Last night was Ladies’ Night at my mommy dinner gal pal Janice’s house! Woo hoo! She’s a fellow foodie and cook like me, so there were some good eats at her place. I had to seriously up my insulin bolus. I didn’t cook a thing, but brought a bottle of Gewurztraminer to share.
However, I didn’t want to leave the guys to fend for themselves again. I’m not sure what they ate the day I fell asleep, and Friday we ordered in Chinese. So for them, I decided to make their favorite casserole– Tuna Noodle Casserole, or TNC as they have dubbed it. It is one of two condensed soup dishes I make for them, but I was actually the person who had it added to our dinner menu.
Way back when Kurt did all the cooking and I did all the traveling, I told him one day that I really wanted him to make TNC. He checked out his mom’s cookbook and found a recipe. It’s made with cream of celery instead of cream of mushroom, and a few other ingredients.
It’s super easy and fast to assemble, then bakes for 30 minutes just to heat everything together and finish the noodles. I assembled the dish before I left and had Kurt take it out. As I was getting ready to leave, I reminded him to take a picture of the casserole when it was out of the oven and another when he served it– “You’re blogging on TNC? Really?”
“Really. I see all kinds of recipes online that use canned cream soups– it’s not that healthy, but it’s quick and tasty.”
Tuna Noodle Casserole aka TNC
- 1 to 1 1/2 c grated cheddar
- 1/2 chopped sweet pepper (I used yellow because that’s what I had and I NEVER use green)
- 2 small stalks chopped celery
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 can of tuna in oil (I use Italian tun), drained and flaked
- 1 can condensed cream of celery soup
- 1/2 c milk
- 1/3 c mayonnaise
- 3 cups egg noodles
You’ll probably have all of these in your pantry!
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a medium casserole with spray oil. Boil the noodles in salted water until they’re almost done; they’ll cook a little more in the oven, so you don’t want them totally cooked through.
These should be ready just as you’re finishing the sauce
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the condensed soup and milk.
You’ll need a whisk to break up the condensed soup
Heat on medium heat until the soup begins to simmer. Reduce heat and add the cheese, a handful at a time. Whisk to melt cheese completely before adding the next handful.
Melt the first batch of cheese thoroughly before adding the next!
Add the onion, celery and pepper. Mix thoroughly.
These will cook as the casserole bakes
Add the flaked tuna, stir gently to combine.
Stir gently!
Add the mayonnaise and stir again.
This is a recipe from the 70s (I reduced the amount of mayo from the original)!
Add the almost cooked drained noodles and fold them gently to combine with the sauce.
The last ingredient!
Pour into the oiled casserole and bake for 30 minutes or until top is browned and bubbly.
How easy was that to assemble?
Remove from the oven and let rest 5 minutes.
Nicely browned and bubbling hot!
Serve.
Sometimes you just crave those old comfort foods…
a cougar in the kitchen 
Looks yummy and comfort-food-y. My family’s favorite tuna casserole came from the back of a Mueller’s noodle bag back in the 80s. It is similar to yours, but didn’t have the pepper or cheese. Sauteed the onion and celery first, then added the tuna and soup/milk. Dumped it into a casserole with the noodles and topped with buttered Italian bread crumbs and baked. They still (at age 29 and 35) ask for it when they visit.
Love your food blogs, Maria! Keep it up!
Thanks, Sue! I’m eating the last of it now as I finish up on my laptop! Every family has its own formulation– this one came from Kurt’s mom!