How to Boil Water: Tuna Casserole

I haven't cooked in an undisclosed amount of time. But I finally pulled on that apron (although not literally) and walked back into the kitchen. My pots and pans are no longer feeling neglected. So what was on the menu? Rachael Ray's Tuna Casserole. Can't say I've ever really had tuna casserole or at least not that I can remember. But I wanted to try something new and something easy and something that didn't requite a bunch of fresh stuff (we haven't done great at cooking lately).

I should mention before I list all the ingredients that I cut the recipe in half because this recipes serves six, and since there is only two of us, I wasn't about to cook for six. But listed below is the original recipe and list of ingredients meant for six servings.

Ingredients:
1 box whole wheat penne
1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 tablespoon butter
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk or half-and-half
Salt and ground black pepper
A pinch of nutmeg
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus some for topping
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained
2 boxes frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed in a kitchen towel to remove excess moisture
2 6-ounce cans tuna in water, drained

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring up to a boil to cook the pasta. Once at a boil, add some salt and the pasta and cook until al dente, according to package directions. Drain pasta thoroughly, return it to the pot and reserve.
3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 turn of the pan of EVOO and the butter. Cook garlic and onion until tender, about 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle in flour and cook for another minute then whisk in chicken stock and half-and-half (or milk), season with salt, ground black pepper, and nutmeg. Bring it up to a bubble and thicken.
4. Turn off the heat, fold in the parsley, grated Parmigiano Reggiano, cannellini beans, sprinach, tuna, and penne. Pour the mixture into a 13x9 baking dish and top with remaining cheese. Place in the oven to brown the topping, about 10 minutes. (Serve with your favorite simple salad alongside.)

It wasn't horrible, but it's not going into our favorites book. Overall this was a big meal for me. For one, we tried something new (willingly). And two, I cooked! It was nice to cook again actually. Yeah, I know it surprised me too!