Please welcome back Mary Clarke, aka “Cookie”, my mother and the most extraordinarily talented cook I know. This is her second time as a guest blogger! She is a former gourmet cooking teacher, has built a successful catering business here in Nashville, and is known for her creative, absolutely delicious flavors, and beautifully garnished dishes. One can usually find her in her kitchen “headquarters” testing some new creations or teaching one of her grandchildren how to make cookies. Take it away Cookie!
“Tick tock, tick tock” – does the clock really start running faster after Halloween? (Father Time has surely been slapped with a speeding ticket by now!)
School is back in full force (and may I inject a tribute to all teachers), and Fall transitions us from the slower pace of summer with a big jolt, thrusting us into new routines and tighter schedules with the holidays just around the corner. And we still need food – just faster – and I mean good, nutritious food.
“Tick tock”…we head to the market, and what do we see? Flowering mums in vivid colors, pumpkins in all sizes, and glorious apples – yes, apples, apples, and more apples! Interestingly, 7,500 varieties have been identified globally – wow! Most of us feel blessed to be offered up to 10 varieties in any one location.
Apples have long been the most popular portable non fridge fruit snack (with bananas and grapes following closely) for both children and adults. So when I grab an apple and jump in my car, munching joyfully, I’m then faced with how to dispose of the core and always ponder…if I throw it out the window, am I littering or simply nourishing the wayside soil? No, I never do…
Back to our need for good food fast, one of my favorite “go to” quickie homemade lunches and/or snacks is easy and packed with good energy from pasta and apples, and protein from tuna! Good lookin’ salad, don’t you think? You might also want to try our Tuna Pasta Salad with Green Beans.
Perk up your expectations and try this updated take on a time honored classic, tuna salad! Love it in a wrap too!
Side line grandmother’s memory of Fall: When our first born grandson (Carey’s) was in preschool, his teacher greeted the class with this challenge question: Class, tell me, when the weather changes and leaves begin to fall off the trees, what “season” is it? Clarke immediately waved his hand in exuberant enthusiasm, and when called upon, exclaimed, “It’s hockey season!” Thanks to his Dad and love of the sport, he, at 16, still plays the game…sweet memory!
Thank you again, my darling Carey, for asking me to blog yet a second time. Just felt i needed to get apples in before the pumpkin “mania” delights us to death…but I’m sure Carey, you’ll get your own take on pumpkins soon!
Love,
Mom (Cookie)
Pasta Salad with Tuna, Apple, and Dried Cranberries
Pasta Salad with Tuna, Apples, and Cranberries is a perfect lunch or snack! Crunchy and fresh, it’s an everyday favorite! Use any short pasta shape!
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 7 mins
- Total Time: 22 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- Approximately 1/2 bag or 7-8 ounces pasta, cooked according to package directions. (Use any short shape of pasta)
- 2 – 5 oz. cans of tuna packed in water, preferably white albacore, drained, or more to taste.
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 large Fuji or Honeycrisp apple, chopped, or any sweet, crisp variety
- 4 green onions, chopped
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted (save some for garnish)
- 1/2 cup mayo or Miracle Whip (fat free or reduced fat OK)
- Salt and pepper to taste if needed
- Romaine lettuce for garnish, or butter lettuce for cups or wraps
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, and rinse with cold water.
- Carefully combine and toss all ingredients in a large bowl.
- Adjust seasonings to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve pasta salad over a bed of Romaine lettuce or in individual Butter lettuce leaves as a wrap!
- Enjoy!
Notes
1) Amounts of ingredients can be added to or subtracted from, according to what you like best and what you might have on hand.
2) Amount of mayo or Miracle Whip will need to be adjusted either way but use only enough to bind ingredients. This salad is not meant to be “creamy” or “swimming in mayo” like so many others – use just enough – these flavors blend well and crunch happily together on their own.
Yum, this sounds healthy and delicious. Apples and cranberries are a great addition.
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I love the idea of this in a lettuce wrap!
Wraps are fun to eat…even the kids like it! Thank goodness for PF Changs – I think they were one of the first to use them on a menu!
So easy! Tell your mom I can’t stop eating this! Crunchy and refreshing and absolutely delicious!
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Looks delicious!
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This pasta tuna salad looks and sounds delicious! Can’t wait to try it. The apples and cranberries sound great with it!
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A great combination of fruits and tuna. Love it!!
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Tuna and apples sound like a great combo! Love how healthy and yummy tuna is!
Great recipe! thanks for sharing!
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i can’t wait to try this! i think my whole family would enjoy the flavors
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Looks awesome! I need to try this. I love stuff like this but like my own ingredients. No celery! :). Awesome idea.
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Thanks Liz! Funny comment about celery!! Enjoy!
Sounds good thanks for sharing!
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Looks really good, would love to try!
my favorite combo tuna and pasta this looks utterly delkcious
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This looks great
i love pasta salad and yours looks so yummy
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Interesting. I know fruit and nuts can go in chicken salad but never thought to put them in a tuna salad. I know what I’m making this weekend!
Do try it – you’ll be amazed! I’d love to know what you think afterward!
going to have to try this yummy looking recipe
Going to have to try this yummy looking recipe
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Looks amazing!!
This looks delicious. Definitely adding to recipes. I make a Chicken salad that is similar with dried cranberries. walnuts, apple, red onion, celery, etc..
Chicken Salad sounds amazing too! I’ll have to play with that idea for another blog post! Yum!
This looks soooo good and perfect for this time of year. We are trying to eat healthy in our house, but need new ideas – this is great!
I love the combinations. Perfect for lunch to
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Gonna try this one!
Thank you for the recipe, this looks great!
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i love tuna and can’t get enough thanks for the recipe and idea!
This looks both delicious & easy to prepare. Win win!
This salad looks delicious! I love anything with pasta and tuna!
Love this and sounds like something my kids would dig into also!
Love cranberries in the fall months, looks delicious
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Oh wow, this looks delicious, and something that the whole family would eat! I’m going to make this one for sure.
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I will be trying this….Love the combo of apples & cranberries 🙂
yummy i love tuna and pasta together !!!~!
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Would Love to try this!
wow this looks good and very interesting
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Apples are so versatile this time of year, we love cooking and trying great recipes, we’ll surely try this, thank you!
Wonderful dish! Can’t wait to try this!
this recipe sounds amazing, I love pasta salad, and this recipe is a million times healthier for you, and sounds so refreshing. I know what I’m bringing to our next potluck!
wow yummy you just gave me a new idea for tuna it looks amazing
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this sounds good and healthy, Worth a try.
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This looks amazing!
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The recipe Sounds Yummy
This looks so nutritiously delicious. I am adding this to my shopping list so I can make it for my family.
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This looks so yummy!! 🙂
Way out of my comfort zone… Fruit in salads? TUNA?!? Not my cup of tea.
I wasn’t hungry until seeing this recipe and now I know what’s for dinner! Thank you! Four stars oonly because I haven’t made it yet… Salivating. Yes, that’s what I’m doing now.
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This looks delicious!
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Looks delicious! Perfect Fall meal!
this looks might tasty gotta give it a try
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You make this look so good! – Kind of a take on the Waldorf salad, with protein. Would work just as nicely with chicken.
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This looks very delicious!
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My mother loves tuna and I have been looking for a new recipe to make her. This sounds fabulous. I am printing it out to try it.
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This is great, we actually make this but add grapes to it as well. So delicious.
This looks like a great idea to make for when we have company over for lunch.
This Looks delicious. can’t wait to try it
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Sounds good. I like tuna salad.
This looks and sounds delicious. I’ve had tuna in the pantry for a few months, because I couldn’t think of a new way to serve it – I’m tired of tuna sandwiches. I’m going to give this one a try.
Do it!! 🙂
Looks fresh and yummy!
This unique recipe dresses up the usual ordinary tuna pasta salad. It’s so perfect for a holiday luncheon!
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don’t eat seafood but this would be great using chicken instead or turky!
#WackyWednesday Beautiful presentation and my husband would probably love this. I don’t like tuna so not so much for me. 🙂
This recipe looks incredibly good
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#WackyWednesday Simple and delicious. Definitely saving this one for those hot summer days!
my best friends and I would love this recipe for our lunch when we visit each other #wackywednesday #ongtheblog
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This looks so good!
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Any pasta with any seafood equals delish!! I love them warm or cold.
Love any dish that has pasta!