All my life, I’ve added pickles and lettuce to my tuna salad sandwiches. Then, the last few times I’ve ate too many pickles, I’ve had my lips swell up like Angelina Jolie. So, I decided to try something different and save my lips any undo trauma. Plus, benedryl makes me tired and that was the only thing that brought my lips back to normal.

Oh, and did I say, celery is an absolute must for a nice, crisp, crunch. So much better than lettuce. Plus, with lettuce, your salad is all droopy the next day. With celery, it’s still nice and fresh and crunchy the next day.

But the ingredient that just sent me over the top? Cayenne Pepper. OMG! The perfect punch, that really made this sandwich special. Try it! You will love it. Promise!

The BEST Tuna & Egg Salad Sandwiches, ever!:

2 Cans Tuna (in water), drained and flaked – $1.58
3 Eggs boiled and chopped – $.45
1/2 cup diced celery (2 stalks) – $.30
1 large roma tomato diced – $.35
1/4 minced onion (optional – my kids hate onion, so we add slices later) – $.15
1/4 to 1/2 cup mayonnaise (to your desired taste and wetness) – $.40
1/2 to 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard (to your desired taste) – Pantry/Fridge
1/2 tsp salt – pantry
Pepper to taste – pantry
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper (for adults) or Paprika (for kids) – Optional
1/2 loaf of bread (we used white, but wheat or better yet, Rye bread would work great!) – $1.00

COST: $4.08

Boil eggs for 10 mins and set aside. While eggs are boiling, you can drain canned tuna and flake into a deep bowl. Add mayo, mustard, salt and pepper and stir. Add diced celery, onion and tomato and mix again, lightly. After eggs are cool, peel and dice. Add to salad as well as cayenne and mix. Taste and add additional salt and pepper, if needed.

Slightly toast your bread. This prevents your sandwich from getting totally soggy. Nothing worse than a soggy sandwich, is there?

We served our Tuna Salad sandwiches with a nice pasta salad. Chips, fries, green salad…all greats sides. Hope you enjoy our version of Tuna and Egg Salad as much as we do.

Pasta Salad:

10 oz uncooked penne or rigatoni pasta – $.75
1/2 – 3/4 cup bottled Italian dressing (Kraft is my favorite) – $1.00
2 fresh roma tomato, diced – $.50
1 med onion, sliced (thin) – $.35
1 Cucumber, sliced or diced – $.50
1 red or green bell pepper, sliced or diced – $.88
1 tsp Italian herb mix (dried is fine) – pantry
1 tsp Fresh Ground Pepper – pantry
1/2 to 1 tsp Salt (to your taste) – pantry
1/2 cup mozzarella (optional) or even Black Olives, chopped (optional)

COST: $3.98

Cook pasta according to package. Drain well. While pasta is still hot, add onion, dressing, herbs, salt and pepper and toss. Then set aside to cool. When pasta is at room temp, add tomatoes, peppers and cucumber. Toss well, cover and chill.

If you can make this pasta a day in advance, your flavors will be magnified. So good with many different sandwiches, ribs, burgers. Just about perfect with any meal, Italian or not!

GRAND TOTAL: $8.06