A light and hearty tuna casserole

I opted out of this week's TWD - with a birthday in the picture, I went with cake instead of the Floating Islands. To see this week's recipe, check out Shari of Whisk: a food blog and to view the results of the TWD members you can check out our blogroll!

Grumpy loves Tuna Casserole. I don't. That is why in the almost 9 years we have been together I have never, ever made it for him. When he had a craving for tuna casserole, I would buy the Tuna Helper and make it just for him and I would eat something else.

On our way to the chocolate tasting - which was an hours drive, I had Grumpy help me decide our meals for the week so I didn't have the problem of not knowing what I was going to make for dinner when I got home from work. I had my Healthy Cooking Magazines in tow and looked through them, made suggestions, showed him the photos and we came up with a plan for Monday - Saturday! Woo Hoo!

I saw this recipe for Light-But-Hearty Tuna Casserole and thought, why not? It is something Grumpy loves so maybe I should make it and give it a try myself.

This recipe was a little different to me from what I had seen of Tuna Casseroles as it did not call for green peas. Instead, it called for 1/2 cup of roasted red pepper. It also called for plain bread crumbs mixed with spices but since I didn't have plain bread crumbs, I used panko bread crumbs.

Do I now love Tuna Casserole? No, I don't love it, but I can't say I hate it anymore either! I ate all that I took and Grumpy? Well, he ate the rest of the casserole that same evening. So I would say he loved it! ;o)



Light-But-Hearty Tuna Casserole
Healthy Cooking Jan/Feb 2009

3 cups uncooked yolk free noodles
1 can reduced fat reduced sodium cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1/2 cup fat free milk
2 Tbsp. reduced fat mayonnaise
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1 can (6 oz) solid white tuna, drained
1 jar (6 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained
1/4 cup chopped roasted sweet red pepper

Topping:
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp pepper

Cook noodles according to package directions. In a large bowl, combine the soup, milk, mayonnaise and mustard. Stir in the tuna, mushrooms and red pepper. Drain noodles; add to soup mixture and stir until blended. Transfer to 8-in. square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle over casserole, Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly.

Nutrition facts: 1-1/2 cups equals 322 calories, 9 grams fat, 843 mg sodium, 39 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams fiber, 18 grams protein.