tuna casserole: the remix

they say when life gives you lemons make lemonade. well sometimes life gives you bags of frozen broccoli, and shortages of frozen peas. that said, here is an ingredients list for the tuna casserole that i made last night:

about half a box elbow macaroni OR small shells
one can cream of mushroom soup (CofM)
one-two cans of tuna fish
one cup milk (or less, depending on the amount of macaroni)
one 8 oz block of sharp cheddar cheese (minimum)
one-two cups frozen broccoli
black pepper
red pepper flakes, if you want to take it there
crushed chips

i'm pretty sure you are all capable of figuring out how to combine these ingredients appropriately. however, despite the obvious simplicity of this recipe, i still manage, somehow, to screw something up almost every time. except last night. last night my casserole was nearly perfect. in fact it probably could have been in some sort of museum. so here is a second list of things that might account for my uncharacteristic success:

leave the noodles slightly undercooked

use a small casserole dish, calling for fewer noodles, less milk, and slightly less cheese, resulting in a much higher CofM ratio

don't grate the cheese, cut it into slices, and add it last, just before you pour everything into the casserole, so that it doesn't completely melt until you put it in the oven

if you have the luxury of a colander, heat the CofM with a little of the milk in the bottom of your pot before returning the drained noodles. i'm pretty sure this can't possibly serve any purpose other than making you feel like you are making a more complicated recipe that requires a roux or something, but i like imagining that kind of thing so i recommend this anyway

bake at 350 for about 40 minutes