Nothing says weeknight meal like casserole. And nothing says South Louisiana like seafood. Get a taste of both with this recipe for Seafood & Wild Rice Casserole. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
2 lbs peeled, deveined shrimp
1 lb crawfish tails
1 oz The Stuff Seasoning
1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbl Pure Avocado Oil
2 tsp All Purpose Seasoning
2 cups cooked and cooled wild rice (or rice of your choice)
4 strips bacon, chopped
1 bunch torn fresh kale or spinach (or 1 bag pre-rinsed)
2 Tbl butter
2 Tbl all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp grated Nutmeg
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (8 ounces)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (2 ounces)
1/4 cup Panko
1 tsp The Stuff
1/2 cup chopped green onions
Directions:
Thaw shrimp, if frozen. Drain and pat very dry. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large skillet, heat the 1 Tbl Pure Avocado Oil over medium-high heat. Cook the green pepper, onion and celery until tender--about 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until any water evaporates. Add the garlic, and cook until fragrant. Stir in the All Purpose Seasoning; cook and stir for 1 minute. Transfer to a medium bowl.
Season the shrimp with The Stuff. Heat the same skillet used above over medium-high heat, drizzle with 1 Tbl Pure Avocado Oil and saute the shrimp until opaque and pink--about 4 minutes. Add the crawfish tails and heat through. Combine with the cooked aromatics. Add rice; stir to combine. Set aside.
In the same skillet cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Add the kale (or spinach); cook and stir for 3 to 5 minutes or until wilted and tender. Remove from heat. Set aside.
In a small saucepan melt the 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Stir in flour; cook and stir for 1 minute. Stir in milk; cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Reduce heat to low. Add Monterey Jack cheese, salt and nutmeg; stir until cheese melts.
Lightly grease a 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Spread half of the rice/seafood mixture over bottom of dish. Layer with half of the kale mixture and half of the cheese sauce. Repeat.
Combine the parmesan cheese, panko and The Stuff. Sprinkle evenly over the casserole.
Bake, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with green onions.
