Tuna Casserole

Ok, so since I mentioned my mom's tuna casserole, let's start with that.

Tuna casserole is just about as North American as it gets. I'm not exactly sure where my mother got this recipe, but I know that any brunch at my house featured one. For me, this is one of the dishes that I definitely start to miss if I haven't had it in a while, and it will always remind me of home.

Anyway, here's what you need:

- 1 box of Kraft Dinner, cheese and all (any recipe featuring KD is good in my books)

- 3 cups of any other noodles, I like half and half of egg yolk noodles and rotini

- 1/2 cup of milk

- 2 tbs of butter or margarine

- 1 can of chunk white tuna packed in water

- 1 79g can of french fried onions

- 1/3 of a 283g brick of cheddar cheese, grated

- 1 can of cream of mushroom soup

* Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil

* Boil all the noodles until 'al dente'

* Drain the noodles and return them to the pot

* Add the milk, butter or margarine, Kraft Dinner cheese mix, grated cheddar, drained tuna, cream of mushroom soup, and about 3/4 of the can of french fried onions

* Fold it all in carefully so you don't break up all the noodles

* Spread the mix into a casserole dish, sprinkle the remaining french fried onions on top, and if you like you can put a couple dabs of butter or margarine on top for browning

* Bake it uncovered at 350 for 30-35 minutes

The great thing about this recipe is how basic it is. You can really add/modify anything you want. Of course light cheese, light cream of mushroom soup, and skim milk are options if that's your thing, but don't use whole wheat noodles, they don't really work here. You can use chicken, salmon, different cheeses, vegetables, noodles, etc. If you're looking to add some green to the plate, just a word of caution that frozen vegetables add too much liquid when cooking and broccoli tends to burn in the oven. If you try this recipe at home let me know how you like it, and if you don't, you must have done something wrong!

GG