Tuna Noodle Casserole

We continued our foray into my favorite childhood meals last night, this time trying the classic Tuna Noodle Casserole. I followed the recipe to the letter and was thrilled when it came out tasting just like Mom's. I even added the generous french fried onion layer for true authenticity (Mom's favorite part of any recipe!). This meal was met with less resistance than the unfortunate Green Bean Casserole and not a single tear was shed while eating it. Grace picked out all the onions and celery and only ate the green noodles while Ethan tossed french fried onions to Zoe, our dog. I discovered that the reason Ethan wasn't interested in eating was because he didn't have a fork like the rest of us and once I gave him a salad fork like Grace uses he ate quite a bit! He did really well with it so I guess he's not only won the Battle of the Spoon but also the Battle of the Fork now. He's really trying to grow up too fast. David tried some Tuna Noodle after we went to Grace's AWANAS awards night and I was surprised that he liked it and said he would eat it again. Whoo Hoo!

So here's the recipe for my Mom's Tuna Noodle Casserole. French fried onions are her special addition, be sure to pile on plenty!

Tuna Noodle Casserole
3 cups noodles (Mom always used tri-colored rotini)
7oz can tuna, drained (this dates this recipe...nowadays you'll have to make due with the shrunken 5oz can)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sliced celery
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
french fried onions

Cook noodles according to package directions and drain. Combine noodles, tuna, mayonnaise, celery, onion, and salt. Blend the can of soup and 1/2 cup of milk and heat through. Add 1 cup of cheese to the soup mixture and stir until cheese melts. Add to noodle mixture and put in 2qt casserole dish. Bake uncovered @ 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Smother the top in french fried onions and bake 5 more minutes.