Tuna Noodle Casserole

There are a few meals that will always remind me of childhood and being at home with my family, tuna casserole is one of them.  It was one of my Mom's staples, and besides tasting great, there are many other reasons to make it.  It's quick, easy, good for you, and you can feed a bunch of people with one dish! 

Boil water for pasta and cook pasta according to package directions.  I used whole wheat pasta and it worked out great.  Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Melt butter over medium heat and add garlic. 

Saute for a minute, then add flour, cooking and stirring for about one minute.

Slowly add milk and stir often until sauce becomes thicker.  I used skim milk, if you want to make it richer you can use 2% or whatever you like.

Add tuna to the sauce and remove from heat.  Stir into sauce until evenly distributed.

I also added some broccoli to this recipe to add some veggies.  Steam on the stove while the pasta is cooking.

Drain the pasta and mix the pasta, sauce and the broccoli together.

Freshly grated Parmesan makes every recipe better :)

Sprinkle the Parmesan on top and mix into the pasta.

You can serve immediately or bake for 20 minutes.  I put the mixture in a 9x13 inch pan, sprayed with non-stick spray, and baked for around 15 minutes. 

It came out perfectly.  Although I don't have a calorie count, this is a great healthy dinner.  I mentioned it before, but it is very quick and easy!  You don't have to cut up a lot of veggies, and you won't use a lot of dishes, so it's perfect for a week night meal.  I can be iffy on if I like tuna or not, but I love it in a creamy casserole.  Try it out, might surprise you! 

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend and were around family and friends.  I was very lucky to have my whole family around this past weekend, and was pretty sad to see them leave today.  My apartment will be pretty quiet compared to what it's been like this past week.  I'm guessing I'll be baking and cooking to make up for it :)  Happy Monday everyone!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

*Makes around 4 1/2 servings

2 cups chopped broccoli

4 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

2 cups of milk

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 teaspoons salt

12oz can of tuna

Parmesan cheese

~1/2 box whole wheat pasta shells

Boil water for pasta and cook according to package directions.

While pasta is cooking, steam the broccoli until crisp and tender.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt butter over medium heat and add garlic.

Saute for a minute, then add flour, cooking and stirring for around a minute.

Slowly add milk and stir often until sauce thickens.

Add tuna to sauce and remove from heat.

Drain pasta and mix the pasta, sauce and broccoli together.

Add Parmesan on top.

Serve immediately or bake for 15-20 minutes.