Tuna Casserole

If you ever need a 1950s dish idea, Tuna Noodle Casserole works well.  Personally, I am not a fan of most casseroles.  My parents and grandparents found it odd, but I really do not like food that touches or is mixed.  *shrugs*  Ah, well.  This dish is a rare exception to my food-weirdness rule.  I don't remember Memaw making casseroles.  Granny made a few.  Mom made casseroles, and truly stretched culinary boundaries with them.  (Turkey casserole with dressing, green beans and cranberry sauce....an awful memory.  Just....don't.)

Most people made tuna casserole with egg noodles.  Mom typically used elbow macaroni when she made hers.  (I use shells because it makes me feel 1960's FANCY!)  Plus, they cost the same, which was not the case when they first came out.

Ready for crushed potato chip topping!

To make this casserole, cook a pound box of pasta and drain well.  Put the pasta back in the pan and mix in two regular cans of Cambell's Mushroom Soup reconstituted with a single can of whole milk and a pinch of pepper.  Once all is mixed well, add a pound package of frozen peas and carrots and distribute well.  Pour into a buttered casserole dish.  Drain two cans of chunk tuna well and sprinkle it all around pressing it into the mixture in the casserole.  Top with crushed original-flavored potato chips.  Bake it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 to 40 minutes until hot all way through.  Serve.

Just add a fork!

This will microwave really well.  I think it gets dry when reheated in the oven.

Add a refrigerator pie and you have an authentic retro dinner!

We had this often when I was a kid.  It was an easy meal that could be put together quickly.  Sandy was not a huge fan of it, but she was a picky eater at times.  She was an expert at slipping her food to Sheena, our German Shepard, who would wait silently under the table.  However Sheena did not like peas, so this was a tough meal for to slip to the dog.  I, on the other hand, was happy to have tuna casserole anytime!  :)

When I have it now, I remember eating dinner with my parents and sister at the restaurant booth that we used for a kitchen table prior to putting the addition on the house.  The dog was under the table and would warm feet on a cold winter night.  Everyone would talk a bit.  Basically, this is a taste of a regular day when I was small.