This post appears in the What Dish Are You Famous For? challenge.

I am famous for my Creamy Tuna Noodle Casserole. It is a delightfully easy dish composed of ingredients that come straight out of the pantry and it is a drooled-over family favorite for its creamy, comforting and approachable flavors. The recipe was passed to me from my grandmother, Mammam. I have fond memories of sitting in Mammam's kitchen, devouring heaping bowls of the casserole's salty, warm, soft noodles. Mammam continues to prepare the casserole for family dinners, especially on Fridays during Lent when my family abstains from meat. While it can be prepared as a Lenten dish, it is more of a guilty pleasure in my own house; as it is full of salty canned sweet peas, creamy mayonnaise, and other processed ingredients. You will have to try it and determine for yourself; see if Creamy Tuna Noodle Casserole becomes a dish of mindful meat abstinence or a dish of guilty indulgence for your family.

Ingredients:

• 12 oz package of extra wide or dumpling-size egg noodles

• 2 15-oz cans of sweet peas (1 can drained, 1 can with pea juice reserved)

• 2 5-oz cans of albacore tuna in water

• 1 can cream of celery soup

• 2/3 cup Hellman's mayonnaise

• 1/2 cup milk

• salt & pepper to taste

Preperation:Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain noodles.Make sauce: Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the cream of celery soup, mayonnaise, milk, and the pea juice from 1 can of peas. Add salt & pepper to taste.
Assemble casserole: Spread 1/3rd of noodles in casserole dish, and top with 1/3rd of peas, 1/3rd of tuna and 1/3rd of sauce. Repeat layering until all ingredients are used. Finish the assembly with the final 1/3rd of the sauce.

Bake casserole, covered with foil, in middle of oven for 45 minutes or until bubbling throughout. Serve.