CREAMY TUNA NOODLE CASSEROLE

And,...it IS CREAMY!

If you google Creamy Tuna Noodle Casserole, you'll come up with over 500,000 websites.  Certainly, I haven't checked very many of them out.  Even if I don't remember exactly where I got the basics of this recipe from,... we do like it.

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 cups (about 8 oz.) DRY medium egg noodles, PREPARED ACCORDING TO PACKAGE DIRECTIONS.  (Macaroni noodles work for this, too.)
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 6 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 2 cans (5 oz. each) tuna, drained and flaked (I think MORE tuna would work, too.)
• 2 cans (10 oz. each) condensed cream of mushroom soup (I like the low-fat kind)
• 1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk.
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese of your choice
• 1 cup of  green beans OR frozen peas (Optional).  When adding peas, I prefer frozen peas because they keep their color and shape better than canned peas.
• 2/3 cup crushed potato chips (Optional).  I did not use them.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Boil the egg noodles (or macaroni noodles) according to directions on the package.
2. While the noodles are boiling, do the following...
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease or spray a 9x13" baking dish (I used a glass dish)
4. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat.  Add celery and onion; cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.   Stir in drained noodles, flaked tuna, soup, evaporated milk and grated cheese.  Mix well.
5. Pour into prepared casserole dish.  Sprinkle with potato chips (optional).
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until top is only lightly browned (or until the "optional" potato chips topping is lightly browned).  
7. IF you do not add potato chips to the top, you can sprinkle a little cheese on top for the last five minutes of baking time.

What I like to do with this casserole:  Once it's cooled and 'firms up', I like to cut it into about 4 x 4" squares.  Freeze the individual squares overnight.  Next day, I vacuum seal the frozen squares for 'grab a meal' when I need it.   TASTES SO GOOD-- even after freezing.