Mikki Brisk

 

 

When I was a kid, I loved the low-brow tuna casserole we were fed on a semi-regular basis. Talk about White Trash Cooking! It was the only tuna casserole I knew, and it was good. Still, as I grew I thought there must be something more, but what? Mister was what. Or rather, Mister’s mama’s tuna casserole was what.

 

That young boy made tuna casserole for me when we were just teenagers. I don’t know what to tell ya. He won me over. With canned tuna. Go figure.

 

To this day, we still make a version of Mister’s mama’s tuna casserole. We’ve tweaked it a bit and it has matured to the point of being unrelated to what I knew as a child. The white trash factors are still present (canned tuna, canned mushroom soup, the finished product is all beige), but this stuff is good, y’all. Real good. Like, gourmet good. And since I only make it about once or twice a year, well, I’m drooling right now…

 

Here’s what you’ll need…

 

 

Egg Noodles, Canned Tuna in Olive Oil, Cream of Mushroom Soup, Cream Cheese, Yellow (not pictured) & Dijon Mustards, Onion, Milk, Cayenne Pepper, Breadcrumbs, Butter & Blue Cheese (not pictured)

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Put water on to boil for the egg noodles. Prepare according to package directions, but cooking only to the al dente stage, as you want the noodles ever so slightly undercooked. (I cooked mine for only 5 minutes.) Drain and rinse in cold water. Set aside.

 

 

Dice the onion.

 

 

In a large saucepan, “melt” the cream cheese. By the way, I have never once remembered to take the cream cheese out of the fridge early. So it goes into the pan like a brick. And you know what? It works out fine every single time.

 

 

Once it’s softened and melt-y, add the chopped onion. Stir.

 

 

After a few minutes, add both mustards and the undrained tuna. Break up any large chunks of tuna. Stir until combined. By the way, try and remember to add the tuna. I actually forgot it once, ages ago, and Mister still brings it up. Every. Single. Time. He’s got the memory of a be-dimpled elephant.

 

 

Stir in both cans of mushroom soup.

 

 

Add milk and cayenne pepper. Stir until combined. But be careful – it gets sloshy!

 

 

Once this is bubbling, add the blue cheese and stir.

 

 

Combine prepared noodles with the tuna-cheese sauce. Mix well.

 

 

Prepare breadcrumbs. Melt butter – either in a sauce pan or in a microwave – and mix with breadcrumbs. I use a fork for this, as it always works for me and allows me to toss the breadcrumbs lightly. Once the butter is mixed with the breadcrumbs, set aside.

 

 

At this point, you can either place the tuna-noodle mixture in an oven-safe casserole, or keep the mixture in your oven-safe pot. It’s up to you. I placed mine in 2 casserole dishes, so that I could freeze some for later. I’m crafty like that.

 

 

Either way, spread the buttered breadcrumbs over the tuna-noodle mixture, being sure to cover completely.

 

 

Place the casserole in preheated oven and cook for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.

 

 

 

Mmm, mmm! This ain’t your mama’s tuna hot dish!

 

Here’s the printable…