Tuna Noodle Casserole

I found this recipe several years ago and it has remained one of my tried and true.  It's my favorite tuna casserole.  A big thanks to my hubby hubsband for making it for us this time!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

2 1/2 cups milk

2 tsp parsley

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

2 sm cans tuna or 1 large

2 cups grated jack cheese

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup fresh carrots sliced or 1 cup frozen carrots(if using frozen just skip the first step of sauteing)

1  to 1 1/2 cups curly noodles, I like to use rotini

2 Tbs butter

1/2 cup bread crumbs plain or seasoned

Preheat oven to 350.  Melt 1/4 cup butter in med/lrg sauce pan and saute carrots until tender.  Whisk flour and milk until smooth. Add milk to sauce pan.  Add peas (and frozen carrots if using).  Stir often until thickened ~15 minutes.  Remove remove from heat and add cheese and stir until melted. Add drained tuna and salt, pepper and parsley.  Pour into 9x13 casserole dish and spread evenly.  Mix in uncooked noodles, adding a cup first and making sure all the noodles are coated and covered well; add more noodles if there is room for them to be well covered in sauce.  bake for 20-30 minutes, stirring it up halfway through.  Remove from oven, making surenoodles are tender and add dollops of butter on top then sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake another 10 minutes.