Seafood Casserole

Serves: 8

Hands On Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 onion, chopped

1/2 bell pepper, chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound peeled, uncooked deveined shrimp

1 pound peeled crawfish tails

1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup

1 cup milk

1/2 pound crab meat

4 cups cooked rice

3 tablespoons green onions, chopped

3 tablespoons parsley, chopped

1 tablespoon Louisiana hot sauce

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 cup bread crumbs

1 cup grated mild cheddar cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic until wilted. Add the shrimp and cook until they turn pink. Add the crawfish tails and cook just until they are warmed through, no more than 5 minutes (they turn rubbery if they are overcooked). Add the condensed soups and the milk; simmer 5 minutes. Gently fold in the crab meat, cooked rice, green onions, parsley, hot sauce and black pepper to taste.

Pour the mixture into a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish. Top with bread crumbs and grated cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned on top.

Variation: Instead of using a casserole dish, divide the mixture between two unbaked pie shells. Top with bread crumbs and grated cheese. Place one in the freezer to cook later (you can place it directly in the oven from the freezer). Cook the other pie at 350 degrees until brown and bubbly on top, about 20 minutes.

Nutrition

Per serving: 552 calories (percent of calories from fat, 40), 35 grams protein, 46 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 24 grams fat (12 grams saturated), 222 milligrams cholesterol, 1,161 milligrams sodium.