Carnival of Genealogy 54th edition - Family Language

The Family Language...Does your family use words and phrases that no one else knows or understands? Where did they come from? Did you ever try to explain your "family language" to outsiders? Tell a story about your family-coined words, phrases, or nicknames. This topic was chosen by Donna Pointkouski who will be hosting the next edition of the COG


Well, when I saw the topic, I thought, I can't think of any words that our family uses that would be unique or that I might have to explain what it meant. Then I read Jasia's posting about gook.

We don't have gook; we have "slop".

If you check the definition of slop in a dictionary, you get a variety of possibilities but none come close to defining what "slop" is in our family. I actually ate "slop" when I visited my sister on the weekend.

So what is "slop" in the Iles household? In reality, it is a tuna noodle casserole. If we serve it for company, we'd call it a tuna noodle casserole but for family it is "slop".

How and when did it get its name? I believe it was my dad who gave it the name when I was in high school and it was my task to make supper on Saturday evenings. I must have done it regularly. When I was shopping at our supermarket for groceries, my dad would ask "Are we having slop for supper?" "Yes," I would reply. It was great meal to prepare when everyone did not necessarily have the same supper hour depending on their work schedule.

Now the recipe. -- Well, it can vary according to what you have on hand. You can cook it all on the stove top or put it in the oven if you want to make it look good for company.

The basic ingredients are canned tuna, egg noodles, grated cheddar cheese, milk, can of mushroom soup, salt, pepper and canned tomatoes. You could throw in some vegetables but we didn't do that for family.

Prepare egg noodles according to the directions. If you want leftovers, do a larger quantity. Drain water.

Now - stove top, just put all the other ingredients in and stir. Unless you are doing a large quantity, 1 can of tuna and 1 can of mushroom soup will do. If you are doing a larger amount put in 2 cans of tuna and 2 cans of mushroom soup. Put in the grated cheese and a small quantity of milk to make it creamy and as sloppy as you want. Add some canned tomatoes. Stir often so that it doesn't stick to the pot. Reduce heat when it is hot through.

If company is coming or you are taking it do a potluck supper then I cook it the oven. Put ingredients in the casserole dish in layers with some grated cheese and tomatoes on the top. Put in a 350 degree oven for about a half hour or so. Reduce the heat if you have to keep it warm.

You can serve it with a salad if you want.

Yummy! I still love it.