Original Recipe: Cheesy Tuna Casserole

We like variety in our home, and adding something fish-related to the menu helps us rotate our meals while getting some heart-healthy Omega-3's in our diet. Tuna casserole is a regular for us, yet I'm always looking for new ways to spice it up. In the past several months, I've moved away from using cream-based soups (because they are often full of sodium and preservatives) after learning how to make a roux (a butter-flour mixture)!  Today I experimented with a couple new add-ins (Velveeta and extra spices). This turned out really tasty. The blend of Lawry's Garlic Salt, Paprika and Curry Powder worked well together. I'll be keeping this recipe for sure!

Let me know if you try it ;)

What is your favorite go-to Tuna Casserole recipe?

Ingredients

• 4 Tablespoons of butter
• 2 Tablespoons flour
•  1-1/2 cups milk
• 1 T minced garlic
• 4 oz Velveeta
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar 
• 1 bag frozen peas (cooked)
• 1 large can tuna (drained)
• 1/2 lb box macaroni noodles (cooked)
• Pepper (to taste)
• Few dashes of Lawry's Garlic Salt
• Dash or two of Paprika
• 1/4 tsp Curry Powder

 

Instructions

• Cook macaroni noodles according to package directions.
• In a nice deep pan, melt the butter.
• Once the butter is melted, add the flour and stir for 1 minute keeping the heat on medium low.
• Slowly add milk a bit at a time while stirring with a whisk.
• Continue stirring until all milk is added, then wait until mixture starts to thicken and comes to a low boil (over medium heat). Make sure it's not too high, or it will burn.
• Add Velveeta and minced garlic; stir until melted in.
• Add Shredded Cheddar and stir until melted in.
• Add the various spices and stir until combined.
• Once the noodles are done, add the tuna (flaked with a fork) and cooked peas.
• Pour the melted cheese mixture over the noodles.
• You can either eat it as is (which we did) or bake uncovered on 325 for 15 minutes or so.

Enjoy!!


As always,
Thanks for visiting!

Hash Brown Tuna Casserole Creation

There are a few dishes that I'm always on the lookout to improve ... and one of those in our home is Tuna Casserole. About a year ago when I started making a roux for the sauce, that was a huge improvement. Then recently I came across the idea to put hash browns on top! We love potatoes in this home, so I couldn't wait to try it. I think I've finally created what will be our go-to tuna casserole recipe. I found the recipe with the hash browns at the Pencil Kitchen. My recipe below is actually a combination of several recipes I've tried and liked over the years that I've now combined into one. Hope you enjoy it if you try it.

Ingredients:

• 4 T butter
• 2 to 4 T flour
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 2 cups cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1 large can flaked Tuna
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
• few stalks of celery
• 1/2 onion
• 1/2 T minced garlic
• peas
• egg noodles
• hash browns, preferably thawed but I used frozen

Instructions:

• Melt the butter in a large pot and whisk in the flour. Stir for almost a minute before adding milk. 
• Slowly add the milk stirring thoroughly over medium high heat and cook until bubbling. Be careful to stir frequently so it doesn't burn or scorch. 
• Add cottage cheese, cheddar, Parmesan and stir until completely melted.
• Add garlic powder, salt/pepper to taste, bread crumbs, Worcestershire.
• Using a fork, add tuna to mixture along with cooked peas.
• In a separate saucepan, cook onion, celery and garlic in a little butter until tender and add to mixture.
• Cook the egg noodles until done and add to tuna mixture.
• Place in either a large casserole dish or dutch oven. (I used a dutch oven.) 
• Place enough hash browns on top to cover and then sprinkle some shredded cheddar.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes until nicely browned. You may even need to turn on your broiler for the last 5 minutes to get them browned on top, which I did.

Enjoy!!

Thanks for visiting!

Mmmm....Tuna Melt Casserole

I really enjoy casseroles. There's nothing like a meal that has everything in one dish :) It's always fun to try new casserole recipes and this one caught my eye. I found this somewhere on Google, but now I can't find my link. I think it was from food.com.

We love tuna, but just don't eat it that often. So when I saw "tuna melt" casserole, I was intrigued since I love a good tuna melt. This dish has a yummy roux for the sauce and uses Swiss cheese with tomatoes on top. The key was after cooking I decided to put it in the broiler for 10 minutes to brown the tomato/cheese topping. We'd definitely make this again!

Ingredients:

1 pkg (16 oz) pasta shells

1 bag of frozen peas

2 T butter

2 T flour

1/4 t pepp

4 cups milk

2 cups shredded Swiss

1 can tuna

2 med tomatoes sliced

Cooking Directions:

• Set oven to 400. Cook pasta in salted water for 5 min then add frozen peas and cook another 5 min until peas are tender and pasta is al dente. Drain and set aside.

• Melt butter and stir in flour, salt, pepp until blended stirring 1 min. Gradually stir in milk and increase heat to med high cooking until it thickens and boils. Boil 1 min stirring freq. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup Swiss.

• Add in cheese sauce and tuna to pasta and peas in pot, stir until well-mixed. Transfer to casserole dish arranging tomato slices on top. Sprinkle with rest of cheese.

• Cover with foil and bake 20 min until hot and bubbly.

• Remove foil and broil for 10 minutes on low until topping is nicely browned.

Enjoy!

Thanks for visiting!