Hey everyone, it’s Brad, welcome to our recipe page. Today, we’re going to prepare a special dish, cheesy tuna broccoli casserole. It is one of my favorites. For mine, I will make it a bit tasty. This will be really delicious.
Cheesy Tuna Broccoli Casserole is one of the most favored of recent trending foods in the world. It is enjoyed by millions every day. It’s easy, it is quick, it tastes yummy. Cheesy Tuna Broccoli Casserole is something which I have loved my entire life. They’re nice and they look fantastic.
To get started with this recipe, we have to first prepare a few components. You can cook cheesy tuna broccoli casserole using 14 ingredients and 10 steps. Here is how you cook that.
The ingredients needed to make Cheesy Tuna Broccoli Casserole:
- Prepare 16 oz pasta noodles such as Cellentani, Penne, Rotini (something good for holding sauce)
- Make ready 2 cup broccoli florets - roughly chopped to bite size pieces (fresh steamed or frozen, thawed out is fine)
- Get 3 can tuna in water - drained
- Get 1 can cream of chicken soup
- Get 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- Make ready 1 1/2 cup milk (I used a soup can filled 1 and 1/2 times)
- Get 12 oz 2% Velveeta - cubed
- Prepare 1 1/2 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese - shredded (I used extra sharp Vermont white cheddar)
- Prepare 1 pinch cayenne pepper OR nutmeg
- Prepare salt and pepper
- Take topping
- Make ready 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- Prepare 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- Take 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions to make Cheesy Tuna Broccoli Casserole:
- In a large pot prepare pasta to package directions, cooking 2 minutes less than minimum cooking time listed on package. Drain in colander, return to pot (off heat) and cover. While waiting for water to boil and pasta to cook, prep and cook your broccoli.
- IF USING FRESH BROCCOLI: Separate florets, place in a steamer basket in a medium sauce pan with about an inch of water in the bottom, cover and steam until just fork tender. Mine took about 15 minutes. Remove from steamer basket, set aside, spread out on cutting board, let cool slightly so not to burn yourself and give it a rough chop. IF USING FROZEN: Use broccoli florets, thaw completely in a colander so any excess moisture drains away, then spread out and roughly chop the same as you would the fresh. When ready dump broccoli in pot with pasta.
- Preheat oven to 375°F and grease a 9x13" casserole dish with butter or cooking spray. Set aside. Get ready to make your sauce now!
- In the same sauce pan you steamed your broccoli, pour out water, add both cans of soup and milk. Stir with a whisk to combine and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stirring with whisk frequently to prevent sticking.
- Add cubed Velveeta, continue simmering until Velveeta is completely melted, stirring constantly to prevent sticking (I still used my whisk). NOTE: If simmer is too fast and you feel sticking on the bottom of the pan, reduce heat to medium low.
- When Velveeta is completely melted, reduce heat to low, add a pinch of cayenne or nutmeg and shredded cheese and whisk in until cheese is completely melted. Taste and add salt & pepper as desired (I only add pepper to this, everything else is usually salted enough).
- Pour finished sauce into the pot with pasta and broccoli. Add drained tuna. Gently fold everything together until incorporated. Pour into prepared casserole and spread out evenly.
- In a small bowl mix together topping ingredients. Sprinkle evenly over casserole. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, or until the top is golden and edges are bubbling.
- When done, remove from oven. Let rest 10 minutes, dish up and enjoy!
- NOTE: I personally prefer fresh broccoli for this recipe. It is quicker than waiting for frozen to thaw and tastes much better. If you do use frozen, you will have to start thawing at least 30 minutes before starting pasta. You could also thaw on defrost setting in your microwave or in the package in your fridge over night. With all thawing methods, you should still drain off excess moisture.
Learn How to Elevate Your Mood with Food
For the most part, people have been taught to think that “comfort” foods are terrible for the body and should be avoided. But if your comfort food is candy or junk food this might be true. Otherwise, comfort foods can be super healthy and good for you. There are a number of foods that really can raise your moods when you eat them. When you feel a little down and are needing an emotional pick-me-up, try some of these.
Eggs, believe it or not, can be actually wonderful at beating back depression. Just see to it that you don’t toss out the yolk. When you want to cheer yourself up, the yolk is the most vital part of the egg. Eggs, the yolks especially, are high in B vitamins. B vitamins can genuinely help you raise your mood. This is because these vitamins help your neural transmitters–the parts of your brain that control your mood–work better. Eat some eggs to feel better!
Make some trail mix of nuts or seeds. Your mood can be elevated by consuming peanuts, almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etcetera. This is because these nuts are loaded with magnesium, which helps to raise serotonin production. Serotonin is the “feel good” chemical that directs your brain how you feel at all times. The more serotonin in your brain, the better you’ll feel. Not only that but nuts, particularly, are a great protein food source.
Cold water fish are excellent for eating if you are wanting to combat depression. Cold water fish such as tuna, trout and wild salmon are rich in DHA and omega-3 fats. These are two things that improve the quality and the function of your brain’s grey matter. It’s true: eating a tuna fish sandwich can seriously boost your mood.
Some grains are really excellent for repelling bad moods. Quinoa, millet, teff and barley are all actually wonderful for helping raise your happiness levels. They help you feel full also which can truly help to make your mood better. Feeling starved can actually bring you down! The reason these grains are so good for your mood is that they are not hard for your stomach to digest. You digest these grains more quickly than other foods which can help promote your blood sugar levels, which, in turn, helps make you feel happier, mood wise.
Green tea is truly good for your mood. You knew green tea had to be included in this article, right? Green tea is rich in an amino acid referred to as L-theanine. Studies show that this particular amino acid can actually stimulate brain waves. This helps raise your mental sharpness while having a relaxing effect on the rest of your body. You already knew green tea could help you become so much healthier. Now you know that green tea can elevate your mood also!
Now you know that junk food isn’t necessarily what you need to eat when you are wanting to help your moods get better. Try some of these instead!
