tuna noodle casserole

When my partner and I first got married, he made me this. I looked at it with the scorn of “what in the caucasity SIR”, ate it, and fell in love with the humble casserole. This makes a lot or a little, is comforting as fuck, and super reheatable from both the fridge and freezer, so a great make-ahead if you know you’ve got some busy times coming up.

INGREDIENTS

Pasta: a short guy. I like Orichete or Bowtie, In this recipe we’re going to make a half a box of pasta, if you want more…use more.

Cream of mushroom soup. I know it sounds weird, go with me. use 1 can for half a pound of pasta

Tuna, cause it’s called tuna noodle casserole. I like to use 2 cans for this, I like tuna and also the cat requires at least a quarter of a can be given to him as tribute. Use 1 if you want less, or prob 3 for a whole box of pasta- it’s all flexible.

Peas- the frozen kind. A cup-ish?

Cheese! Maybe 4oz-ish of shredded Colby Jack or similar. This is a great way to use up weird little bits of cheese in your house- nothing too blue or creamy or sharp, if you’re me.

Black Pepper

One of those no-salt “everything flavor” spices, not required.

Panko breadcrumbs, about a 1/4 cup, not required.

Hot sauce. It is required.

METHOOD

Essentially this is a casserole process, you can use this for many Pasta plus Protein plus Cheese options.

1. Boil your pasta. Bring water to the boil, add salt, pour in your pasta. Cook it to “al dente” or not quite done- if you bite a piece in half, it should have a little white spot in the middle. Drain, rinse with cold water if you want, no need to.
2. In the pasta pot, after the pasta is evacuated, add in your Cream of Mushroom and Tuna, mix it around. Add in your pasta.
3. If it feels THICK, like sticking to the spoon thick, add a little milk or water. You want it to be the texture of a slightly loose mac and cheese.
4. Add in the shredded cheese minus a handful, mix it up. If you’re using the herbs, add them now, as well as the peas. You want a good homogeneous food.
5. Pour this into some sort of baking dish, top with the cheese and the panko (if using).
6. Bake at 350 for at least 20 minutes- you’ll want it to be hot all the way through, a little bubbly at the edges. If it’s browning too fast, slap some tinfoil on the top. If it’s looking cooked but pale, flip that broiler on and roast it (it goes fast! Check every 30 secs max)
7. Serve with hot sauce.