RECIPE IDEA: LEMON PEPPER TUNA SALAD

​My love for tuna fish sandwiches developed over a summer in elementary school. I was taking swim lessons every day, and my grandma (who I’m learning has had a major influence over how I see food and cooking) set up a routine for me and my brother. We would eat apples and peanut butter with toast before heading to the pool, and she would my sandwiches for lunch when we got back home. My brother, who has never been much of a fish person, opted for ham and cheese, but I became attached to tuna salad on wheat with lettuce and tomato, carefully placed next to a healthy supply of potato chips on a Styrofoam plate. 

Here's what you'll need: 
2 cans of tuna (in water)
4 stalks of celery
1/3 cup of mayonnaise
lemon pepper seasoning
pepper
seasoning salt

Since that summer, well-made tuna salad has always tasted like home to me (emphasis on the “well-made”).  After a handful of bad tuna experiences, I decided to try my own. I did so without any guidance and thought it would be a grand idea to put a whole jar of mayo in my tuna…creating a mayonnaise ocean with tuna chunk floaties and celery pieces gasping for air and dear life (are you grossed out yet?). After a laughter-filled phone call with my mother, the laughter came from her end, I realized that mayo is to be used sparingly.
 
So, I tried it again. 

​I drained two cans of tuna and spooned the remaining tuna into a mixing bowl. I chopped the celery stalks into small cubes and added them to the bowl. Next, use a tablespoon to add the mayonnaise into the bowl…stir it around after each addition until it has the consistency you want.
 
Tuna is a personal thing; it really is. You have to make sure there is enough celery for the right amount of crunch and the right amount of mayo for it to be smooth, but not runny. Ain’t nobody got time for runny tuna, am I right?
 
Once I’ve got it all mixed through, I sprinkle some seasoning salt and lemon pepper seasoning just to give it a little oomph.
 
Cover your bowl and put it in the fridge for a few hours…it tastes better chilled.
 
Then, lunches and snacks galore! Wrap it in lettuce leaves, spoon it onto whole wheat crackers or (my favorite) smoosh it between slices of bread with lettuce and tomato…with a side of potato chips on a Styrofoam plate.
 
Happing lunching, babes!
 
With Love & Glitter,
 
Morgan