My sister in law, Gena, just shared with me her delicious tuna casserole recipe. It makes 4–9×13 casseroles. Serve 1 for dinner and freeze the other 3. It makes a great meal for a new mother. With a recipe this size you can taker her one to eat and one for her freezer.
Here's Gena's original recipe and a lighter one follows:
Tuna Casserole for the Freezer
4-12oz bags of egg noodles
1-4lb can of tuna, drained (Coscto carries this size or you can use 8 regular size cans)
2-1 lb bags of frozen peas
2 sticks of butter
2 cups of flour
8 cups milk
2 cups sour cream
4 Tablespoons of chicken seasoning (recipe follows)
20 oz shredded cheese
Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, melt butter in a heavy sauce pan. Stir in flour to form a roux. Whisk in milk and cook until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in chicken seasoning, sour cream and cheese. Add peas, tuna, and noddles. Mix well and divide into 4-9×13 pans. Freeze. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Top with additional cheese and bake at 350 until mixture is heated through and cheese is melted.
Chicken seasoning:
3 tablespoons onion powder
3 tablespoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons basil
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon oregano
Mix well, makes 8 tablespoons
Tuna casserole for the freezer, (a little lighter)
4–12 oz packages whole wheat pasta
1–4lb can tuna, drained (or 8 small cans)
4 T chicken seasoning
2–lb frozen peas
1 sick butter
2 cups flour
8 cups skim milk
2 cups plain non-fat yogurt
16 oz shredded cheese
Cook pasta according to package directions, drain. Meanwhile melt butter in a heavy sauce pan. Pour milk into a large bowl and wisk in flour. Pour into melted butter. Heat and stir until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in chicken seasoning, yogurt, and cheese. Add peas, tuna, and noodles. Stir well and divide among 4 greased 9 x 13 casseroles. To cook immediately top with cheese and bake at 350 for 20 mintues. Or thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Bake at 350 until cheese is melted and it is heated through.
can we get some other wonderful ladies to contribute their “freezer cooking” or very large recipes to this entry in the comment section? That would be a great help. it can be hard to find these large recipes and not all recipes go well when simply doubled. Thanks
I’d love to make it but my dh left my ONE 9×13 pan at a potluck last week. I guess *my* first step in OAMC will be gathering the necessary supplies! š
Foil pans are economical. If you don’t want to use foil, I’ve had good luck greasing a glass pan well. Then freezing the casserole in it and “popping” it out. I put the frozen dish in a large freezer bag back in the freezer. Now my glass pan is available to use again. The trick is to make sure you put the frozen food back in the same pan before thawing or cooking it. You can imagine what might happen if you forget.
I just made this for dinner tonight. We really enjoyed it – especially my toddler. I may sprinkle some crushed bread crumbs to the top of the next one I bake. Thanks for sharing the recipe!