Movie Day – into Night

By Lori Powell
For One or Two Bites, a blog for singles and couples

I’ve gotten into the craze of Downton Abbey to the point that I had to revisit Seasons 1 and 2 before seeing the first episode of Season 3 (aired on PBS this past Sunday night).

Sitting through one series is quite enough, but two is a bit crazy. Well, not that crazy, since it wasn’t like I had to keep my eyes glued to the television since I had already seen it.

So I made it my background noise while I was doing a bit of reorganization at home. It just makes it all the sweeter if you can put reorganization and fun in the same sentence. All the while, I was accomplishing at least one task on my New Year’s resolutions, which was to move more and to de-clutter. Wait, that’s two down….love it when multitasking works out!

Needless to say, it was around 4:30, still in PJs, not showered, turning on the lights that dinnertime was approaching with only an apple consumed for lunch, Nothing makes me hungrier or more deserving than a good go at organization.

I really was not in the mood to change clothes (forget the shower), get in the car and pick up some groceries. So off to the pantry I went in an attempt to form a kitchen sink meal.

In the cupboard I found an amazing stockpile of Wild Planet Tuna, egg noodles and in the fridge, a wilted pepper, mushrooms and a box of baby spinach...hmmm sounds like a tuna noodle casserole to me!

I’m not sure about the origins of tuna noodle but it might be based on a similar scenario such as mine. Who would think of putting canned tuna, mushrooms and Cheddar cheese in the same dish? But somehow it works and is one of my favorite comfort foods.

Maybe it all came about during the invention and craze of canned mushroom soup. In any event, my version is without the canned stuff except for the Wild Planet Tuna (some of the best tuna out there). I hope you find it comforting, too...oh, and it only gets better as reheated leftovers.

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Tuna Noodle Casserole
Serves 4 to 6

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped onion
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 small bell pepper, chopped (optional)
1 (5-ounce) box baby spinach
6 ounces wide egg noodles
1 can (5 ounces) tuna, drained and flaked
1/4 cup chopped chives or scallion (optional)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-3/4 cups 2 percent or whole milk
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh toasted breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 1½-quart shallow baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over moderately high heat and cook mushrooms, stirring, until golden, about 6 minutes. Add onion, celery and pepper and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add spinach in handfuls and cook, stirring, until wilted. Transfer to a large bowl. Cook egg noodles in boiling salted water until as dente, about 5 minutes. Drain and add to bowl with tuna and chives.
3. Melt butter in a medium saucepan, over moderate heat and add flour. Stirring constantly cook until flour turns one shade darker, about 3 minutes. Whisking slowly add milk in a stream until combined well. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until thickened, 5 to 8 minutes. Whisk in Parmesan and lemon juice. Add to bowl and gently stir to combine well. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Spoon mixture into prepared dish and sprinkle evenly with breadcrumbs then Cheddar. Bake in middle of oven until bubbling around edges and top is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly and serve.

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