Looking for My Mom's Classic Mac and Cheese Recipe - Any Suggestions?

[casescafe]

I've been looking for a casserole recipe that my mom used to make when I was younger... for Macaroni & Cheese with Tuna Fish.

She made it from scratch (as many of our mothers did) using elbow macaroni, velveeta cheese and canned tuna. Although it sounds very simple, she had a few other ingredients in there and I have no idea how long to bake it nor what temperature to use.

I can't ask my mom for the recipe as she passed away last year. Does anyone out there have something similar?

 

[janetupnorth]

I have one that takes macaroni and cheese (kraft), tuna, onion, and cream of celery soup. Was it like that?

 

[casescafe]

Thanks Janet, but the one my mom made did not use any condensed soup... just milk. I know she cooked up a separate pot of pasta (elbow macaroni - quantity unknown) and cut the velveeta cheese into cubes, however I can't remember how much she used. Then she added the macaroni and cheese cubes together in a casserole dish with some milk (quantity unknown) and canned tuna (drained), although I'm not sure what sized can nor how many. I seem to remember that she added a salt & pepper and not much else.

The casserole dish then went into the oven... but I don't know what temp to use nor how long to bake it.

I do remember that is was fantastic for dinner, a great lunch is reheated in a saucepan with a little additional milk and snack worthy right out of the fridge!

 

[Alanalou]

The way I've made it is as follows:

1 lb elbow macaroni (cooked al dente & drained)
1 lb velveeta cheese, cubed
3/4 C milk (I sometimes use evaporated milk instead of whole milk)
1 can tuna (Generally use the regular size, but can use the family size for more tuna)
salt & pepper to taste

Combine all the above ingredients in a casserole dish (I've used the DCB & Deep Dish Baker in the past) and bake at 325 for about 20 minutes until the top is lightly browned.

Hope this helps!

For a variation, I've sauteed onions & bellpeppers to add in. I've also baked in frozen peas.

 

[Teresa Lynn]

I add celery and green peas to mine but I also use cream of mushroom soup (if my kids were to tell you my recipe they wouldn't mention the soup because they don't know its in there I hide the can they don't like mushrooms )

 

[janetupnorth]

I add celery and green peas to mine but I also use cream of mushroom soup (if my kids were to tell you my recipe they wouldn't mention the soup because they don't know its in there I hide the can they don't like mushrooms )

That is why I use cream of celery instead.

 

[susanr613]

When I read the title of this thread, I thought - oh a trip down memory lane! John, if you're happy with the suggestions you've gotten, how about a hijack - What is that one dish that someone dear to you (mom, grandma, uncle) used to make that cannot be replicated? For me, it's my Granny's chopped liver. I didn't try anyone else's for years after she died. I have had chopped liver, and even foie gras (shame on me) but nothing compares....

What about you?

 

[tabnat80]

Mine was my mawmaw's goolash and chicken and dumplins I would give almost anything to have her cook those for me again.

 

[raebates]

Grandma's chicken and noodles. She made the noodles. Grandpa cut them nice and thin. No one has ever been able to duplicate them. Since the noodles can't be duplicated, no one else's chicken and noodles is quite the same.

 

[casescafe]

Alanalou - I think you've got it! I'll try it this week, but I was thinking about substituting canned chunk chicken for the tuna. Thanks!!!

As for some of those other "lost" recipes that mom used to make; I miss her goulash, which she made with some leftover spaghetti sauce, ground beef, elbow macaroni, onions, green peppers and mushrooms.

If I was really good, she would make me a special lunch; take a coule of hot dogs, split them lengthwise, fill the split with a thick strip of velveeta cheese, wrap the hot dog with a strip of bacon, then broil them for a few minutes. They may be a cardiologist's nightmare, but man were they good!

 

[Teresa Lynn]

Janet, my kids like celery even less

 

[susanr613]

Oooh I love francheezies too John! My girlfriends and I used to get them at a local diner in Chicago....after our Sunday morning workout at the gym. Too funny! Of course, we were in our 20's then and thought we were immortal

 

[mrssyvo]

My step-grandmother was from Kentucky, and she made the BEST cobbler!!! I loved the cherry one, but she often made peach and rasberry as well. I have never been able to recreate it, but it could just be because the memory always tastes best!!!!

 

[BethCooks4U]

The way I've made it is as follows:

1 lb elbow macaroni (cooked al dente & drained)
1 lb velveeta cheese, cubed
3/4 C milk (I sometimes use evaporated milk instead of whole milk)
1 can tuna (Generally use the regular size, but can use the family size for more tuna)
salt & pepper to taste

Combine all the above ingredients in a casserole dish (I've used the DCB & Deep Dish Baker in the past) and bake at 325 for about 20 minutes until the top is lightly browned.

Hope this helps!

For a variation, I've sauteed onions & bellpeppers to add in. I've also baked in frozen peas.

This sounds like the recipe my mother made too (I wouldn't be surprised to find it in the Betty Crocker cookbook) but my mother put cream of mushroom soup in it instead of the milk. I HATE mushrooms but have never minded one can of the soup in recipes.

She also made a tuna recipe with potato chips, cream of mushroom soup, celery and peas. It was SOOOOO good. I put it in the cookbook I made my sons but I bet none of them have tried it.

 

[gailz2]

My grandmother came from Ireland and used to make these fabulous cabbage rolls. I don't normally eat much cabbage, but they were wonderful!

 

[crystalscookingnow]

My grandma made me Ox Tail Stew. It was so yummy. She'd made a big canner pot full for me when I stayed the weekend with her & I'd eat about 4 bowls per sitting. Funny thing though... I never ate the meat, just the veggies & broth.

Even when I was grown, granny would bring me ice cream buckets full of stew... YUM... I miss my granny...

 

[gailz2]

Grandmas are great, and now I'm so, so delighted to be a Grandma Daycare to my 3 wonderful grandsons (twins are 4, baby is 1.5). I want them to always remember me fondly.