Tuna Pea Wiggle

Sadly I only have one picture of this delicious dish. Me being a complete space cadet left the camera in the "on" position for a couple hours before deciding to make this for dinner, and the battery died after I was able to snap this one shot. What can I say, I've been frazzled lately!! Travis and I are going to Hiroshima for the weekend in celebration of our 3 year wedding anniversary on April 25. I've been working, doing laundry like a crazy woman, cleaning, getting our dog Otis to our friend's house for the duration of our trip and trying to finalize our to-do list for while we are in mainland. It drives Travis crazy, I am sure, that I try to plan out flights, hotels, trains, subways, and busses down based on their schedules I can find online. Despite his free spirit desiring to wander around for 3 days, I am proud of myself for finding them since everything is in Japanese and it can be difficult to determine which link to follow when you're looking at everything written in a very foreign language. I just don't like getting lost, or having a lot of downtime on vacations. I don't like feeling like I've wasted time walking around when I could have researched the destination a little better prior to going. So with that monstrosity of a to do list right before our trip, a quick dinner was in order.

I mean, quick. Like 15 min quick, which no joke is how long it takes to make this from start to finish. It's glorious! I grew up on this dish, and while my mom called it Tuna Noodle Casserole, it doesn't actually ever see a casserole dish, nor does it go in the oven. After asking my coworkers what things they like in their tuna noodle casseroles, and not getting many answers, I went to my old standby- Google. I found a lot of recipes that contained heavy cream, lots of cheeses, lots of fatty bread toppings, and general unhealthiness. What I always loved about this dish was it's fairly light, yet still creamy and rich tasting.

I did however find a new name via the glorious Google- the Tuna Pea Wiggle. It's more fun to say than "the mushroom soup egg noodle thing with tuna and peas" but doesn't mislead like Tuna Noodle Casserole does.

Anyway, I ramble. It can be easily doubled, keeps well for 7-10 days if stored in the back of the fridge, and can be adapted to any taste you like! Add garlic, parsley, panko topping and bake, cheddar cheese- the options are endless. The only addition I added tonight that was different than my childhood version was chopped spinach, and it added nutrients without adding barely any flavor, so take that how you like.

Tuna Pea Wiggle

a Butter Than Toast Original

makes 2 very large servings or 3 medium sized bowls

1/2 bag Egg Noodles

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 cup frozen peas

1 can tuna packed in water, drained

1/2 cup spinach, chopped

Freshly cracked pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese for topping

Bring some water to a boil in a large sauce pot and add noodles, cook for about 5-7 minutes. Don't cook too long or they will be mushy. While the noodles are cooking, chop the spinach and drain the can of tuna. Drain the noodles, return to pot. Add 3/4 of the can of Mushroom soup, all of the tuna, peas and spinach. Stir it all together, making sure everything gets coated with the Cream of Mushroom soup. Add as much pepper as you like, and maybe a pinch or two of salt if you prefer. I usually do not add salt. Turn the heat back on low and heat everything through if the peas did not warm up from the hot noodles. If the mixture is looking dry, add additional Cream of Mushroom soup a spoonful at a time until desired consistency is reached. I prefer everything to be super coated, so I always add the full can. 

Spoon into bowls, top with a bit of Parmesan cheese and enjoy.