Tuna & Noodles Hillcrest Farm Style

Can Tuna Noodle Casserole Be Comfort Food?

I say yes.  If a dish has noodles, cream of something, shredded cheese and some kind of crumb topping… it most certainly is comfort food.  Or at the very least it is something you can shove in your freezer for an easy, eat-it-later kind of meal.

This week is the first time that I have wondered how we will get through spring in our home.  My seventh grader is on an FFA speaking team, shooting on the trap team and is trying to sell pizzas for her church youth group trip in July.  This week we have had one night of no activities… tonight. The rest of the nights we have had multiple activities and events that we needed to be at. It has been a week of divide and conquer and frozen pizzas and cereal in our home.  My husband going one way and me another.

Last night I had had it. I could not make myself go to another activity as a good mom.  There was a drift of dishes, no silverware left and I knew my people would come in the door starved and cold from being outside for a damp, chilly Iowa afternoon and evening of walking the bucket calf, standing (if you are the dad) and playing (if you are the younger sibling) at trap practice. I was not going to do gourmet – I needed something that could cook away while I attacked that mess on the counter.  It was two dishwashers full!  I think we may need to come to some expectation about dishes while we are so busy or we may just need to buy stock in the Hefty paper plate and Solo cup companies.

The temperature and the activity level made it a night that screamed for comfort food.  Warm, filling and fast..ish.  I decided to bring out my simple Tuna Noodle Casserole recipe since I didn’t have elbow noodles for mac and cheese or goulash or Grandma Hattie’s Spagetta.  Tuna and noodles aren’t my family’s favorite meal… but all the ingredients were there and a few things I thought I could try to throw in to make it more to our family’s taste.  The end result was good enough the Farmer took thirds… I think it passed. The 7^th grader even said I should write it down because it was better than regular Tuna and Noodles… Even if it did have peas in it.  Peas are an evil food to my kids…I don’t know what I have done wrong with those two. Peas are fabulous and taste like spring.

The Groceries:

1 pkg wide Egg Noodles, boiled and set aside

2 C Frozen Peas

1 large can tuna, packed in water, drained

2 cans Diced Water Chestnuts, drained

1 C diced Onion

½-3/4 C diced Celery

2 T Butter

1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup

¾ C Miracle Whip salad dressing

¾ C Milk

1 ½ Cup hand shredded, Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese, divided into ¾ C portions (not packed into the measuring cup, just filled)

1 – 1 ½ C lightly crushed French’s Onions

The Process:

Boil Egg noodles and add peas to the boiling water just before draining.  Set aside. 

In the sauce pan, melt the butter and sauté the onions and celery until just softened.

Add the soup, Miracle Whip, Milk, water chestnuts and ¾ C cheese. 

Stir sauce into the noodles with peas and the tuna.

Pour into a well-greased 9x13 glass baking dish.

Sprinkle the remaining ¾ C sharp cheddar across the top and then top with the crushed French’s Onions.

Bake uncovered in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 30-45 minutes or until heated through. (note: this freezes well, but don’t thaw before cooking and leave the last layer of cheddar and onions off until the last 10 minutes of baking.  Bake it uncovered.)

Serve with a tossed salad to make yourself feel better about eating a large serving of comfort food.