Cook This: Dinner Tonight

Inspiration for tonight's dinner: 1950s-style Modern Food for the Busy Mother. No can-opener needed. A brightened up panko-topped Tuna Noodle Casserole and a bacon-bespeckled Napa Cabbage Salad. Just the right mix of vice and virtue. 

We've included a sort of meal-making plan of action below, but click on the photos or links to find the fully-fleshed out recipes. A delicious supper in, oh, about an hour -- eat up! 

The Menu 

Helen Getz's Napa Cabbage with Hot Bacon Dressing 

Tuna Noodle Casserole - Redux 

The Grocery List 

1 napa cabbage
8 ounces bacon
2 cups of mushrooms (fiveandspice suggests half shitake and half portobellos)
1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon fresh chives
2 cans oil-packed tuna
8 ounces egg noodles

We're guessing you've already got butter, flour, lemon, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, an egg, garlic, bread crumbs and chicken stock in your refrigerator and pantry because we know you're a well-stocked pantry kind of person, we can just tell. If not, well -- add them to the list!

The Plan 

1. The beauty of a casserole is the time window you're allotted after all the prep work is done, because that's really all this casserole is. Focus on assembling the tuna dish first, it's completely manageable on a busy weeknight, but it's not quite as fast as the canned soup version of yore. You don't even need to think about the salad until the casserole is baking. 

2. Is the casserole bubbling away happily in the oven? Okay, now is the perfect moment start browning your bacon and thinking about salad. 

3. Give the salad a toss, pull that casserole out to cool and announce the readiness of your feast! 

Tip: Pack up what's left of that casserole into a good strong tupperware and freeze it for another night when you just don't feel like cooking. You deserve a night off here and there.