I've probably got the same one you have:

1 cup cooked macaroni
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cans tuna
--optional--
chopped black olives
chopped celery
chopped onion

-bake in preheated 350F oven for about half an hour. About 4 servings.

Good luck!
Lisa

My recipe tends to be like the one above, with a few refinements. I throw in a couple tablespoons of mayonnaise to make it even creamier, a sprinkle of curry for some dimension, and maybe a squirt of lemon juice. I mix all the non-macaroni ingredients together and pour the mixture over the noodles, then top with grated cheese - usually cheddar and often also mozzarella or parmesan. A good shredded blend works well... and then I bake it till the cheese is hot and bubbly.

OK, now I'm craving this, darn it!

I make an alfredo sauce and add the tuna to that. A little garlic is nice. Fettuccine is a perfectly nice noodle. Herbage is up to you.

When I used to make this all the time for poor college student food, I'd use those wide no-yolks egg noodles, a can of cream of chicken soup and milk to thin the soup and coat the noodles. I was a big fan of Nature's Seasons seasoning, so a hearty dose of that tossed in...topped with the tuna, then American cheese, and crumbled Buttercrisp Toasteds crackers.

Bake at 350 long enough to heat through, melt the cheese, and toast the crackers.

Now that my tastes are a bit more refined, I'd probably modify the soup to a 50/50 blend of cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup (or golden onion, if I could find it!), and I'd shred some good white cheddar on top instead of the american junk! Or maybe some smoked gouda would be nice.

I've only made this once and think the cooking times are off; but it was well recieved. It's not as quick as the traditional tuna casserole, although the etoufee can be made in advance and stored in your fridge for up to a week. It is, however, a lot more tasty.

Ingredients:
--Etoufee--
1 cup butter
1 large white onions, chopped
3 stalks cellery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed & minced
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
½ cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 tablespoon cajun seasoning
--Casserole--
1 can tuna, drained & diced
1 cup pasta, cooked & drained
3 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon cajun spice
ground black pepper (to taste)
salt (to taste, optional)

--Topping--
1 cup russet potoates, cut into thin strips
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon cajun spice (to taste, optional)
¼ cup old havarti, cut into small cubes

Instructions:
--Etoufeé--
1. 1n a large skillet on low heat, melt the butter and saute the onions, celery and garlic until they are cooked down. This takes about 45 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large pot over high heat, cook your pasta until it is almost cooked. Then rince and drain it well. Set it aside.
3. Slowly stir in the flour, parmesan cheese & cajun seasoning into the etoufé and cook briefly. Do not brown.
Once well mixed, keep warm and covered.

--Topping--
4. In a second skillet, add the oil and bring it to the simmering point.
5. Add your potatoe strips to the hot oil and turn to coat. Cover for 10 minutes or until they can be pierced easily with a fork.
6. Remove the potatoes from the oil and blot them with paper towel to reduce excess oil.
7. Dust lightly with at least a teaspoon of cajun spice for color and taste.

-- Casserole--
8. Spray your casserole dish with cooking spray.
9. Line the bottom of your casserole dish with the cooked and drained pasta.
10. Pour the warm etoufeé atop the pasta in your casserole dish.
11. Top with the potatoes.
12. Place in a preheated oven and cook for 30 minutes at 375° C or until everything has an even temperature of 100°C.
13. Sprinkle with a sharp cheese and broil until the cheese is bubbly and browning.

I had to develop a casserole for my wife who has an odd, changing relationship with mayonnaise and creamed anything. I don't have a recipe to offer, as my one attempt at quantifying a recipe for a friend turned out badly (I didn't test it), but here are some thoughts.

The cream-soup replacement starts with a rosemary- or thyme-infused mushroom stock that I make with with dried porcini and/or fresh mushrooms. To finish the velouté, I saute onions (or shallots, leeks) and celery (I like the leaves), stir in a bit of flour and cook the roux, then add the mushroom stock and heat through, making a gravy the consistency of cream.

To assemble, I fold in thick, wide egg noodles and really flavorful Italian canned tuna in olive oil (with the oil), and transfer the soupy combination to a casserole. We like to top with chunky processed bread from the freezer or panko (or other good crackers), a drizzle of olive oil, and salt/pepper, and bake on 400 or so to allow the noodles to soak up the sauce and the top to brown well.

Though this won't work for your event, I hope you experiment with the noodle kugel-like version. One can cut the fishiness with lemon or wine in the sauce, but we like it. rinsed, salted capers are a nice addition. Sweet vegetables like parsnips or carrots tend to take over, but I could see working in blanched and squeezed chard or spinach, maybe as a layer.

If I were looking for a great recipe for the traditional hot dish version, I would skew "Taste of Home" or maybe refer to a diner or road food cookbook. It will be great to see the recipes you assemble.

Best wishes.

Thanks all for your recipes. I'll probably decide one which one right before I head to the market.

I am so shocked to see that someone WANTS tuna casserole for a birthday dinner! This was always our "I forgot to take something out for dinner" dinner! Here is the recipe my mommy made for me and the one I still use. It is a very reliable dish.

1 lb wide noodles (your choice of egg noodle or no yolk)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (any "cream of" would probably work but we like mushroom best)
1 empty soup can's worth of milk (or water if you are out of milk but don't expect creaminess)
1 or 2 cans of tuna (depending on what you have in and how much you like tuna)
crushed potato chips or breadcrumbs mixed with parmesan cheese for topping.
Cook noodles in lightly salted boiling water until al dente, drain. Mix noodles with soup, milk and tuna. Put in casserole dish and top with either crushed potato chips (the best!) or bread crumb mixture if you are being slightly more health conscious. Bake at 350 degrees for at least 1/2 hour covered to heat through - 1 hour is better. To make crust nice and crispy - remove cover for last 10 minutes or so.
Every now and then we add about a cup of frozen peas into the mix, too but it is not really part of the "original" recipe.

I always thought this was the ONLY tuna casserole recipe there was - it is fascinating to see the variations. It may even spawn a tuna casserole revival!

- Jessica

My mom made tuna casserole with white sauce (butter/flour roux with milk), tuna and noodles mixed together and baked with cheddar on top. I loved it as a child but haven't had it since. So I don't know if I would still think so highly of it.

We used fusili or clam shaped noodles. The balance follows the recipes above which include onions, finely chopped celery, sometimes a bit of red bell pepper for color, white sauce, with a topping of what was available - bread crumbs, smashed chips, etc.

You will let us know what you finally baked won't you?

We always make double quantities of this recipe because it otherwise just seems to disappear. It's not the traditional sloppy and creamy casserole from the '60s, as you can tell by the added vegetables, but when the three of us feel like warm comfort food with a bit of pizzaz, and want to feel virtuous about what we're eating, it works well. For more bite we sometimes add a few splashes of habanero or tabasco sauce to the mix.

BAKED GARDEN TUNA CASSEROLE

4 oz broad noodles, broken into 2-inch lengths OR 1 cup dry pasta shapes (farfalle, radiatore, ziti, etc.)
2 large tomatoes
1/2 lb of spinach
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 tin tuna (6 1/2 oz)
3 tbsp finely chopped onion
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
6 - 8 large fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
½ tin (6 oz) condensed asparagus or mushroom soup
1/4 lb Monterey Jack or Mozzarella cheese, grated

In a large saucepan, boil salted water for cooking the pasta.

With a sharp knife, make crosses on the top and bottom of the tomatoes, them place in the boiling water for about 30 seconds, until the skins begin to loosen. Lift out, peel the skins, de-seed the tomatoes and chop coarsely. Place in a large bowl.

Add the pasta to the water and cook to al dente. Drain well, then add to bowl.

Wash the spinach leaves and chop coarsely. Place into a skillet with a splash of water, cover and steam about 2 minutes. Remove lid and continue cooking another minute or so to remove any excess water. Add spinach to bowl.

Add remaining vegetables, herbs and soup to the bowl, stirring gently to combine.

Place mixture in an 8x8-inch dish and top with the cheese.

Bake in centre of a 350°F oven for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese melts and starts to turn golden

I'm with Jessica - its the recipe that came off the Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup can. And crushed potato chips are the best!