Today, Jan 18 2015, the Seahawks advanced to the Superbowl for the second time. My city is once again in it’s happy place, which is great, but also means I wasn’t excited about the thought of going to the store down the street and weaving around all the super-happy-car-honking fans. It’s kinda loud out there, and I’m just not feeling it today! I’m also on a quest to get more veggies into my uber-picky 6 yr old, who’s stubbornness will someday get him a great job, but for now just gives me a headache. So I settled for the veggie stand down the street, and tried to make a full Sunday dinner out of what’s remaining in the cupboard.
Here’s what resulted: The Sneaky Tuna Casserole.
1 package g-f macaroni noodles
3 (6-oz) cans albacore tuna, drained
1 container dairy-free sour cream (I like “Tofuti” brand)
1 large head of broccoli, cut small
2 med size yellow squash, cut small
1/2 tea white pepper
1/4 tea salt
1 tea dried thyme
1/2 fresh lemon
Optional: Mozzarella to sprinkle over some of it towards the end of cooking, if there are dairy-friendly eaters in your house who like this sort of thing.
1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
2. Cook noodles. While noodles are cooking, cook broccoli 4-5 minutes in another pan. When done cooking, spoon out broccoli and set it aside. Add the yellow squash to the hot water. Cook until very, very soft, about 6-8 minutes.
3. While noodles and veggies are cooking, combine d-f sour cream, white pepper, salt, thyme, and juice from 1/2 of a fresh lemon. Stir in tuna.
4. When yellow squash is done cooking, drain it and put it in a shallow bowl of some sort. With a potato masher, mash it to a soup-like texture. (This is the “Sneaky” part, since my picky kid won’t eat squash. It’s also the extra liquidy stuff you’ll need for the casserole, since we are not using milk or a cream-based soup!) Add it to the tuna mixture.
5. When the noodles are just about done (maybe 1-2 minutes before the package says for them to be done), drain them and add them to the tuna mixture. Lightly toss and then spread in a 9×12 baking dish.
6. Cook for 30-40 minutes at 350-degrees. If you are planning on sprinkling cheese over part of the casserole for your dairy-friendly family members, do this the last 10-15 minutes.
My family ate this whole thing up in record time. It was one of those “Canyoumakethiseverydayfortherestofmylife??!!” meals. Love those! Let me know what you think!