Smokey Tuna Casserole

My husband has been asking me to make a tuna casserole since we were newlyweds! I just didn't like the idea of eating warm, canned tuna fish with pasta...YUK! He said his mother made it all the time when he was young and it was delicious! Sorry, still not sold. I just gagged at the thought of  it!

Fast forward 22 years and here I was staring at 2 cans of tuna fish that have been taking up valuable pantry space for about a year. I had plenty of leftovers in my fridge but just not enough for our family of four plus my 18 year old daughter's boyfriend. So I decided to make a tuna casserole for my hubby and kids. I was definitely not going to eat it! I would eat leftover pizza instead.

I started looking at various tuna casserole recipes and landed on one that sounded perfect because I had all the ingredients needed to make the recipe. I found the original recipe on my favorite cooking site, Allrecipes.com. I loved that it was a quick and easy recipe also. Then I made it even easier by cooking everything in one pot. I boiled the egg noodles and peas together, then drained it and set it aside. Sauteed the garlic and onions in the same pot used to cook the egg noodles and peas. Then added the cheese and remaining ingredients. Then added back in the cooked noodles and peas. All done in one pot! YAY!

I tweaked the recipe by adding liquid smoke and garlic. I think this was the key to making it a food that I would actually eat! I would eat almost anything that had a smoked flavor! I gave it a little taste test and ended up loving it! It was cheesy and creamy and smokey! All the things I love! The tuna flavor was very mild. This recipe definitely cured all my tuna casserole fears! I will be making this often!


Smokey Tuna Casserole

INGREDIENTS:
1 (12 ounce) package egg noodles
2 cups frozen green peas
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup or cream of chicken
2 (6 ounce) cans tuna, drained
1 tbls. butter
1 small onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic - crushed
10 slices American processed cheese
1 tsp liquid smoke
ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add noodles and frozen peas. Cook until noodles are al dente, drain well. Set aside. Saute onions and garlic in the pot with 1 tbls butter. Saute until tender.
Then add the soup, tuna fish, processed cheese, liquid smoke and pepper into the pot with the sauteed onions and garlic. Stir constantly until all of the ingredients are well mixed and the cheese has melted. Add the cooked noodles and peas. Mix well. Serve warm.