Tuna Macaroni Salad

Owen smiled at me on Wednesday. A real smile, not the gassy kind, not the sleep reflex kind. He looked right at me and his whole face changed and it was completely involuntary, whatever happened to me in that moment, it was just a reflex response to something my nervous system understood before my brain caught up. Nora has been smiling for about a week already, which is consistent with the theory Ryan and I have developed that she does everything first and Owen does everything with more conviction.

Mother's Day is coming and I keep forgetting I am included in that now. Ryan asked what I wanted and I said: sleep. He said I could have three uninterrupted hours and I said deal, done, this is my Mother's Day gift, and then I cried a little which surprised both of us. Three hours. I am a person who used to sleep eight hours and now three hours is a gift I would exchange for nothing. Parenthood is a remarkable recalibration of the scale.

Patty called at 7:15 and asked if I was doing anything for Mother's Day, meaning were we coming to her house, and I said of course and she said good because I am making pierogi. She makes pierogi about six times a year and each time it is an occasion. I have been trying to learn from watching her for years and I have absorbed maybe forty percent of the technique. The other sixty percent lives in her hands in a way I cannot replicate yet, but I am trying.

I made slow cooker chicken tacos this week: chicken thighs from the Aldi freezer pack, a jar of salsa, a packet of taco seasoning, cook on low all day, shred with two forks. The shredding is doable one-handed. The assembly is doable one-handed. The eating is doable one-handed. I am building a complete cuisine of one-handed meals and it is going to be excellent content for the blog and also very practical for the next several months of my life.

The slow cooker tacos have been my MVP this week, but honestly the whole one-handed cuisine project goes beyond dinner—I’ve been thinking about lunch too, because lunch is the meal where I’m most likely to be holding Owen while Nora finally sleeps and I have approximately four minutes to eat something real. This tuna macaroni salad has been my answer: I make a big batch when Ryan is home, stick it in the fridge, and then I can scoop it out with one hand and eat it standing over the kitchen sink like the glamorous new mother I am. It is exactly the kind of meal the blog was made for.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes (plus 1 hour chilling) | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
2 cans (5 oz each) tuna in water, drained
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1/2 cup celery, finely diced (about 2 stalks)
1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for pasta water
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Instructions

Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook according to package directions until just tender, about 8—9 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water until completely cool.
Make the dressing. In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, salt, and pepper until smooth and well combined.
Combine. Add the cooled macaroni, drained tuna, celery, red onion, peas, and relish to the bowl with the dressing. Stir gently until everything is evenly coated.
Taste and adjust. Season with additional salt and pepper as needed. If the salad seems dry, stir in an extra tablespoon of mayonnaise.
Chill. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving to allow the flavors to come together. The salad keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Tuna Macaroni Salad — The One-Handed Meal That Got Me Through the Week