This recipe takes me back to the early 60’s, to my
days of early hardship in a third floor walk-up in the 900 block of Calvert
Street. It’s one of the first dishes I learned to make when I arrived from the
Eastern Shore to take a job at The Bagby Furniture Co. It seems odd that I now
sometimes dine at The Fleet Street Kitchen, which is where the old Bagby
shipping dock once was, and that I should now be eating tuna in so many more
glamorous ways, even at the Kitchen. But this dish is a classic and their chef
has nothing on Mrs. W. V. Smith from whom the recipe comes, in the What’s
Cooking in Hurlock, Maryland cook book, produced by the WSCS (Women’s Society
of Christian Service) of the Unity-Washington Church.
TUNA NOODLE CASSEROLE
6-8 servings
1 lb. package of macaroni
½ lb. extra sharp cheddar cheese, plus a handful,
grated
½ C whole milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 small can of tiny peas
2 cans tuna fish, drained (I use the kind packed in
water)
Small bag of potato chips
1.
Preheat
oven to 350.
2.
Cook
macaroni according to package directions, drain and season with salt and
pepper. Place macaroni in casserole dish.
3.
Mix
milk with cream of mushroom soup; add to macaroni; stir
4.
Add
the peas and then the tuna to the mixture and stir thoroughly
5.
Cut
the cheddar cheese into flat chunks and spread on top of the casserole
6.
Mix
grated cheese with crushed potato chips and sprinkle mixture over the top of
the casserole.
7.
Line
the sides of the casserole with whole potato chips, if desired.
8.
Dot
the casserole with butter.
9.
Bake
until cheese is melted and casserole is browned, about 30 minutes.
Mrs. W. V. Smith
