Homemade Tuna Casserole + Ocean's Tuna Giveaway!

When I first moved out on my own I was dirt poor.  I'm talking ramen noodles for lunch and the leftover broth for dinner kind of poor.  I literally couldn't even afford a .29 cent meal.  Coupled with the fact that I really had no idea how to cook, I often splurged on pre-made meals like the knock off brands of "Tuna Helper" (that's right guys I couldn't even afford real Tuna Helper). I felt like it was the cheapest bang for my buck, and produced enough food for at least 4 meals!  Shortly after I learned how to cook, (and got a job that paid more than $5/hour) I decided to try and make my own homemade version with more wholesome ingredients.  In all honestly, I think this homemade version is probably cheaper than the boxed version - and more than likely you already have all of the ingredients at home.   This is one of my favourite quick and easy weekday meals and the price sure can't be beat!

Today's post is sponsored by Ocean's Tuna, though all opinions are completely my own! They provided me with the ingredients used to make this recipe as well as the giveaway at the end of this post. 

 Ocean Brand has always been my favourite brand of canned fish.  They offer a quality and price that just can't be beat!  I was happy when I heard about their Pole & Line tuna's which are fished eco-friendly and humane - less untargeted fish are caught (including dolphins, sea turtles, and sharks) which is really important to me.  The tuna's taste great and go perfect in recipes like this one for tuna casserole.  You can pick up these tuna's in your local grocery store (I like to stock up at Costco) or enter to win a case of assorted tuna at the bottom of this post!

Ingredients

- 2 tbsp butter
- 2-3 tbsp flour
- 3 cups milk
- pepper, to taste
- 1-2 cans of Ocean's Pole & Line Tuna
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
- 170g (about 1/2 a bag) egg noodles

Topping (optional)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup panko (coarse bread crumbs)
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare your noodles as per the package directions and set aside in a medium casserole dish.

Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat, then add flour until it forms a loose paste.  Cook the flour for 1-2 minutes.   Slowly whisk in milk 1 cup at a time until sauce thickens.   Add salt & pepper to taste.

Pour sauce over egg noodles, stirring well to combine - then add tuna and frozen peas.

Melt remaining tbsp of butter in a small dish and add bread crumbs.  Sprinkle bread crumbs and shredded cheese over casserole.

Bake in pre-heated oven for approximately 15 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the topping has turned golden brown.

Enjoy!

OCEAN'S POLE & LINE TUNA FISH Ocean's is the first national tuna brand introducing a Pole & Line caught product in Canada.  Their fish is caught using an eco friendly and responsible way of fishing tuna.  Less un-targeted fish and juvenile fish are caught using this method.  WHAT IS POLE & LINE? 
Pole & Line is a simple and eco-friendly method of tuna fishing using a hook attached to a pole.  it is rated by many conservation groups as the most environmentally friendly method of fishing tuna, as it eliminates "by catch" of other marine life including sea turtles and sharks.  POINT OF ORIGIN  Ocean's Pole & Line tuna is caught in the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.  The pole & line fishery yields positive socio-economic benefits for the Maldives including job creation as well as the development of a sustainable export industry.  THE CATCH PROCESS - Local fishermen carry live bait to attract schools of tuna to the boat.   - Schools of tuna are found by spotting sea surface disturbance.  - Chumming of live bait causes the tuna to surface around the boat to feed.  - Fisherman proceed to catch the tuna with hook & lines and haul the fish onto the boat.  - The tuna is then chilled on-board using ice for preservation.  Ocean's Tuna has graciously offered to send one lucky reader an assortment package of their Pole & Line and FAD Free tuna's (a $40 value).   Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.   Good Luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway