I made this tuna tonight, and it's good. I found the base recipe on about.com and modified it because it was ridiculous. There was twice as much sauce as food and almost three times as much pan.

This does involve making a sauce, and I'll go ahead and tell you that before today, I never made a sauce or a gravy before in my life. Never. So I had no idea how it would turn out. Well, it was really easy to do and as long as you remember to keep it on a low heat (Lo-2 for electric stoves, low flame for gas) you'll do fine. Also, make sure you stir constantly. Now, this doesn't mean you have to stand there stirring until your arm falls off; you can walk away and wash a dish or muzzle the kids and come back to it. But don't leave it very long or it'll cook to the bottom of the pan.

Scalloped Tuna

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
  
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
  
• A bag of Ruffles (or similar) potato chips, crushed coarsely. (You won't need the whole bag, but most of it.)
  
• 2 six-oz cans tuna, flaked and drained (maybe 3, depending how much you like tuna)
• 1 small can mushroom stems & pieces, drained and chopped coarsely
• OPTIONAL some grated Cheddar cheese to go over the top. (not a lot.)
  

PREPARATION:

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat; blend in the flour, salt and pepper. Gradually stir in milk. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until smooth and thickened. Add onion and parsley. Arrange 1 cup of the chips in the bottom of a greased 8-inch square baking dish. Cover with layers of the tuna, mushrooms, white sauce, and another 1 cup potato chips. Repeat, ending with the last cup of potato chips, and the cheese if you want it. Bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes.

Serves 6-8. (6 at most if you're only eating casserole; up to 8 if you're serving a vegetable with it.)

We ate this with a side of canned English peas and a boxed Scallop potatoes mix. It was a little too much Scallop all together, I think... next time I'd probably use the cheesy au gratin potato mix. Mom pronounced it a success, and raved over how good it was. This may, in retrospect, have simply been out of surprise that I actually cooked. We'll see how much she likes whatever I try tomorrow.

Getting set up

The white sauce
The finished product, ready to go into the oven