Last Southern Living Supper: New Tuna Casserole

I did it, I cooked all 7 meals from an article I saw in Southern Living!  I had started out with the intention of making them all I'm one week, but it ended up being 2-3 weeks! I really enjoyed them all.  We tried new foods like grits and collard greens too!  A couple of the meals were labor intensive, but if you enjoy cooking, you won 't mind :o)

The last meal listed in the article was New Tuna Casserole.  It was a creamy hearty meal that would work great during Lent for those of us who observe meatless Fridays.  My oldest son and I loved it, but my husband and youngest weren't fans of the tuna.  I think next time I will just leave out the tuna and add more veggies.  I converted this recipe to GF through substitutions of corn pasta, GF flour and corn crumbs instead of panko.  Most recipes can be converted with a little planning.  Here is my step-by-step in pictures:

Cook your pasta per package directions and set aside in a large bowl.  After the noodles are cooked, use the same water to blanch a pound of thin green beans.  

Sauté your cleaned and thin sliced leeks until they are softened,

The recipe also called for mushrooms, but I didn't have any and we were snowed in so I skipped that step!  To make the cheese sauce, you need to whisk flour into melted butter over medium heat.  Keep whisking for 2 minutes.

After that, you will want to gradually whisk in cream and vegetable broth.  Bring the mixture to a boil and stir occasionally until thickened.  

Turn the heat back down to medium and stir in the cheeses.  Keep stirring until the cheese is melted and smooth.  Lastly, mix in your spices.

Combine the cheese sauce with the noodles.

Next, fold the tuna, leeks and beans into the noodles.

Place the mixture in a greased 9x13 casserole dish.  At this point, I covered it and placed it in the refridge as I made the casserole in the morning. 

30 minutes before you want to bake the casserole and remove from the refridge.  In a small bowl, melt the remaking butter and mix in crushed chips and corn crumbs.  Top the casserole with the chip mixture.  Bake for 35-40 minutes in a  350*F oven.  Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.