Tuna Casserole

I was never a fan of canned meat as a kid. I flat out refused to try tuna for a very long time, and I'm not sure if it was my aversion to fish or my aversion to canned meats. When I was just dating my now-husband, he introduced me to tuna salad sandwiches. I actually enjoyed the one he made for me, so I started making them. Like, all the time. I lived off of tuna salad sandwiches in highschool.

After I got married, my husband made a tuna casserole. I loved casseroles, and I loved my tuna salad, but tuna and pasta? I wasn't sure. Once again, I enjoyed it, and after that, I started making tuna casseroles. We both liked them quite a bit, so they become a staple in our early days of meal planning.

When we started eating gluten-free, I wanted tuna casserole, but I couldn't use a can of cream of chicken soup anymore. Instead of googling how to make a gluten-free version, I just made it up. It took a few tries, but I figured it out. M and I love it, and it's super easy, and uses things we have on hand (which most of the stuff I make up does). It's not dairy-free yet, but I'm getting there.

Gluten Free Tuna Casserole

2 cups uncooked gluten-free pasta (shells, rotini, bows, etc)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
1/4 teaspoon thyme
Dash of pepper
1 cup peas (I use frozen)
1 can tuna
1/2 cup cheese

Cook the pasta as you usually would (I boil it with some sea salt and a dollop of olive oil for 8 minutes). Preheat oven to 375. While it's cooking, mix the sour cream, milk and chicken bouillon. Whisk together. This is my replacement for cream of chicken soup.

Once the "chicken soup" mixture is well-mixed, add in the thyme, pepper, peas and tuna.

Strain the cooked pasta, and spread in an 8x8 baking dish and mix in the tuna mixture. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, add cheese and broil for five minutes.

*I used almond milk, but real cheese and sour cream. If I had any soy cheese, I would have used that. I haven't tried a dairy-free sour cream, but I might use that too. I just use whatever is on hand.