Church dinners

I have spent a bit of time in church.  As I have mentioned before, I spent many Sundays and many Wednesdays at church as a young girl.  The kids could run a little wild, waiting for their parents to finsh the eternal talking (or the talking of eternity). We watched the silliest of movies (Pigs is pigs)
We sang songs. We ate.

Midweek dinners were memorable.  It seems like my church arranges for food nowadays, but back then it was all potluck.  We were exposed to the most midwestern of casseroles on a weekly basis.  When I still had Mark's grandmother's personal cookbook, it was full of those recipes.  Often given classy names "a la roi."

There was little spice and no adventure.  My mom might have tried, longing as she was for the food she could get in in Southern California that she could not get in the suburbs of Chicago.  

I don't remember what I liked to eat.  I do remember the time several of us kids reached into what we thought was a bowl of potato chips and instead was potato chip casserole.   In the spirit of the church dinner I attended a few weeks back.  And in the spirit of trying to bring some humor to the world, I leave you with a recipe for potato chip casserole.  It is best when piled high with chips and deception.

Potato Chip Casserole

• 2 Tbl. butter
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 can cream of celery soup
• 1/2 cup mayo
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
• 1 small can of mushrooms
• 1 (12 oz.) can tuna, well drained
• 1 cup shredded swiss cheese, divided
• 4 cups uncooked egg noodles, cooked al dente and drained well
• Potato Chips

Instructions

In small sauté pan, melt butter and add onion. Sauté until tender. (about 6-8 minutes on medium-low to low). Don't brown. Set aside.

Cook the noodles

In a large bowl, stir together the soup, mayo, milk, and pepper until creamy and smooth.

Fold in mushrooms, tuna, sautéed onion mixture, shredded swiss cheese.

Fold noodles into tuna mixture.

Bake uncovered in a 13x9 casserole at 350º oven for 25 minutes. Top with potato chips and bake 5 minutes longer.