Tuna Casserole success!

OK… another request from the man, which I have not made in years, but because I have an strange habit of wanting to make the menfolk in my life happy (which, by the way, is why I haven’t made this in years—my other (young) manfolk doesn’t like Tuna Casserole, so I have avoided it like the plague!!). But, in my aiming to please all involved, I made it on a night when young manfolk was out and older manfolk was in… all were happy! I had no real idea where to start with this, so I went to allrecipes.com to get a base and then I made some severe changes to make it my own. Here’s what I did:

 

My Ingredient list:

• 12-14 oz wide cut egg noodles
• ¼ large Vidalia onion, chopped and diced and small ish!
• 2 large handfuls (yes that’s a real way to measure) shredded Monterey Jack and Cheddar Cheese blend (divided)
• About 1 cup or so of frozen peas
• 2 cans of tuna (I’ll add one more next time), drained
• 1 can Cream of Onion Soup
• 1 can Cheddar Cheese Soup
• Some half and half
• Sm. can of evaporated milk
• Salt, pepper, other seasoning you see fit… taste it before you put it in the oven and adjust for needed flavor to suit your taste
• About ½ - ¾ cup seasoned bread crumbs (I poured, didn’t measure… no idea really)

And, go…

 

Preheat over to 425. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add noodles and cook until al dente. While those noodles are cookin up, sauté your onions in a small pan with a little EVOO – oh, I probably threw in a little garlic, too… because it’s what I do.

 

In a very large mixing bowl toss in one handful of cheese, peas, tuna, and soups. Mix together. Add your pasta (by the way, did you know that when you cook pasta and drain it, you should then rinse it with cold water because it stops the cooking process! Good news to know!) and mix. Go ahead and add your onions and can of milk and then you can gauge the amount of half and half you need. You want it to me nice and creamy… if not, it will dry out while it’s cooking and—GROSS—who wants nasty, dry tuna casserole?!?!

 

Spray a casserole dish with some non-sticky stuff and pour the mixture in. On a paper plate or bowl or whatever’s handy, mix the bread crumbs with the other handful of cheese and then top your casserole with it. Put it in the oven for about 17 minutes or so… you want it to be bubbly and the bread crumbs to brown just a little.

 

Enjoy!

 

Tuna Pea Doodle - Gooseberry Patch Comfort Foods

By the way... I recommend anyone who reads this buy the cookbook for themselves! I don't want to take anything away from such a great American family company! =]

10 3/4 oz can cream of mushroom soup (I used cream of celery)
1 1/4 c. milk
3 T. butter
16 oz package medium egg noodles, cooked (I used 12 oz no yolks)
15 1/4 oz can peas, drained
6 oz can solid white tuna, drained
celery salt and pepper to taste (I used sea salt and pepper)

(Cook the noodles, drain and set aside) In the same pan, mix soup, milk, and butter over low heat. (Cook until melty and blended) Gently stir in noodles, peas, and tuna. Simmer until heated through, about 10 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. Serves 6.

Overall, I thought this was pretty good. It tasted like tuna casserole without all the baking. It makes quite a bit, I'm glad I used only 12 oz of noodles! I ended up freezing some so I can take it work work for lunches!