Adventures In Fishy Tales

My mother decided fairly early on in motherhood that she wasn’t going to allow her children to grow into picky eaters.  This resolution might have been driven in part by dealing with other parents’ finicky children when my mom did some daycare for awhile.  However she arrived at this judgment, what it meant in practice was that she presented us with a wide array of healthy foods (and occasionally some comfort food, like macaroni and cheese) and expected us to eat everything she put on our plates.  Everything.  Even squash.  And sauerkraut. And fish.

My brothers and I did not like fish.  And we were not gracious about our dislike, either.  It did not matter that it was (relatively) expensive halibut or salmon; we complained and made faces and tried to wash each bite down with a little water.  My mother was frequently provoked to pithy lectures on the virtues of gratitude (“You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.”) and pronouncements about how starving children in Africa would be ever so happy to have a morsel of halibut or salmon.  When I proposed sending the disgusting dinner to the poor starving children, my mother was unamused and made us sit at the table until we’d finished every bite she’d put on our plates.  And if we didn’t finish it in a reasonable amount of time (she generally gave us an hour), we got to eat it cold the next morning for breakfast.  As I said, she was determined.

At some point, my mother managed to find an intersection between fish and comfort food which was acceptable to everyone:  her tuna noodle casserole.  Even my youngest brother, who doesn’t like tuna, likes this dish.  Mom informs me that she found the recipe on the back of a macaroni box, and then made her own adjustments until the family said it was perfect.  I vaguely remember that she even entered it in a cooking contest once.  I was so confident she would win…it’s delicious!  In a complete travesty of justice, she did not win.  The fix was definitely in.  I’m still outraged about it.  This dish is a winner…fast and easy and creamy and somewhat healthy.  Well, it does have fish in it.  Fish is healthy, right?

So…the method for this classic comfort food, followed by the recipe.  Cook your noodles fully and then drain.  Combine your sour cream, cream of mushroom soup, milk, tuna, Parmesan, seasonings, noodles, and parsley.  Carefully fold in your olives, so they don’t get all smashed up.  Grease a shallow 2-quart baking dish.  Put your casserole into the baking dish and top with buttered bread crumbs.  Bake covered until the last 5-10 minutes, then uncover so it can get bubbly around the edges.  Eat!  Marvel at the deliciousness…This dish freezes quite nicely. Just be sure to thaw it completely in the refrigerator before reheating in the microwave.

Whenever I visit my parents, I ask my mother to make this for dinner.  Somehow, it always tastes better when she makes it.  I hope your family will enjoy it too!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Click here for printable PDF of recipe

INGREDIENTS

12 oz tuna, drained

1 can (10.5 oz) cream of mushroom soup

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup whole milk

3/4 tsp seasoned salt

1/4 tsp marjoram

2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup sliced olives

1/4 cup chopped parsley

8 oz (roughly 4 cups) of egg noodles, cooked and drained

1/3 cup Panko or bread crumbs

1 Tbsp melted butter

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°.

While egg noodles are cooking, combine melted butter and Panko and set aside.

Once noodles are cooked and drained, combine in a large bowl with all other ingredients except the sliced olives and the buttered Panko. Once ingredients are well combined, fold in the olives gently, so as not to smash them to mush.

Use butter or cooking spray to grease a shallow 2-quart baking dish (an 8x8” dish works perfectly). Turn the casserole into the dish and top with the buttered Panko. Cover tightly with a lid or aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Then uncover and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the casserole is bubbly around the edges.  This makes six servings, which can also be frozen.  Thaw completely before reheating in microwave.