Less than 5: Tuna Salad

I'm going to try a new thing, maybe twice a month, and call it "Less than 5". In these posts, I will feature a recipe which takes less than five ingredients to make, and/or in less than five minutes. If these turn out to be popular, there's a good chance another e-cookbook like my 7 Souper Soups will be in the making. 

For this post, I am highlighting a classic poor student lunch/dinner: tuna salad. Tuna in a can is often on sale for under $1, making it a great budget buy. There are several ways you can dress it up, depending on what you have available and how much time you have. My personal favorite is to dice up a hard boiled egg and mix in some Miracle Whip (which is FAR superior to "mayonnaise" in my opinion.) You can also go uber-easy and cheap, and just sprinkle in a tbsp or 2 of lemon juice and eat it over crackers. However, if you have relish in the house, I recommend trying this variation.

Ingredients:

1 can tuna, drained

2 tbsp mayonnaise

2 tbsp sweet relish

2 pieces bread (or pita, tortilla, bun, crackers, etc)

Step 1: Drain the tuna water. Put it in a bowl with the relish and mayo and mix well.

Step 2: Spread over the bread and enjoy! One can makes about 2 decent sized sandwiches. You could add toppings like sliced cheese, lettuce, or tomato too.

I don't think I could count the times I've had tuna sandwiches throughout my childhood and school career, but this is definitely in the top three recipes for how to make it delicious!

What's you favorite tuna recipe?

Peanut butter, banana and Nutella sandwich

This was a spur of the moment creation while packing for a hiking trip. We were attempting a 14-er (peak higher than 14,000 feet) and it would be a 5-7 hour climb round trip. When I do long hikes I like more than just a few granola bars and trail mix. So I made a peanut butter sandwich, then noticed a banana on the counter about to go bad. Sliced that guy up and added it on top of the Jif. Then I remembered I had bought Nutella a few weeks before and it was in the refrigerator still, so that was the finishing touch on this butter, peanutty, fruity delight.

 

It was gooey, filling and delicious. Even after being smashed in a backpack with 2 water bottles for 3 hours. Might I suggest honey if you don't have Nutella, or a semi-melted chocolate bar. Maybe try some marshmallow fluff instead of the peanut butter if you're allergic. I bet peaches or pears would work well too, sliced thinly. I might need to go try all these combos now...