgers or 10-12 croquettes. Choose which method you want, form into patties, and turn the patties in more breadcrumbs to cover both sides. Fry in a skillet with about an inch of hot oil (I use olive oil). It takes about 2 minutes per side. Serve the burgers just like you would regular hamburgers, condiments and all. For the croquettes, we like to dip them in ranch dressing or homemade tartar sauce (some mayo, pickle relish, lemon juice, and pepper). They also freeze great and can be warmed in the microwave right from the freezer. And it is so easy to double or triple the recipe. I always do. DELICIOUS!!! (And by the way, I don't even like tuna, but these really are great.)