My mom hated hot tuna. She wouldn't make tuna noodle casserole, so I was a young, newlywed with twenty seven bucks in my checking account and a few days until pay day before I tried it.
I'm not a fan of any of the Helper, pre-fab casserole mixes that seem to take up a great deal of our grocery aisles. Tuna Helper almost frightens me. For the price of one of those boxes, you can make several, healthier casseroles without all the added processed food. Personally, I don't think it's good to eat food that you can't pronounce, so I avoid these boxes like the plague. I'm certain that one day, they'll figure out that many of the diseases that affect our world come from a combination of those food chemicals.
My checkbook isn't in jeopardy, but I still love to save a buck, so I try to stretch the food budget as far as I can. This recipe is a lightened version of the classic Tuna Noodle Casserole. It's delicious, inexpensive, and relatively good for you. I like to serve it with a big tossed salad and some steamed veggies.
Tuna Noodle Casserole
Serves 8, 1 cup servings at 6 WW Points per serving
12 oz uncooked egg noodles--Ronzoni makes this even lighter than the Points I've stated above, I like to use their macaroni or broken spaghetti
12 oz water-packed tuna fish, drained
2 cup button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
16 oz fat-free sour cream
1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp parsley, fresh, chopped
1/2 tsp table salt, or more to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper, or more to taste
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese, or reduced-fat Swiss cheese
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Cook noodles according to package directions without added fat or salt; drain and transfer to a large bowl. Fold in tuna, mushrooms and peas.
Whisk sour cream, mayonnaise, mustard, parsley, salt and pepper together in a separate bowl; fold into noodle mixture. Transfer to a 4-quart casserole dish; top with cheese. Bake until top is golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Yields about 1 cup per serving.
Whisk sour cream, mayonnaise, mustard, parsley, salt and pepper together in a separate bowl; fold into noodle mixture. Transfer to a 4-quart casserole dish; top with cheese. Bake until top is golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Yields about 1 cup per serving.
If you have lots of leftover vegetables, make sure they're well drained and add them in. They do not affect the Points value.
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We had tuna noodle casserole tonight---a gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free version that was actually really good. (Sherry in it helped. :)) I hated canned tuna as a child, but now I like it a lot.
ReplyDeleteOn an unrelated note, I love the background of your blog. It's beautiful.