Gentle readers, please do not be miffed with me.
The sad truth is, I’ve sinned. In the past three weeks, I’ve ordered in pizza and wings, I’ve used pre-packaged convenience foods, I’ve resorted to pasta with bottled sauce. I even found myself microwaving a frozen burrito with a filling of dubious origins. I was in a downward spiral of bad food, with no hope of ever emerging with my waistline or sanity intact.
Until last night, when I found myself throwing together the contents of various cans for a concoction I was going to call dinner – or rather, what would pass for dinner if I’d been a delusional 50’s housewife with a Valium habit. This is when I realised that I was only a Hamburger Helper meal away from ending up alone in a darkened room, giggling maniacally over green Jell-O molds full of suspended vegetable mixtures and ingenious creations made of condensed soup, bacon bits and fried onions. This, gentle readers, is my version of rock bottom.
I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me. I will mend my shameful ways… but in the meantime, please join me for a hot bowl of tuna noodle casserole.
//
Tuna Noodle Casserole
3 cups pasta shells, uncooked
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
2 cans tuna, drained and flaked
1 cup frozen peas (1 can peas, drained)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
Throw pasta shells into a large pot of boiling salted water. Cook one minute less than indicated on the package (it should still be quite al dente). Drain.
In a casserole dish, whisk together soup and milk until smooth. Add drained pasta, tuna and peas. Season to taste with salt and lots of pepper, then stir until evenly mixed. Top with a layer of breadcrumbs and bake in a 350F oven for 30 minutes or until crispy on top and bubbling hot.
Serve with a freshly prepared glass of Tang and a small bowl of shredded iceberg lettuce topped with thousand island dressing for an appropriately retro feeling.
Leave a Reply