Hey ladies...and thanks for reading.

I was wondering, how long can you leave a tuna noodle casserole in the fridge? I normally cook one serving dishes, but I made a casserole on Monday, and was wondering how much longer it is safe to eat it.

Just so you know, I made it with a cup of milk.

Thanks so much!

I have never made that dish, but i usually try and eat things like that in about 5 days or less..its probably still ok i would guess..maybe next time you make a casserole you could freeze a few portions right away then you wouldn't have to worry about not finishing it immediately.

Give it the smell test. As long as it still smells like it did when you made it, it should be alright... But as always, when in doubt, throw it out!!

I think it should be good for at least a week. I always just go by the smell/sight test. If it smells okay and there's no visible mold on it, then it's okay to eat.

You could also divide it into single portions and freeze them. It should last a month or so in the freezer.

Once you cook milk, you kill the bacteria in it that causes it to go bad, so the fact that it has a cup of milk in it shouldn't matter.

About freezing...

About a month ago I made a pot of stew/soup and froze several small containers. A week later, there a lot of frost on the stew and I threw it all out.

This is going to sound dumb, but should you throw that out, or is it ok to eat the frost? I recently started cooking (within the last year) so I am unsure about stuff like this. (In the past I would eat sandwiches, frozen meal dinners, salads, really easy stuff, OR I would just eat one meal a day that I'd buy from a place.)

I just took a food safety class, we actually had a test question about tuna products. It's safe for up to 7 days. Eating the frost is ok, it will just probably have a fost bitten taste! Hope that helps!

I find your questions helpful because I'm in the same situtation where I just started cooking in the last 6 months and I am always searching online for things like this or calling my mom.

I could be wrong because I'm going totally from memory here.....
But after every thanksgiving, with all the leftovers floating around, they always do something about this on the news. As far as the freshness in the fridge is concerned, they said it depends on how it's stored. If it's in a dish that's just covered with foil, etc, 3 days is supposed to be the limit. Anything in an airtight container was 5 days.
I, too, would go by the sight/smell test though. I'm sure all of our fridges are set to different temps and of different quality, with different things in them, etc., so this is probably by no means an exact science anyway.

Lol! I call my mom constantly and at all hours with cooking questions now that I'm on my own. I didn't even know how to make boiled eggs or cook rice when I started.

I would've eaten it. I've found that going by the site/smell test (sans uncooked meat), I've never gone wrong. If I'm not sure, I'll try to do a little hunting with google to find out some facts, and if I find nothing, I throw it out.
As for the frost, what kind of containers are you using? Do you have a freezer, or an icebox? I used to have an icebox, and I've found that when freezing nonliquids, if I put it in freezer wrap/bag, and then wrap it in meat paper (the brown paper rolls they use at the butcher shop), that will keep the frost away a little longer. As for liquids, try not to use really cheap containers (like the ziplock ones). I use Rubbermaid with the rubbery edges around the lead. The rubber is more flexible, and can conform to the container's edge when it's expanding from the cold.

I hope that helps, good luck!
Check out this link. I just recently found it. If anyone finds anything contradictory on it, please let me know!
USDA Safe Food Handling Fact Sheet.

~Mande