Tuna Noodle Casserole

I've had this recipe bookmarked from the Betty Crocker website for a few months and had planned on making it for a Friday Lent. Tuna casserole is one of those comfort foods that everyone seemed to reminisce about when they were kids, but its something I've never really had. Unless you count Hamburger Helper/Tuna Helper, which I had often when I was a kid. So I've been dying to make something similar to flavors of the Tuna Helper I've grown to love.

I've had the ingredients ready for about a week and I've finally got around to making it tonight. The original recipe required leek soup mix, but I replaced it with onion soup mix. This version came out okay. But nothing to write home about. It was rather bland, in my opinion. The scent of onion from the onion soup mix was rather strong, which didn't seem appealing at first. But after having the first bite, it wasn't as bad as I thought. However, this wasn't the tuna noodle casserole recipe I was looking for. I guess my quest will continue.

8 oz uncooked linguine or spaghetti

1 cup frozen broccoli florets

1 package onion soup mix

1 1/2 cups milk

black pepper to taste

1 (5 oz) can tuna, drained

2 Tbsp. chopped drained roasted bell peppers

1 Tbsp. butter, melted

1/4 plain bread crumbs

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease a 8-inch square (2 quart) pan. Cook and drain pasta according to package directions. Add frozen broccoli during the last 2 minutes of cook time. Drain.

2) In a saucepan, mix together milk and onion soup mix. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Season with black pepper.

3) Add pasta, broccoli, tuna, and roasted peppers to soup mixture. Gently stir to mix well. Spoon into prepared baking dish. In a small bowl, combine butter and bread crumbs and sprinkle over pasta mixture. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes, until top is golden brown.