Slow-Cooker Tuna Noodle Casserole — What the Desert Allows

The book's advance reader copies are being printed. Clara sent me a photo of the ARC: a paperback with the cover — MY cover, with the cast iron and the recipe card and the wildflowers — and 'ADVANCE READER COPY — NOT FOR SALE' stamped on the back. It's a book. A physical, holdable, readable BOOK with my name on it. I sat on the couch and stared at the photo for ten minutes. Then I screamed into a pillow (my standard celebration method) and then I called Mom. 'Mom. The ARCs are printed. The book is a physical object.' 'How do I get one?' 'I'm sending you the first copy. The FIRST one.' 'Thank you, Rachel.' Her voice cracked. 'I'd — I'd like that.' Donna Abernathy, who asks for nothing, who gives everything, who has never once said 'I want' in relation to anything I've made or written or accomplished, said 'I'd like that.' The quietest request of a lifetime. The ARCs go to reviewers in January. The book publishes in April 2022. Eight months. Eight months until 'Dinner at 1800' exists on bookshelves. Caleb saw the cover photo on my phone and said, 'BOOK! Mama book!' He pointed at the skillet on the cover: 'COOK!' He recognizes the cast iron. He knows what it means. At two and eight months, my son identifies a cast iron skillet on sight and associates it with his mother. The branding is working. Elena and I cooked together this week. She made green chile stew and I made Mom's cornbread and we ate it together on her patio in the 105-degree evening heat and talked about food and family and the way recipes are just love in measured form. 'Love in measured form,' she said. 'That's what my grandmother said. Except in Spanish — "amor en forma medida."' Amor en forma medida. I'm putting it in the blog. I'm putting it everywhere. Made Mom's pot roast tonight. In the crockpot, because oven season is still banned. The crockpot pot roast is different from the oven pot roast — softer, more falling-apart, less caramelized. Mom would say the oven is superior. She's right. But the crockpot is what the desert allows. The desert allows what it allows. The cook adapts. Eight months until the book. The ARC has a cast iron on the cover. And love is measured in tablespoons.

The crockpot has been doing a lot of heavy lifting around here lately — oven season is still firmly banned in the Arizona heat, and I’ve been leaning hard on slow cooker versions of the comfort food I grew up with. This slow-cooker tuna noodle casserole is the same spirit as Mom’s pot roast: a little less caramelized than the oven would make it, softer and more yielding, but still unmistakably a meal made with intention. The desert allows what it allows, and what it allows tonight is this — creamy, bubbling, and ready when you are.

Slow-Cooker Tuna Noodle Casserole

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 3 hrs 30 min | Total Time: 3 hrs 45 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 2 cans (10.5 oz each) condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 cans (5 oz each) albacore tuna in water, drained and flaked
• 3 cups uncooked egg noodles
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup finely diced celery
• 1/3 cup finely diced yellow onion
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup crushed buttery crackers (such as Ritz), for topping

Instructions

1. Combine the base. In the insert of a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker, whisk together the cream of mushroom soup, milk, and sour cream until smooth.
2. Add the mix-ins. Stir in the drained tuna, celery, onion, garlic powder, salt, and pepper until evenly combined. Fold in 3/4 cup of the shredded cheddar.
3. Add noodles. Stir in the uncooked egg noodles, pressing them down so they are submerged in the liquid as much as possible. Do not add peas yet.
4. Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 3 to 3.5 hours, stirring once at the halfway mark, until the noodles are tender and the casserole is thick and bubbling around the edges.
5. Finish with peas and cheese. In the final 15 minutes of cooking, stir in the frozen peas and scatter the remaining 1/4 cup cheddar over the top. Replace the lid and allow to melt.
6. Top and serve. Spoon into bowls and finish each serving with a pinch of crushed crackers for a little crunch. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 340 | Protein: 24g | Fat: 13g | Carbs: 30g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 810mg