Tuna Noodle Casserole

There are very few recipes that I repeat but every once in awhile I get a craving for something that I really love to eat – maybe pregnancy is making me crave old comfort foods?

Tonight I decided to make a homestyle Tuna Noodle Casserole that I used to make when Daniel and I were newlyweds. It has tuna, elbow macaroni, shredded cheese, cream of celery soup, celery and onions. 

Sometime in the last 8+ years I have misplaced the recipe. Tonight I looked through all of my cookbooks and cooking magazines. Then I googled the ingredients that I remembered. All to no avail. So I made up the dish as I went.

Notes to self: In the future use less noodles and more tuna {recipe below takes this into account}. Also I found the dish to be a bit bland – either I used to cook more bland meals or I needed to add more salt and pepper. Maybe dry mustard would kick it up a notch?

I still can't believe my original recipe has disappeared – I guess that is a by product of rarely cooking the same thing twice. For now I will live with tweaking the recipe below in an effort to get back to the dish that I remember and love.

Homestyle Tuna Noodle Casserole

1/2 box whole wheat elbow macaroni

2 tuna packets {I prefer my tuna in sunflower oil}

3 ribs of celery, diced

1 medium yellow onion, diced

16 oz shredded cheddar cheese

1 can cream of celery soup

2 tbsp butter, melted

1 cup bread crumbs

salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350º.

Cook pasta as directed.

Saute celery and onions in olive oil.

Drain pasta.

Add sauteed vegetables, cheese and soup.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Put entire mixture into oven-safe casserole dish.

Melt butter and mix in bread crumbs. 

Add bread crumb mixture to top of casserole.

Bake for 30 minutes until bubbly.

I think I used to add a cup of frozen peas to it as well. If you have any tips on the perfect tuna noodle casserole, please share. 

*Daniel gave this dish a 4.64/5 stars. We both thought it was bland compared to my usual cooking. Maybe instead of trying brand new recipes all of the time, I will experiment with old favorites to take them to the next level.