Friday, March 11, 2011

Another $5ish Family Meal--Creamy tuna casserole

I used to think tuna casserole had to have cream of mushroom soup in it.  Then I discovered that Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup has MSG and autolyzed yeast extract (another form of MSG!) in it, which is not something I want to feed my family!  With this knowledge in hand, I started to make my tuna casseroles with Imagine Organic Creamy Portabello Mushroom Soup, but it is so expensive, I didn't want to use it often.  Then, I came across a recipe that didn't use any soup as a base, instead used a base of sour cream and milk.  Since I buy sour cream in bulk (5 lb container for about $5) from a restaurant supply store, this was a far more acceptable option.  The original recipe had a bunch of stuff I didn't like in it, so of course I tinkered with it, but here is the end result.

Creamy Tuna Casserole
12 oz uncooked pasta of your choice
10-12 oz canned tuna, drained
2 cups frozen peas
1 onion, diced
1 1/2 cups sour cream
3/4 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup dry Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter, melted

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook pasta according to package directions.  Combine pasta, tuna, peas, onion, sour cream, milk, salt and pepper in a 2 quart casserole dish.  Combine bread crumbs, cheese, and butter and sprinkle over the tuna mixture.  Bake uncovered 35 to 40 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

3 comments:

  1. I thought it was funny that I used seashell pasta in the casserole the day I took this picture (ya know, because tuna is also from the sea). My family didn't agree. *sigh* I guess I'll keep my day job. Oh, wait, I don't have a day job!

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  2. i like peppers, pimientos, and celery in mine too.

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  3. MSG makes my heart pound out of my chest and I even saw a cardiologist before we worked out what it was.
    I love this recipe idea, being a vegetarian I would swap the tuna for Quorn or extra veggies and the parmesan for a strong cheddar maybe?
    But Yum! My tummy is grumbling away hungrily!

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