Yesterday, I was craving some kind of “comfort food” and was trying to come up with ideas of what I could make with things I already had on hand.  My Mom used to make tuna noodle casserole when I was a child that was absolutely amazing, so I decided I’d try to make a modified version of hers. And while most people think of comfort food as unhealthy or fattening, I tried to keep this recipe as healthy as possible. I didn’t have any thick noodles in the house (which, come to think of it, I’m not sure if I’ve ever bought them), but did have penne pasta in the cupboard. Most tuna casseroles call for a breadcrumb topping and I immediately thought of using Popchips instead. I must say, it was a brilliant idea! I had/have three flavors in the house; barbeque, cheddar and sour cream and onion, and decided to go with the sour cream & onion. I think their parmesan garlic would be awesome, too (will have to try that next time)!

Ingredients

• 1 can of tuna
• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup (like Campbell’s Healthy Request)
• 1/2 lb. (half of 1 lb. box) penne pasta (or you can use the traditional wide noodles)
• 1/4 can of peas
• 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
• 1/8 cup skim milk
• 2 handfuls of 2% Mexican four cheese blend
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 stick of butter
• Popchips crumbs (about 15)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add pasta and cook for approximately 8 minutes, or until tender. Remove from heat and drain.
3. Get a 11×7 casserole dish and lightly grease with some of the butter. (This will prevent the casserole from sticking & also add some flavor that you won’t get from cooking spray.)
4. Put drained can of tuna in mixing bowl and break up with a fork.
5. Add mushroom soup, sour cream, milk, peas, shredded cheese and garlic powder to tuna and mix well.
6. Stir in pasta and blend all ingredients together.
7. Transfer contents to casserole dish and even the top (so it’s flat). Sprinkle lightly with Parmesan, then Popchips crumbs (I crumbled them with my hands).
8. Melt remaining butter and drizzle over top of casserole.
9. Bake for 30 minutes.
10. Remove and let cool for 5-10 minutes, then serve and enjoy!