Single Mom Chronicles Jan. 13th 2019
January was always the tightest month for me. It was the recovering from Christmas month. While most folks were nursing hangovers, I was playing a shell game with utility bills. Some Januaries were worse than others in previous years. January was all about my carefully preserved precious leftovers, canned fish, and meatless meals as a single parent.
Luckily for me, my kid loved my tuna noodle casserole. In better Januaries, I made it with cream and two cans of tuna. Or one large one. In leaner years, it was one small can of tuna and a canned cream of celery soup. Yes, cream of celery. Not cream of mushroom. Ew. I discovered making this small switch made tuna noodle casserole night go from horrifying to glorious in getting my kid to eat it. And it’s how I got him to eat peas.
Sure, it’s cliche. But it’s a tasty cliche and the whole thing cost me about five or six bucks. Everything that goes in it is about a dollar each. Ish. Since I was only cooking for two, there was always at least two servings leftover that my kid would toss in the microwave the next day. And that’s after eating two giant helpings on the night I made it!
Hubs was introduced to my budget version of this dish while we were dating. Hey, we can’t all be culinary masters of the universe all the time. Luckily, Hubs wasn’t the boojie type, although he loves it when I make boojie food, too. Since we’ve been married, I’ve made a lot less tuna noodle casseroles. So when I DO make it, everyone is like, “Yayyy!!!” I mean, you can’t beat that kind of enthusiasm for such a cliche old timey dish.
I’ve experimented over the years. With cheese, with no cheese. With bread cubes, with bread crumbs. With white wine…because why not?! Peas or no peas. And on and on. I’ve never researched a recipe for the old school casserole, so for fun I consulted The Googles.
Wow. People are putting all kinds of things on top from corn flakes to crackers to chips. Just eat the chips! Most all of the recipes included copious amount of cheddar cheese. I’ve never been a fan of the cheese fish combo, especially cheddar. But that’s just me and my weirdness. Like, I don’t wake up and think, “I’d sure like to have some canned tuna drowning in cheddar cheese with some corn flakes on top!” That’s not a thing. Oh, and some peas. No.
I have come to settle on a few must haves regardless of whether or not I do an upscale version. Yes, you can actually upscale a tuna noodle casserole. You can even merge the two versions! I posted both recipes. Because gurrrrlllll….some Januaries are just leaner than others. For reals. Big love to all the single parents out there. January is almost over! Breathe!
Tuna Noodle Casserole On A Budget
Ingredients
- 1-2 small cans tuna in water or 1 large can drained
- 1/2 cup diced white onion
- 1 cup small chopped celery
- 1 stick butter plus 1 tablespoon
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 4-6 cups plain bread cubes
- 1 lb cooked egg noodles
- 1 can cream of celery soup
- 1 cup water
- 1-2 tablespoons cream or milk or half and half optional
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Boil the noodles, drain, and lay them in a 9x11 casserole dish or larger.
- Saute the onion and celery over medium heat until just translucent, about 8 minutes or so. Add the cream of celery soup, water, and milk, stirring to combine and heated through. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Add pepper and a scant amount of salt to taste.
- Stir in the tuna. Pour the tuna mixture over the noodles and stir to combine. Sprinkle frozen peas over the top.
- Melt the stick of butter until liquified in the microwave, about 10 seconds. Pour the butter over the bread cubes in a separate bowl, using your hands to coat all the cubes in melted butter as you pour the butter.
- Spread the bread cubes over the top of the casserole and press everything down gently to make an even layer. Bake for about 20 to 30 minute in the oven or until the bread cubes are crisp.
Tuna Noodle Casserole On A Better Budget
Ingredients
- 1 large can tuna packed in water drained
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 cup diced white onion
- 1 1/2 cup small chopped celery
- 1-2 cups fresh shelled peas
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon herbs de provence
- 2 sticks butter
- 1 lb cooked egg noodles drained
- 4-6 cups plain bread cubes
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Lay the cooked egg noodles in a 9x11 or larger casserole dish.
- Saute the celery and onions together in a stick of butter over medium or medium high heat. Deglaze the pan with half of the white wine, cooking the wine down, about 10 minutes more or less.
- Add the cream, the rest of the wine, and the dried thyme. Lower the heat to medium or medium low and cook for about 10 to 20 minutes. You just want to cook some of the water content out. Add the salt and pepper to taste when the mixture has thickened a little bit.
- Stir in the tuna until just combined and pour the mixture over the noodles in the casserole dish, stirring to combine. Sprinkle the peas over the top.
- Melt the remaining stick of butter in the microwave for about 10 seconds or until it's liquified. Add the herds de provence to the butter and stir quickly. Pour the melted butter over the bread cubes in a separate bowl making sure all the cubes get coated. I use one hand while I pour with the other.
- Press the buttered bread cubes over the top of the casserole and bake for about 20 to 30 minutes or until the bread cubes are crispy. And voila!