I like to cook. I like to look in my pantry, at the sales at the grocery store, at the leftovers in my refrigerator and concoct different recipes. I like to imagine what something might taste like. I often, because of the unique nature of leftovers, put together one-of-a-kind dishes. It’s a hobby. It’s a source of relaxation.

There’s certain flavors that I really enjoy, like tomato/molasses/garlic/chipotle pepper, which I enjoy adding (so far) to baked beans, chicken salad, potato salad, lentil soup—really almost anything. I’m delighted that my husband, Stephen, likes the flavor as well. It’s becoming, in a way, my signature flavor.

And that’s what this column is about—cooking family meals and creating our own signature flavors. It’s also about inexpensive and relatively healthy eating. It’s about learning to cook, and it’s about moving away from packaged meals that have fillers, tons of salt and, often, high-fructose corn syrup.

It’s about creating simple meals that form family memories. It’s about comfort. And it’s about community.

What I’m hoping is that this column, Simple Fare, and its companion public Facebook group, will be a place to share our recipes and our variations. To tell stories about how our children are loving these new flavors and have suggested variations themselves. At its least, it will be a once-a-month recipe column that utilizes local grocery store sales. At its best, we’ll share our recipes and maybe even get together and cook.

We’ll see.

Tuna noodle casserole was always one of my favorites as a child. It’s a simple recipe. Eight ounces of pasta or noodles, one can of tuna, one can of a cream soup (mushroom, chicken, or celery), one cup of milk and a cup of frozen peas. The steps are equally easy. Boil noodles and drain. Put back into cooking pot and add tuna, soup and peas. Pour into baking dish and cover with crushed potato chips, crushed crackers, or bread crumbs and bake for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Easy peasy!

And here’s where the variety comes in.

Eileen in the office says her mother used to chop and sauté a medium-sized onion. Then she’d add some frozen peas and carrots, the soup, some milk, the tuna and pour it into a casserole dish and bake. When she had cheese, she added that as well (one cup of grated cheddar, Colby, Jack or Muenster works well.)

Tanya says that she uses a bag of frozen vegetables, instead of peas, and tops it with grated cheese before baking.

Eileen likes to make hers with wide egg noodles. Tanya says she uses pasta. I used rotini because I wanted the sauce to nestle into the pasta.

As I was purchasing my ingredients at my local grocery store, Pete’s Market in Narrowsburg (which has tuna and pasta on sale this weekend, as do area Peck’s Markets.) I read the soup can labels and was surprised by the high level of sodium. I picked one that was 25% less sodium, but at 660 mg or 27% of the daily recommendation, it still seemed high.

As an alternative, it’s very useful to make your own white sauce. A white sauce is a milk-based sauce made by melting butter and adding flour into a paste, and then adding milk and cooking it until smooth and thick. It’s fairly simple and it’s a great alternative to canned soup. Plus you can add any number of things to a white sauce, including cheese, which makes an easy and delicious version of macaroni and cheese—another of my family’s comfort foods.

So here’s a standard recipe for Tuna Noodle Casserole, using a white sauce:
Ingredients
8 oz. of pasta (noodles, or any shape), boiled and drained $0.50*
3 Tbs. butter$0.33*
3 Tbs. flour$0.02
1 can evaporated milk plus 1 can of water, or 2 and 2/3 cups of milk$0.86 (milk)
1 cup of frozen vegetables (peas, carrots and peas, or mixed vegetables)$0.54 (peas)
1 can tuna (drained)$0.99*
Salt and pepper to taste

*on sale this week at Pete’s and Peck’s
TOTAL COST: $3.23. For four servings: $0.81 per serving
CALORIES PER SERVING: 397 (assumes using whole milk, peas, tuna in water)

Method:

Melt butter in saucepan, and when melted add flour and stir into a smooth paste. Add heated milk and cook until thickened. Add vegetables and tuna and pour into an oven-proof casserole dish. Top with crushed potato chips or crackers. Bake for 25-30 minutes in a 350-degree oven or until heated through.
Variations:
Sauté ½ medium onion (chopped) and/or ½ cup of chopped green or red peppers, ½ cup of celery or mushrooms in the butter before adding flour.
Use a can of salmon, or use 1 cup of poached salmon or sautéed shrimp instead of the tuna.
Flavor your white sauce, or your soup mixture, with either 1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce, or 2 Tbs. sherry, or 1 tsp. curry powder, or 1 Tbs. fresh dill, or ½ tsp. dill weed. Minced garlic can be added to any of these flavorings as well.
Creating family memories:
There’s nothing like food, particularly family recipes, that create good family memories. I hope you’ll share your experiences with tuna noodle casserole in the comment section of this article or the public Facebook group, Simple Fare.