When I was a kid, my absolute favorite meal, was Tuna Pea Wiggle. Honestly, I thought maybe my mother or grandmother made up the name for this recipe. But no, it turns out ‘wiggle’ is a real term, for ‘cream sauce’. I think that just having the word ‘wiggle’ in the name of this dish, is enough to intrigue any silly kid. Having crackers for dinner, may be another plus. At least, that’s how we make it. There are other variations I’ll mention after, but my kids and our whole family, LOVES Tuna Pea Wiggle, just as much as I do. As Catholics, this is a great meatless meal for the days of abstinence of Lent, and we often have it on those days. But that doesn’t keep us from eating it the rest of the year!
Here’s how to make it:
* Participating Ingredients:
- 2 cups milk
- 1 tsp. butter or margarine, and add to milk above
- 3/4 cups peas (we use frozen)
- 1-2 cans of tuna
- salt & pepper
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch, mixed w/ 1/4 c. milk
- saltine crackers
* We double this recipe, for our family of 6, and we eat it all in one meal. Everyone has seconds. For a doubled recipe, we use 2 cans of tuna. We like it a little saucier.
Add 2 Tbsp. of cornstarch to1/4 cup of milk, and mix to dissolve with fork.
In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and butter/margarine until bubbles form around edge of pan.
DO NOT BOIL!
Stir in the cornstarch and milk mixture. Cook until it thickens.
Add tuna and peas.
Mix it all in.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Stir and let thicken a bit more. It’s just a visual thing. There is no amount of time, right, or wrong way.
Spread saltine crackers on a plate.
Ladle Tuna Pea Wiggle over the saltine crackers. Salt and pepper a bit more, if desired. I desire.
Enjoy every-single-bite.
Don’t be afraid to have seconds.
Now, here are a few variations:
- My cousin told me she has always had ‘Salmon Pea Wiggle’. She has never had it with tuna. Interesting! The opposite is true for me.
- I’ve heard of people adding cheddar or Velveeta cheese to the sauce. I love cheese, but not with tuna and peas, personally.
- Tuna Pea Wiggle can also be served over toast, biscuits or boiled potatoes. But I have always, always had it over the saltine crackers. Because I’m still that silly kid.
Have you ever had Tune Pea Wiggle? Does your family eat other variations of it? Do you call it something else?
And as an unrelated question, are you in the habit of checking our home page, for special notes and messages for you?
Another recipe for us to try…
Ah………….good ole’ tuna piggle (as we’ve called it over the years). And the legacy lives on……………. xo
Paula – Today is a good day to do that! It’s Friday! We’re having it for the second Friday in a row. : )
Kim – Yes, the legacy lives on. Does it live on in your house? Do you guys make it too? I can’t recall if Bum liked it too, when we were little. I was too busy stuffing my face. lol. “Tuna Piggle”….Did you make that name up? lol.
Laura,
0
Yes Greg loves it over saltines. Of course I named it that…….I’m the funny joker of the clan. lol My mom used to eat the salmon version but we’ve converted her to the tuna piggle. Haven’t had it in awhile since it’s Greg’s specialty to make and he doesn’t cook much.
I’m making it with tuna instead of salmon this weekend! It’s such a simple recipe, but soooo yummy! And yes, always always over saltines. Extra pepper desired here. I wonder how it might be with other veggies like broc, or corn? xo good stuff, thanks for sharing!
Kim – Well maybe you’ll have to pick up that specialty, if you ever want some again. lol. What kind of meals do you have on the Fridays of Lent? Sometimes, we have a breakfast-dinner, but our other Lent favorite is the Veggie Pockets.
Rene – Let me know how you like the tuna version, after you have it! I’ve never had the salmon. Does that come in a can? Extra pepper for me too, and a little more salt on top too. Can’t imagine another vegetable IN it (and then would we change the name?)—but you can go ahead and try one if you’d like. lol. ; )
Wow, I don’t know that I have ever had this! I will definitely have to try this one when Michael is traveling, the smell and taste of peas is the one thing he can’t/won’t eat. I LOVE the name and can just hear Myah say “wriggle”…xoxo
Tuna Pea Wiggle was made from scratch and served every wednesday for lunch in my middle school. That version was served over wiggley egg noodles, hence the term “wiggle”…not a term used to describe the cream sauce?
Hi Lee! Welcome to our blog. : ) Well, there’s another possible explanation, for the term ‘wiggle’ in the name. You used a question mark….so are you implying that the wiggly noodles, was the reason you always assumed this dish was named as such? Are you guessing, or where you told this? I’m still trying to find the factual history of the name. I recently read that the dish’s name was possibly invented at one time for a children’s cookbook, to help it appeal to them as fun food. All I do know for sure as of today, is that no matter what it is called, I get a loud round of cheers from my kids, when it’s my answer to “What are we having for dinner?”
I haven’t had tuna pea wiggle in yrs… Made it for supper tonight..The family loved it!! I always wanted to make it for my family ,but didn’t have a recipe..My mom would just make it off the top of her head..she would never follow a recipe..It always came out good..The only thing she did different was she added boiled eggs to it..This recipe was very Delicious and easy to follow…Just the way I remember it…Thank you for sharing! I <3 your blog!! Great pictures
Hi Ann!! Welcome to our blog! I can’t tell you, how popular this Tuna Pea Wiggle recipe has been on our blog! I’m so glad you found it, to be able to make it for your family, as you remember it as a kid. Your Tuna Pea Wiggle story sounds so much like mine! Trying to get the recipe from my mom over the phone years ago, over and over…well, it was obvious she was winging it too, and probably always did. But the amount of white flour involved was crazy! So glad I discovered the cornstarch trick! It takes a whole lot less, to make the sauce thick, and it’s a smooth, tasty sauce. My kids love this dish so much too. We have a lot this time of year, being Catholics, with lots of ‘no meat’ days during Lent.
Hope to see you around here some more! Happy eating! ; )