Scalloped Tuna & Potato Casserole

Hands down, my all-time favorite casserole .... what else can I say? Mom made this when we were kids and if asked what I wanted her to make for my birthday or some other special occasion, it was always the "Tuna Mustard" casserole.  I hate to admit that I can eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner ..... and I have to admit that I have in fact done this with leftovers, which are as good, if not better than the casserole right out of the oven.

Over the years, I have begged mom for the recipe and have always gotten the old "a little bit of this, a little bit of that" .... nothing that was very helpful in trying to come up with amounts so I could make something even close to my favorite dish. And then .... I struck pure gold!! I was going through some of mom's ancient, tattered recipe files and I found an old handwritten recipe for 'Scalloped Tuna & Potato Casserole' from my Aunt Helen.  Mom says this is 'the recipe' with the exception of one ingredient that was not included - sugar.

My Granny had a cooking 'secret' and I know what it was (thanks, mom!) .... a little sugar improves most dishes & she would add a little sugar to most everything. I'm not talking a lot of sugar, but just a little to bring out the flavor. The sugar is essential to this casserole since the mustard tends to have a bit of a "bitter" edge for lack of a better word to describe it.  A tablespoon or two, maybe 3 added to the sauce takes that edge off the mustard and makes the sauce what it is ..... a small pond in a pot of golden yellow deliciousness.

The recipe posted is the original, but there are a couple differences from the original in the way we make the recipe today:

• we dice our onions, but the sliced onion preparation called for in the recipe is fine, if you prefer them that way.

• we don't use a double boiler for making the sauce, but have everything sitting by the large pan where you are making the sauce & ready to go - once you start stirring, don't stop until the sauce is nice and thick and you can take it off the burner.

• when assembling the casserole, we don't pour all of the sauce over the top, but spread a little over each layer of potato, tuna and onion. For example, if you have two layers, pour half the sauce over the 1st layer & the rest over the top.

So, without further ado, here it is ...... my very, very, very favorite casserole:

Scalloped Tuna & Potato Casserole

( a million thanks to Aunt Helen for writing this recipe down many years ago!)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups thinly sliced pared potatoes
• 1 Tablespoon butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 Tablespoons prepared mustard (French's regular mustard)
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1 (7 oz.) can tuna (or one cup flaked) - add a second can of tuna for a richer dish .... and we always do
• 1 cup thinly sliced, peeled onion
• sugar to taste ( 2 maybe 3 tablespoons)

Directions

Cook potatoes in boiling water 10 minutes and drain well.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in the top of a double boiler over direct heat.

Stir in flour, then mustard.

Add milk, salt & pepper & stir over boiling water until smooth & thickened.

Arrange potatoes, tuna, and onions in alternate layers in a greased 2 quart casserole.

Pour sauce over all and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.



Makes 6 servings.

If cooking only for two, use 1-1/4 cups milk and half each of the remaining ingredients. Use a 1 quart casserole.

To feed a crowd (or to make a casserole for me!) double the recipe & bake in a 9x13 sized dish.