Lindy in the Kitchen: Trim-It-Down Thursdays! Casseroles, sweet peas, and dessert... OH MY!

So as much as I love food from the past, unfortunately a majority of it wasn't made for the dieters of today. It's because of this that I'd like to introduce to you "Trim-It-Down Thursday". I'll follow a recipe as close as I can to the original, but with lower calorie options. As usual, I'll post the original recipe at the end if you want to try it out. Anyway, this week I decided to blog about the whole meal that the hubs and I had for dinner tonight... Entree, veggie, and dessert. :)

Casseroles were and still are popular entrees for a good reason - they usually hit the spot and make for a great meal. They're definitely one of my favorites and only just realized how much my husband likes them too - I had to beg him to stop eating so he would have enough to bring to work for lunch tomorrow. The one I chose was from the early 1950s and is a Tuna & Mushroom Casserole... (calling for a lot of potato chips inside and out). What retro meal would be complete without a veggie? So I also made some sweet peas (recipe I put together myself because I had heard somewhere that veggies were usually sweetened) and put out some low fat bakery rolls on the side.

Finally for dessert I chose a recipe from a cookbook that was my grandmother's and after she pretty much could make all the recipes on her own she gave it to my mom, and not I'm in the middle of trying to get it from her. The cookbook is also from the early 1950s and was printed from the "Polly-O" cheese company. I chose to make an Applesauce & Ricotta pudding - it's super quick and easy.

TUNA AND MUSHROOM CASSEROLE
* 4 tbs low fat butter (Land-O-Lakes Light Butter with Oil is a great one. You can barely tell the difference between that and regular butter)
* 4 tbs flour
* 1/4 pepper (I used cracked pepper to give it a bit of a kick)
* 2 1/2 cups fat free milk
* 3 1/8 oz Baked Lays Original Potato Crisps
* 15 oz Light tuna in water, drained and flaked with a fork
* 8 oz sliced cooked mushrooms

Set oven to 350 degrees. Makes 6 servings. Grease one medium sized casserole dish.

SWEET PEAS
* 1 can of sweet peas
* 1/2 tbs low fat butter
* 1 packet no calorie sweetener

Makes 2 servings.

APPLESAUCE AND RICOTTA
* 2 cups fat free ricotta
* 3 packets no calorie sweetener
* 2 cups natural unsweeted applesauce
* 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Makes 5 servings.

CASSEROLE: Put potato crisps in a large ziplock bag and use the ball of your hand to crush crisps into crumbles. Set aside.

Spray a small pan with non-stick spray and stir mushrooms just until they start to become brown over medium heat. Set aside.

Melt butter in top of double boiler; blend in flour and pepper; add milk gradually and cook until thickened.

Combine 3/4 of potato crisp crumbs with fish, mushrooms, and sauce. Pour into greased casserole.

Cover with remaining potato crisps.

Bake in moderate oven for 30-40 minutes. I baked mine for 40 minutes and would recommend it because the top and edges of casserole came out with a slight crisp.