Tuna Mac and Cheese Casserole

I would call tuna mac and cheese casserole a comfort food. Back in the day an easy meal for the kids, box of mac and cheese and a can of tuna, 20 mins and dinner is on the table. Well, these days, I make my own mac and cheese, but the tuna is still from a can. Turns out, it takes the same amount of time to cook mac and cheese from scratch as it does out of a box. Basically the time the pasta takes to cook, the cheese sauce cooks too.

Now, I don’t have the cool pasta shaped like dinosaurs or rocket ships, I’m sure they’re available on the internet. What I do have is an ingredient list that I can pronounce and know what it is. Now I’m not going to say that mac and cheese is the healthiest food, there’s a lot of fat in there between the butter and the cheese. However, there is no processed food in there, and that makes it healthier. Unfortunately good comfort food is usually not the healthiest, moderation is the key, don’t eat it every day.

Speaking of healthy. For a diet to be healthy, it has to be balanced. This is where things can tend to get complicated, eat this, don’t eat that etc. However, things can be simplified somewhat. A simple rule of thumb is to make sure there is green on every plate. Simple statement, and it ensures that green vegetables are a regular part of the diet. Doesn’t matter what it is as long as it’s green. So, I’ll add a garden vegetable medley to this, peas and carrots, but you can add whatever you have as long as it’s green. It’s always good to have a few bags of frozen vegetables in the freezer.

The heart of tuna mac and cheese casserole, is, well, mac and cheese, and the heart of mac and cheese, is, well, cheese. Usually when I make a mac and cheese the cheese selection is important. However, I want to go to the roots of tuna mac and cheese in my house. Which is a quick hearty dinner for some hungry kids. It doesn’t warrant a trip to the store to buy a bunch of different cheeses that will bring their own individual flavors to the dish so it’s more than just the sum of it’s parts.

For those of you that read my posts, sometimes dinner is putting together what’s available in the house at the time. Most people don’t have the time or the money to have a pantry stocked like on a cooking show. We have the essentials, and that’s about it. Also, depending on where you are in a pay cycle shows in the closet. I get paid every two weeks, at the end of two weeks my closets are nearly bare.

Walk over to your fridge right now and see what’s there. Some cheddar, maybe some Italian blend and some parmesan, well, there’s the cheese portion. However, the options are endless, you can basically add whatever cheese you have. Gruyere, brie, asiago, there are so many options, I leave some of that to you.

I had mentioned before that the cheese sauce cooks while the pasta is cooking. So, start by putting up the water for the pasta. Maybe we should talk about pasta selection at this time. You need to choose one that can carry the cheese sauce in it, macaroni is good, flat pasta is not. The cheese sauce starts with a roux. Melt fat, add flour and cook. Yeah, that’s a basic roux. Then add a liquid of your choice, that could be milk for a cheese sauce or stock for a gravy. And the ratio for this sauce is simple 1:1:1, 1 tablespoon fat, 1 tablespoon flour and 1 cup liquid. We’ll double it for this recipe.

The only hard part about cooking a roux is the constant whisking over low heat, but it’s worth it. Melt the butter, this is where I add the finely diced garlic, the flavor will permeate the entire dish. Mix the garlic with the butter over low heat for a few minutes to allow it to soften, now add the flour. Mix all this well, keep mixing, you’ll need to cook for 7-10 mins to allow the flour to cook, otherwise it will be grainy. Now add the milk slowly while whisking, turn up the heat and bring to a boil while continuing to whisk. As it comes to a boil it will thicken, now remove from the heat, add the cheese while mixing, that’s it, cheese sauce is done.

The pasta should be done too. In a large enough bowl, mix the pasta, cheese sauce, frozen vegetables and tuna. Pour the mixture into an appropriately sized oven dish lined with parchment paper, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and put in a 350 degree preheated oven for 20 mins. What comes out has a golden brown crust covering a delicious cheesy tuna mac and cheese casserole. As with any cheese dish, allow to cool for 10 mins and serve. Enjoy dinner, Thank you for reading.