An easy and inexpensive dinner.
1) Combine together in a large bowl:
> cooked* and drained seashell pasta - use 3 cups uncooked pasta
> tuna, drained - 1 large can (12oz. can)
> cooked* broccoli florets - use 1 bag of "C&W" frozen broccoli florets
> olive oil mayonnaise - ½ cup
> lemon juice, fresh squeezed - 3 tablespoons (about 2 small lemons or 1 large lemon)
> Campbell's cream of mushroom soup - 2 cans
> black pepper to taste
*Be careful not to overcook the broccoli or noodles because these will get cooked a little more in the oven when you bake the casserole.
2) Optional Toppings: Once everything is mixed together, spread it out into a 9x13 baking dish, then sprinkle topping over the casserole. For the topping, toss together with a fork:
> ½ stick of melted butter (= ¼ cup butter) or ¼ cup corn oil
> ½ cup of seasoned bread crumbs
> ¼ cup of panko bread crumbs
OR...instead of a crumb topping, top with grated cheddar cheese.
3) Bake the casserole in a hot (400°F) oven until topping is crusty brown.
If you don't have time to bake this and want to serve this as a one-pot meal, add the broccoli to the pot of boiling noodles when the noodles are half-way done cooking. Drain the pasta and broccoli together. Mix in the remaining ingredients into the pot. Skip the topping and serve hot from the pot.
If you don't have lemons on hand, this can be flavored with lemon-pepper seasoning.
