Family Favorite Tuna Casserole
This has been a bit of a rough week for Noodle … and Mom, here, always runs toward comfort food for dinner on those really bad days. Enter, tuna casserole.
We all define comfort food differently. For me, it’s food that I remember from childhood. It’s not fancy. It’s not even always pretty. It is, however, always comforting as those familiar smells waft from my oven. It reminds me of my mom standing over a stove preparing dinner, or waking up in my grandparents house to the smell of bacon frying.
It’s funny how food can bring back a flood of memories you’d long forgotten.
Tuna casserole was one of Mom’s go-to easy dinners.
It doesn’t take much to whip this up … there are as many ways to make it as people making it. I think I make a little different every time!
My standard recipe is a box of elbow macaroni, two cans of tuna, peas, Velveeta cheese, cream soup and American cheese or Ritz crackers for the topping. Yes … I said Velveeta … it gives the casserole a thick silky texture you just don’t get with cheese.
There is nothing overly healthy about this recipe (except peas and tuna?) and it’s not pretty to scoop out into a bowl, but it warms the soul. Maybe that’s all that matters sometimes. Oh, and Noodle loves it. Sometimes, THAT’s all that matters!
Tuna Casserole
This is a family favorite!
- 1 12-16 oz box macaroni
- 1 10 oz can cream of onion soup (or chicken, celery, etc)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 8 oz Velveeta cheese (cut in 1/2 inch cubes)
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 5 oz cans of tuna packed in water
- Sliced American cheese
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Cook pasta according to package directions, drain well.
- In a large casserole dish, combine soup, milk, Velveeta, peas and tuna. Add cooked pasta and mix thoroughly.
- Cover casserole with a layer of American cheese slices.
- Bake in oven for 30 minutes to allow Velveeta to melt.
- Serve with crusty French bread and garlic butter spread.
What matters most … Is that the Noodle ears the noodles!