First, keep in mind that comfort food is totally dependent upon what one experienced growing up, so what feels like home to me may not be what you are looking for in a recipe.

It is really not the same way she did it, but it comes closer to how hers tasted than how my past attempts did. She just used the condensed soup plus seasonings and sauteed onions, but I couldn't get the complexity of flavor she did that way. Something was missing. So I experimented today.

I crushed saltine crackers (but you could also use bread crumbs) and mixed them with melted butter and garlic in a plastic bag and set aside.

With the melted butter left in the pan (about a tablespoon), I sauteed about a quarter cup of chopped celery a few minutes and then added 2 cloves of shallots and 2 cloves of garlic and sauteed a few more minutes. I added about a tablespoon of flour and stirred it all together and sauteed a couple minutes, and then added about a half cup of milk. Heat until thickened. I added about a teaspoon of Better Than Bouillon chicken base and a can of cream of mushroom soup. I added a bit of water to thin it out and some garlic powder, celery salt, thyme, and white pepper. I added the spices to taste, so I can't tell you how much.

Once I had the flavor I wanted, I added about 2/3 of a can of La Seur peas (I know fresh or frozen is better, but I was aiming for mom's recipe- LOL), 2 of the envelopes of tuna (so you don't have to drain it), and enough cooked medium egg noodles to get it to the right consistency.

I put it in a casserole and then topped it with the buttered cracker crumbs, and a few shakes of each spice and heated until the crumbs were lightly browned.

EDITED TO ADD: Oh, I forgot - I also added a couple tablespoons of grated parmesean-reggiano to the crumbs

blame you for wanting to go back to her during these trying times.

Oh goodness, casseroles are food for the soul! LOL! So many hearty meals!

I just ran through the one I made in a reply above.

but she never made a casserole. neither did my grandma. i'm almost 75 -- i guess it's weird that i never had one. my first mother in law never made one either. i do remember my second mother in law making one from a soup recipe she thought my husband would like. he ate it but i didn't. i tend to remember i didn't like the ingredients.

my mom made a great meal with left over chicken. she made a butter gravy with some left over chicken gravy which had a lot of butter and served it over noodles. when i was growing up nothing got wasted.

my first father in law used to put together amazing dishes with leftovers, but never a casserole.

It's a favorite of busy moms; you can take it to potluck dinners; it's a wonderful thing to take over to a sick neighbor or drop off for a grieving family after the funeral. It relies on a lot of ingredients being pre-cooked.

A protein, already cooked (i.e. canned tuna, or night before last's roast)
A starch, like potatos or pasta
A vegetable or two
A sauce (canned mushroom soup used to be a favorite in the 1950s and 1960s)
Bake at 350 for an hour until bubbly and brown on top.

Whatever your mother's favorite recipe was will always say "home and comfort" to you.

My mom would freeze any leftover meats and veggies during the week and make a casserole of some variation on the weekend.

To you and your mom.

some green vegetable that no one actually ate, was our comfort food! So I'm having delivery Pad Thai, Red Curry with chicken and an ice cold Singha beer! Even my Mom would love it!

"A traditional main course, hotdish is cooked and served hot in a single baking dish and commonly appears at family reunions and church suppers. Hotdish is constructed on a base of canned cream of mushroom soup and canned vegetables. ... As of the November 1987 state hotdish survey, there were 3,732 different hotdish recipes in Minnesota ... . Here are eight hotdishes taken at random from that survey.
Spaghetti-Tuna Hotdish
Garbanzo Bango Hotdish
Velveeta-Hamburger Hotdish
Ketchup Surprise Hotdish
Back of the Refrigerator Hotdish
Doggone Good Hotdish
Turkey Wiener Doodah Hotddish
Organ Meat-Cashew Hotdish.
The three-volume 'Official State Hotdish Cookbook' can be ordered from the Hotdish Institute, Mendota Heights. If you order before the end of 1987, you will also receive the beautiful album of the most loved hotdish songs, with baritone Ernie 'Hotdish' Johnson and his Mushroom Band. Order before Memorial Day and you will also receive 'Hotdish on the Prairie,' a collection of poems by Minnesota's best-known food poets."

I had a sandwich......

But if you're ever in Texas, I will cook for you

im sure it would be great!

It's like mac and cheese or grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup. Nice to have now and then.

Thank you.