Stove-top Tuna Casserole

Sometimes when I make a pasta dish, I end up with too many noodles. Recently, I was left with too many elbow macaroni noodles, as well as some leftover bell pepper slices. I thought about making pasta salad, but wanted some additional protein. Tuna casserole also sounded really good, but I didn’t really want to spend the time preparing a baking pan, heating the oven, and waiting for a casserole to bake. So I compromised, and came up with a quick stove-top casserole-like tuna salad dish!

 

Ingredients:

1 4-oz can white Albacore tuna (or other tuna of choice), drained (I stick with the tuna in water so it’s not too oily)
~½-1 cup macaroni noodles, cooked
~½ cup chopped bell pepper (red, orange, yellow)
~1 TBSP minced garlic
~¼ - ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

salt, pepper, paprika to taste

Oil to sauté peppers (I used canola)
 
Heat oil in a pan on medium heat and sauté chopped bell pepper for 5-10 minutes until desired softness is achieve (or crunchiness is retained). Add minced garlic and sauté for another minute or two. Add tuna and season with salt, pepper, and paprika. Add noodles and Parmesan cheese (increase cheese quantity as desired, if you prefer it a little creamier/cheesier), mix well and simmer for a few minutes to let the flavors come together. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
 

 
~Karla