Tuna Noodle Casserole Challenge Answer

My buddy, Dutcher, has requested a tuna noodle casserole she can make without cheddar cheese (a rarity in the vastness of Europe) and without a "cream of ____" soup. Yo' mama's tuna noodle casserole would usually call for a can of Cream O' Mushroom Soup, cheddar, and potato chips. This is not that.

8 ounces of wide egg noodles, cooked and drained
1 1/2 white onion, diced
3 cups mushrooms, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
A splash of white wine
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup half and half
2 cups frozen peas
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
2 cans worth of tuna

1. Make the noodles.
2. Cook the mushrooms, onion, and garlic in butter in a pan. Add the wine (or drink it).
3. Sprinkle the flour over the pan to thicken the mixture.
4. Stir in milk and cream. Gently now... Add the peas, seasonings, and tuna.
5. After all is said and cooked, go ahead and mix it together in a pleasing manner. Devour.

Now, this is more like a Tuna Noodle Pasta Dish. If it's a baked motherfucker you're looking for try modifying the recipe in this way:

-boil water and cook the noodles for only about 5 minutes. This will soften them a bit.
-over medium heat cook the butter, wine, milk, cream, and seasonings.
-Add flour slowly to thicken the liquid mixture
-gently cook the mushrooms, onion, garlic, and peas in a pan

Now, don't cook everything all the way through or it will be overcooked after this next step that will blow your mind.

THE BAKED VERSION
-Put the egg noodles in a baking dish
-throw in the tuna
-throw the cooked veggies over the noodles
-pour the liquid mixture of wine and butter and good over it all
-crinkle up a bag of 'tato chips (i highly suggest Crunchips Sweet Thai Chili flavor, only available in Germany) and sprinkle them on top
-BAKE IT ALL at 375 degrees F for about 25-30 minutes.

THINGS THAT WILL MAKE THIS EVEN BETTER
Now, I personally don't like tuna. It is a fish that is not found around here. It has high mercury content. I don't like fish that much. So my suggestions (if you can swing them) are as follows:

-Make it all with a diced Morning Star "chicken" patty. I love the breading on them and you can even get flavors this way, like Tomato Basil. It could add a flavorful twist.

-Do chicken instead. Locally produced chicken is, in the long run, much better than either tuna (bad for a lot of reasons) or a processed fake meat. Fake meat has to be processed, frozen, and shipped and in the end you're doing the environment worse than if you had gotten local meat.

-Cheese. Dutcher, I know you don't have cheddar but cheese is always a good thing and this casserole, personally, I think could be given an extra, nutty bite with a good Gouda. Gouda is so smoky and distinct that I think a layer of Gouda on top of the veggies and before the cream mixture would add a really special taste to this.


Just like my Debo used to make. Only this is the simple one with only 5 ingredients. We went all out and made everything from scratch because Europe does not believe in the simple, delicious, bad-for-you processed foods of America.