Tuna Noodle Casserole

Now my dear husband LOVES Tuna Noodle Casserole and surprisingly ES loves it too. With our new obsession looking for MSG and Splenda I actually sat and read the contents of ALL of the Cream of Whatever Soups at the Commissary as my recipe for Tuna Noodle Casserole calls for Cream of Chicken Soup, and all of them had MSG. So I thought to myself, well I guess we are NEVER having that meal again. Then a few days later I found a recipe in Better Homes and Gardens. They had an entire article about traditional casseroles and a new modern twist to it. Low and behold NO Cream of Whatever Soup!! So I had to give the tradition version a whirl.

It was last nights dinner and I have to say the taste was SPOT on, but unfortunately it was a little dry. I suspect that this is due to the fact that I probably reduced the sauce a tad too much as I was running around being a crazy unorganized cook! :-) So next time I make this, as soon as I see the sauce has thickened oh so slightly I will stop cooking it.

Here is the recipe and my modifications will be in parentheses.

Prep: 25 Minutes Bake: 30 Minutes Oven: 375

Ingredients:
3 cups medium noodles (elbow)
1 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter (light butter)
1/4 all purpose flour
2-3 TBSP Dijon Style Mustard
2 1/4 cups milk
12 oz chunk tuna drained (Costco brand tuna has the best taste!)
1/2 cup bottled roasted red sweet peppers, chopped (ours were moldy so those were omitted)
Potato chips, optional (I cubed up slice of bread and mixed in 1TBSP melted butter)

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In large saucepan cook noodles according to package directions. Drain; return noodles to pan.

2. For sauce, in medium saucepan cook celery and onion in hot butter until tender. Stir in flour, mustard and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Add milk all at once; cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly, whisking to remove any lumps.

3. Gently fold sauce,tuna, and peppers into noodles. transfer to lightly greased 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Top with chips. Bake uncovered, 30 to 35 minutes, until heated trough. Let stand 5 minutes.

Serves 4 (mine made at least 6 servings).

Nutrition Information according to BH&G's ingredients:
419 calories
16 g fat (10 g saturated fat)
110 mg cholesterol
720 mg sodium
36 g carbohydrates
2g fiber