StarKist Flavor Fresh Pouches Review And Soupless Tuna Casserole Recipe

Before I begin my review, I have to be completely honest with you all. If I don't, I know countless people who read this blog who know me in real life who would call me out on this in a heartbeat! I have a small confession to make: I do not eat seafood. Ever. At all. As a matter of fact, at a friend's wedding a few years ago, I was offered a stuffed mushroom appetizer, and not knowing it was stuffed with icky crab meat, I bit into it...And immediately started crying and spit it into my napkin. I then chased the awful flavor with a whole glass of champagne. Yeah. So it's safe to say, I am not a seafood fan by any means.

So why am I posting a review of StarKist Tuna? Well, lucky for them, I do not force my picky eating habits on my family, and they DO happen to like seafood. In fact, tuna is one of my husband's favorite varieties of fish. So when presented the opportunity to review StarKist Flavor Fresh Pouches, I jumped at the chance. I mean, not everything can be about me, and I knew my family would enjoy these products.

StarKist is a household name when it comes to tuna. Most of us have their products in our pantries, and I don't know a single person who isn't familar with Charlie the Tuna, StarKist's jovial mascot. StarKist is a name that is synonymous with quality, and one that people have trusted for over 50 years. They have recently launched a new product line that does away with the little cans we're all so accustomed to: Flavor Fresh Pouches! That great fresh taste that you have come to love, together with the no-mess convenience of the portable Flavor Fresh Pouch makes it easier than ever to add nutritious tuna to your families’ diet.I received a variety of flavors for my review: Ready Made Tuna Salad, Yellowfin Tuna in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Low Sodium Chunk Light Tuna, and Low Sodium Albacore White Tuna. These convenient pouches are shelf stable, and take up very little room in our crowded pantry. These great little pouches contain between 2.6oz-3.0oz of tuna, depending on the variety. (The Tuna Salad contains 3oz.) One thing I happen to love is that there is no messy draining necessary with these pouches. The tuna is ready to eat, straight out of the pouch! HUGE plus for me, since I hate getting fishy smelling fluid on my hands! I know...I'm odd. It is what it is, haha.

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The first pouch we tried was the StarKist Sandwich Ready Tuna Salad. My husband worked up an appetite the other day doing yard-work, and he decided to make himself a nice tuna sandwich with this product. He really enjoyed it! He indicated that the pouch contained just enough tuna salad for one hearty sandwich, and that the mayo-to-tuna ratio was spot on. He did say he wished there was a bit more relish in the mix, though. He happens to be a relish fanatic,though,so I am willing to bet that the amount contained in this mixture would be plenty for most people.

Dan's StarKist Tuna Salad Sandwich on whole wheat bread with romaine lettuce.

I got my next opportunity to try these Flavor Fresh Pouches tonight! Dan called from work around 6:45PM and asked me to "Please have dinner ready as soon as I get home because I'm STARVING!" Usually, we eat fairly late. I will feed the kids and then Dan and I will have something else later on. He never wants dinner ready when he gets home, as he likes to unwind before he's ready to eat. So asking for dinner to be prepared so quickly presented a challenge, since the chicken I had taken out to thaw was still partially frozen. Oops! I rummaged through my pantry trying to find something relatively quick and painless to make that I could have prepared within an hour, and immediately I was drawn to the StarKist Flavor Fresh Pouches. I had a light-bulb moment. I would make Tuna Casserole for dinner! (I will include my recipe below.)

So I got to work and cooked my egg noodles, made a roux base for the sauce, sauteed my mushrooms and  veggies, and pieced together all of the components for my casserole. I used 2 of the StarKist Flavor Fresh Pouches for this meal: the Albacore and the Chunk Light.

Dan was absolutely thrilled that dinner was fresh out of the oven when he arrived home, exhausted and starving after a long day. Kyle, my 11 year old was happy too, since I let him help me prepare the dish. (He pummeled the Ritz crackers for the topping and helped spread them over the casserole.) Both of my guys loved this dish, and licked their plates clean. Sophie, my toddler, must have inherited my taste buds, because she did not care for it. The entire casserole disappeared between my 2 hungry men, and they both proclaimed the meal to be delicious!

My family really enjoyed the StarKist Flavor Fresh Pouches. They are convenient, mess-free, and make a perfect on-the-go snack. I plan to buy more of these handy pouches when I go grocery shopping. We'd love to try more of the wonderful varieties that they have to offer! Am I going to eat them? Not a chance. But after seeing my family devour them, I know they must be yummy for those who actually eat fish.

Interested in StarKist?
To learn more about StarKist Flavor Fresh Pouches, please visit their website.
StarKist products can be found at a trusted grocer near you!


Brandy's No-Soup Tuna Casserole Recipe:

Many of your conventional Tuna Casserole recipes rely on various "Cream Of" soups. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with these recipes (except maybe the sodium content), I prefer to make my meals from scratch. Well, with the exception of mashed potatoes. My family actually prefers instant potatoes, so I doctor them up and serve them rather than "real" mashed potatoes.

While a soup-less Tuna Casserole may seem daunting to a novice home cook, I assure you not only is it simple to make, your family will love it! You may never want to break out those soup cans again after seeing how easy and delicious this from-scratch version of this classic casserole is!

My Super-Simple Soupless Tuna Casserole

A definite man pleaser!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, divided
• 1 (8 ounce) package uncooked wide egg noodles
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup carrots, finely chopped (I like baby carrots)
  
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
•  Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
  
• 2 pouches StarKist Flavor Fresh Pouches
  
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed (My son requested extra peas, so I used 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• Half a tube of Ritz Crackers, crushed into a fine crumb
• 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
  
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• Seasoned Salt to taste (for topping)
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a medium baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter.You can also use a non-stick spray like Pam.
   
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add egg noodles, cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente, and drain.
3. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in the onion, celery, carrots and garlic, and cook 5 minutes, until tender. Increase heat to medium-high, and mix in mushrooms. Continue to cook and stir 5 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
4. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan, and whisk in flour until smooth. Gradually whisk in milk, and continue cooking 5 minutes, until sauce is smooth and slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in tuna, cheddar, peas, mushroom mixture, cayenne, thyme, paprika and cooked noodles. Transfer to the baking dish.
   
5. Mix your Ritz cracker crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and melted butter to create a crumb topping. Season to taste with pepper or seasoned salt. Sprinkle evenly over the casserole.
   
6. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until bubbly and lightly browned.

Enjoy!!! 

***Disclosure: I received complimentary products to facilitate my review. No other compensation was provided, and all opinions are 100% honest and have not been influenced in any way.***