Cheap Easy Tuna Meals

Food prices are soaring and even tuna, which used to be sold for less than fifty cents a can, has risen in cost. Even though you need to watch for a sale to get it for less than .75 a can, tuna is still one of the cheapest ways to fill your table with a nutritious yet inexpensive meal. Tuna can be added to a variety of items for making a meal.

Cheap Easy Meal #1: Tuna and Noodles

16 oz pkg. noodles (elbow noodles work well)
2 cans tuna
1/2 c. mayonnaise
¼ cup diced onion
1 or 2 boiled eggs chopped

Boil noodles until tender. Drain and place in bowl. Drain tuna. Flake tuna into the noodles and stir. Add diced onion, eggs, and mayonnaise. Stir lightly just to mix the ingredients. This one works well both as a hot dish or cold.

Cheap Easy Meal #2: Tuna in a Biscuit

2 cans Tuna drained
1 can cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
1 2/3 cup Milk (divided to use in two parts of the recipe)
2 cups baking mix (Bisquick type)
1/2 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 450°F.
Place tuna, vegetables, soup and 1 cup milk in a bowl. Mix well.
Place in an ungreased baking dish. An 8X8 makes a thicker dish, 9X13 for a thinner topping
Place biscuit baking mix, 2/3 cup milk and cheese in large mixing bowl. Mix well.
Spoon out as biscuits on top of the mixture, flattening to about 3/4-inch thick. Do not allow dough to touch.
Bake for 30 minutes or until biscuits are completely browned.

Cheap Easy Meal #3: Tuna Pie

1 pie crust, unbacked
1 small can Tuna fish, drained
1 15 oz can mixed vegetables, drained
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. If the pie crust is frozen, thaw it and remove it from the tin. Combine tuna, vegetables and soup in bowl. Pour this mix into pie tin. Place pie crust over tuna mixture. Cur slits in the top and do not wrap or seal it around the pie tin. Place pie tin on baking sheet. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until brown.

Cheap Easy Meal #4: Baked Tuna Loaf with Dill Sauce

2 small cans tuna drained
3/4 cup onion
3/4 cup Quaker Oats uncooked
1/2 c. milk
1 egg
1/8 tsp. pepper
Dill Sauce

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a loaf pan. Flake tuna into a bowl; add remaining ingredients, mixing well. Pat into prepared pan like a meatloaf. Bake 40 minutes; let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Serve warm or cold with Dill Sauce.

Dill Sauce:

2 cups sour cream
2 tbsp. dill weed
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Combine all ingredients until smooth, refrigerate until needed.

Cheap Easy Meal #5: Barbecued Tuna Buns

2 cans tuna
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 c. catsup
1/4 c. water
1/4 c. sweet relish
3 tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
3/4 tsp. dry mustard
Hamburger buns

Make a sauce from the butter, catsup, water, relish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard. Heat in skillet. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add tuna and heat until the tuna is hot. Serve on buns.

As you can see from the variety of recipes, tuna does not just have to be something you make a sandwich from. It can be a creative addition to either the lunch or dinner meal. If you are trying to cut food costs, you might consider adding a cheap and easy tuna meal to your weekly menu too.