Tuna & Noodles

Tuna & noodle casserole was a staple for me growing up. Ideally you would make it actually a casserole by putting it in the oven with some breadcrumbs on top, but it's been ridiculously hot lately and I was not about to turn the oven on. Besides, I was hungry.

We start with milk, butter, flour, pasta, frozen peas, canned tuna, and cheddar cheese.

If cheese isn't on sale, the dish works perfectly well without it. I just happen to like the added flavor.

Boil a pot of water and add the pasta.

I like the whole wheat kind, especially when it's on sale, and I think shells or rotini are best for this dish. But use whatever makes you happy.

Then try to figure out what to do with the dishes in the sink so you can actually drain the pasta.

Melt 6 tbsp. butter, then whisk in 4-5 tbsp. flour. Let that cook for a few minutes.

When the pasta is about half done, throw in the frozen peas. I like doing it this way because I hate using more pots than necessary.

(That was supposed to be an action shot, but they all fell out at once. Peas are not very cooporative.)

Whisk 2 c. milk into your roux. If it looks like it's too thin you can add a little more flour, but don't add too much. It will thicken pretty quickly once it starts heating up.

Drain the peas and pasta and return them to the pot.

You know, I get about one clear picture for every five I take, and that becomes about one for every twenty when I try to do closeups. This one was very lucky.

Add 4-6 oz. (about 1-1.5 c.) shredded cheddar cheese to your sauce.

Now figure out your spices!

I like cayenne pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. (I'll let you guess which spices are mine and which is my mother's.) Just add them to taste; I never measure these things.

Doesn't that look gorgeous? I love the red flecks from the cayenne pepper.

Add the cheese sauce to the pasta along with two cans of tuna (drained) and mix it all up. It'll look like a lot of sauce at first, but don't worry about it, because this is what you'll end up with:

Look at that. It's a bit more effort than boxed mac & cheese, but totally worth it.

Sprinkle some more cayenne pepper on top, just to be classy, and then serve it with canned baked beans to negate any classiness that garnish gives.

And what do you know, we even have leftovers.

(Originally posted to Cheap Cooking on July 20, 2008.)