Casserole Week: Lightened Up Tuna Casserole

I was pleasantly surprised that a lot of you have never had tuna casserole before either—I thought I would be in a minority!

Recap of yesterday—it’s my birthday on Monday and Mother’s Day on Sunday, so my mom and I always like to combine the two celebrations and go on a little getaway. This time we headed up to Thief River Falls—which is somewhat in the middle of nowhere, but has the Seven Clans Casino with a huge water park. Waterslides are about the only “rides” you’ll catch me on, because any other kinds make me sick unfortunately. So water parks are by far my favorite, and this is the closest one to home.

The Seven Clans has a few restaurants—the Malt Shoppe and the Sizzlin’ 7’s.

We chose the Sizzlin’ 7’s.

They had their Friday night Walleye Special. For just $7.95, you got a huge baked wallet fillet breaded with their special seasoning, corn, baked potato and dinner roll. It was the best tasting fish I’ve had in a long time, and made a overall 5 star tasting meal!

After I got hooked on the tuna casserole in yesterday’s post, I thought why not try and lighten it up? Sometimes you want the  tastes of a comforting dish without the feeling of being weighed down. I think I accomplished this with today’s recipe!

Lightened Up Tuna Casserole

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb spaghetti squash (approx 2 cups), microwave prior to baking casserole
• 1 can FF cream of mushroom soup
• 1/3 c skim milk
• 1/2 c FF shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 c canned peas
• 1/2 c diced onion
• 1/2 c sliced mushrooms
• 1 Starkist Chunk Light Tuna Sandwich Ready Pouch
• 1/4 c crushed cheddar soy crisps—I use Mr
• Dash of black pepper

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly spray a 8 x 8 baking pan.
• In a medium bowl, mix soup, milk, cheese, peas, onions, mushrooms, and tuna until thoroughly combined.
• Mix in spaghetti squash and bake for 30-35 until top is brown and bubbly.
• Sprinkle pepper on top before serving if desired.
• Let cool—makes 4 portions.