Is this a photo of leftovers that have been in the refrigerator overnight? Yes. Is it a dish leftover from a bygone era? Also yes. Did I fix a plate of the freshly baked casserole and make it look very pretty, then get distracted and forget to take a photo while it was still hot? Yes and yes.

My great-aunt Jean gave my mom this casserole recipe, a legacy from the Casserole Generation of American cuisine. I was hesitant to make it as I’m not a big fan of canned tuna, but I took the recipe with me on a visit to my Uncle Mike’s and made it as a tribute to his aunt’s cooking.

There isn’t much tuna in the recipe if you interpret “c.” as one can of tuna (as I did). As an alternative, you can add some ground meat or sausage to add more protein. Or, either add a full cup of tuna (maybe 2-3 cans?) or skip the tuna entirely and make a great sausage rice casserole. This version turned out well enough that my spouse went back for seconds, so I’ll take that as a win.

1/4 c. green pepper
1/4 c. chopped onion
2 tbs. butter
1/2 c. milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 c. uncooked rice
1 cup of canned tuna (about 2-3 cans, or 1 can + 1 cup sausage)
3/4 c. grated cheese
1 c. bread crumbs (or chop 2 slices of bread into tiny squares)
Optional: deviled eggs (garnish)

Cook the rice and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Sauté the green pepper and onion with a little oil until they begin to brown around the edges. Set aside.

Melt the butter and sauté the bread crumbs until crispy and slightly browned.

Stir together the soup and milk, then rice and tuna (and any other meat you’re using). Put in a greased casserole dish and top with crumbs and cheese. 

Bake 40 minutes. Serve with deviled eggs if you want to be fancy.