Comfort Food Light

Remember the tuna noodle casserole? The one with the crushed potato chips on the top? Our new version of this recipe has only three grams of fat compared to 21 grams in the original recipe and less then half the calories.

To reduce the fat, we used fat-free potato chips, nonfat milk and dry milk powder for the white sauce base. We also substituted water-pack tuna instead of oil-pack, which allowed us to use the large can of tuna for more tuna flavor.

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And, of course, the potato chips. Using the fat-free potato chips saved 3 grams of fat per serving.

LOW-FAT ‘50S TUNA NOODLE CASSEROLE

1/4 cup minced onion

1 cup sliced celery

2 teaspoons butter

1/4 pound mushrooms, finely chopped

1/4 cup flour

2 cups nonfat milk

2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk

1 cup frozen peas

Salt

White pepper

1/4 pound medium noodles cooked according to package directions and drained

1 (12-1/2 ounce) can tuna packed in water, drained

2 cups fat-free potato chips, coarsely crushed

In skillet saute onion and celery in butter until tender. Add mushrooms and saute few minutes, until liquid comes out of mushrooms. Stir in flour. Gradually blend in milk then nonfat dry milk. Heat, stirring constantly, to boiling. Boil and stir until thickened, about 1 minute. Stir in peas. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.

Spoon 1/3 of drained noodles evenly onto 9-inch baking dish sprayed with butter-flavored non-stick cooking spray. Arrange 1/2 drained tuna over noodles. Pour 1/3 sauce over tuna spreading to edges. Repeat. Top with remaining noodles and sauce. Sprinkle crushed potato chips evenly over top of baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees 25 to 30 minutes or until top is lightly browned and casserole is hot through. Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

287 calories; 439 mg sodium; 34 mg cholesterol; 3 grams fat; 36 grams carbohydrates; 27 grams protein; 1.60 gram fiber.

* Baking dish, plates and wall plaque from Marc Mapelli and tea towel from Geri Wynn Antiques, both at the Pasadena Antique Center, Pasadena.