Hillary Clinton

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