Tuna Noodle Casserole

My mom's tuna noodle casserole has always been one of my favorite comfort foods. Keith has been out of town, so before he comes back, my mom offered to make this delicious dish for me. Why before Keith comes back? Because he's not a fan of the tuna or the casserole part of tuna noodle casserole (yes, he does like noodles). My mom even made extra tonight so I'll have some leftovers for lunch tomorrow. :) Yea!

On my way to bed tonight, I peeked into the fridge to see if there was anything that I absolutely had to put into my belly before hitting the pillow. I saw the tuna noodle casserole leftovers and smiled, not because I am eating it tonight, but because in addition to the dish always reminding me of my mom, it's always going to make me think of how much Keith loved me from the very beginning...

Rewind about 9 years when Survivor was first on the air. Me, Keith, and a co-worker friend, Artie, were all single and fans of the show Survivor. So, on the nights when the show aired, we all met up at my condo for "Survivor Night", which included watching the episode (duh!) and one of us making dinner for the other two. One time when it was my night for dinner, I decided to make my mom's tuna noodle casserole, not knowing of Keith's extreme dislike for canned tuna and most anything "creamy". While we were eating dinner, Artie and I were both chowing down on the tuna noodle casserole, and I noticed that Keith was kinda just picking at his, and forcing himself to take every bite that went into his mouth. I made a comment about him not liking my meal, and his response was "I like the celery" (referring to the TINY pieces of celery that were scattered throughout the casserole). I always smile at the thought that Keith wanted to impress me so much (and I'll go out on a limb and say that he loved me then too) that he was willing to force these foods that he hated into his mouth (and if you know him now, this isn't something that he does easily) and he found the good in the dish (the celery) and was sure to point out how much he liked it.

So, in summary, I love my mom's tuna noodle casserole, and I love my Keith!

1 comment:

Nicole said...

I love the story. Would you share your mom's recipe with me? I've been trying to find one but none of them have looked like what I'm looking for.