Stuffed Shells with Crab and Spinach

I wanted to get this post up last Friday, but received sad news that afternoon.  My beloved grandpa died.  He went the best way possible.  He laid down for a nap, and didn't wake up.  I am thankful he was able to meet Theresa last summer before he died.  I loved him so very much.  

Sigh...and life goes on.  And I still have 7 people to feed, including one very hungry baby girl.  We just can't believe how much food this tiny thing can pack away.  She must have a hollow leg. ;-)

I saw this recipe in my latest issue of Everyday Food.  I liked the idea of stuffed shells, but knew I wanted to make some changes.  First, nobody here is a fan of tuna casserole, so I swapped the tuna with canned crab meat.  I left out the red pepper flakes because my kiddos have tender tongues (well...except Rebecca), and added nutmeg to the sauce.  I love the flavor of nutmeg and spinach together.  I used 1/2 skim and 1/2 whole milk to cut back on the fat and calories, and panko bread crumbs instead of blitzing up a hamburger bun for the crumbs. Lastly, I added some cheese to the pasta sauce, because everything is better with cheese, right?  

Stuffed Shells with Crab and Spinach
adapted from Everyday Food 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 yellow onion, finely diced

1/4 all purpose flour

2 cups whole milk

2 cups skim milk

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

8 ounces (about 1 cup) white American or monterey jack cheese

1/2 cup panko or other dried bread crumbs
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese. 

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend

1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

2 cans (6 ounces each) crab meat

Salt and pepper to taste

6 ounces (about 20 count) jumbo pasta shells

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add a couple of swirls of olive oil--this will keep them from sticking together.  When ready, drop your pasta and cook according to the package directions for al dente, but take it out one minute early.  This keeps the pasta from being mushy in the finished dish. 

Drain into a greased, 9x13 casserole dish and set aside.  Preheat your oven to 375.  

In a large pot or skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Saute the onion until soft and tender, about 5-6 minutes. 

Add the flour and whisk for another minute to cook out the raw flour taste. 

Gradually add the milk, making sure to whisk constantly to avoid lumps.  Cook until slightly thickened and bubbly.  Turn the heat down very low, (or off) and whisk in the cheese; then the sauce won't curdle on you. 

I used a block of white American I had leftover from Theresa's birthday party--waste not, want not, right?  And it was really about 1 1/2 cups. ;-)  I would recommend monterey jack or a mild cheddar if you don't have American.  Anything else will be too strong in flavor and overwhelm the crab meat.  

Stir the sauce gently until all the cheese is melted,  Sprinkle in the nutmeg, season to taste with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.  

In a medium bowl, mix together the parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, and Italian seasoning.  I used my favorite, Penzy's Pasta Sprinkle.  Reserve half of this mixture for the topping. 

Now, take half of the cheese sauce, and add it to the remaining breadcrumb mixture, along with the spinach and crab meat.  Mix together until well combined.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  (I know the sauce isn't pictured, sorry about that).  

Fill each pasta shell with about 2 tablespoons of the spinach and crab mixture.  

When all the shells are filled, carefully pour the remaining cheese sauce over the top.  Sprinkle with the rest of the breadcrumbs.  

Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling around the edges, and the breadcrumbs are a golden brown.  I put mine under the broiler for just a couple of minutes to speed things up.  Let sit for about minutes before serving. 

Doesn't it look amazing?  :-)

I couldn't wait until dinnertime.  I tasted one right away.  Oh, it was so good.  The pasta shells hold just the right amount of creamy filling, and the crab and spinach taste incredible together.  This is way better than tuna casserole!  

I will be straight-up honest with you...Rebecca, Theresa, David, and I LOVED this casserole, the other kids, not so much.  Oh well.  More tasty leftovers for the rest of us...YUM. 

I hope you try this recipe this Friday if you're observing Lent.  God bless your table tonight! 

White Chicken Enchiladas with Sour Cream Sauce

We went to a potluck dinner a couple of weeks ago.  David took one look at the food table, and didn't think there was enough, so he took a quick trip to the closest grocery store.  He came back with 2 rotisserie chickens, a bag of rolls, and a package of cookies.  Turns out there was plenty of food, after some latecomers dropped off their dishes.  So the 2 chickens he bought came home with us. 

Now, having 2 whole chickens already cooked makes for a lot of possibilities in the kitchen, right?  I love this soup that uses cooked chicken but it's really too hot for soup right now.  I could also make one of my favorite chicken casseroles, and Rebecca requested quesadillas, but ultimately, I decided to make enchiladas.  I'd been researching white chicken enchilada recipes for a few days, and wanted to try at least one out.

Well, this recipe ended up making two full, 9x13 pans!  I divided the 2nd pan into 2 smaller pans so David could take one to work and heat it up for lunch.  There's a full kitchen where he works, so all he had to do was put the aluminum pan in the oven.  The smell generated comments from 2 of his coworkers, and they got samples as well.  One person liked it so much, she requested the recipe and I emailed it the next day.  So I guess they were pretty good. ;-) 

White Chicken Enchiladas with Sour Cream Sauce

Serves 10-12
1 package white corn tortillas (30 count)
1 whole chicken, boiled until tender, meat picked free of skin and bones (or use 1 whole rotisserie chicken, meat picked free of skin and bones). You will have around 4-5 cups of shredded meat
4 cans mild green enchilada sauce
2 cans mild diced green chilies (I used roasted chopped Hatch chilies, but either one is fine)
1 yellow or green bell pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salsa seasoning mix (I used Penzey's, taco seasoning mix is fine too)
4 ounces light cream cheese
1 cup light sour cream
4 cups Monterey Jack cheese
Additional sour cream, chopped fresh cilantro, and green salsa for serving, if desired

Saute the bell pepper and onion in 1 tablespoon oil until tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Stir in the cumin and salsa/taco seasoning. Add the green chilies and stir to combine. 

Add the cream cheese and stir until melted.

Pour in one can of enchilada sauce, then add the shredded chicken, and stir to combine. If the mixture is too thick, drizzle in a little more enchilada sauce. Set aside.

I originally wanted to make this a "lighter" enchilada dish, but while I stirred the veggies, I read the back of the can of enchilada sauce.  It had a recipe for enchiladas, and one ingredient was cream cheese.  I just happened to have exactly the right amount in the fridge...it needed to be used up, and it was not "light" cream cheese.  Oh well. :-)

In a separate pot, combine the remaining 3 cans of enchilada sauce and 1 cup of sour cream over low heat. Stir until the sour cream is well incorporated. Add in 1 ½ cups of the Monterey Jack cheese, and stir again until the cheese has melted. Don’t do this over medium or high heat, or you’ll curdle the sour cream in the sauce. Keep warm.

Warm the tortillas in the microwave or on a griddle. 

I liked using my grill pan (it's grooved on one side, flat on the other), because then I can put one tortilla on the pan to warm while I'm assembling an enchilada.  Once the first enchilada is done, the second tortilla is warm and ready to go. 

Place ¼ cup of the chicken mixture in each tortilla, top with 1-2 tablespoons of Monterey Jack cheese. Roll up and place seam side down in a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish.

Continue until you’ve used all the chicken mixture. Pour the sour cream sauce over the enchiladas.

At this point, you can freeze the enchiladas.  Thaw overnight in the fridge before baking.  Otherwise, bake right away!

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  I don't have to tell you how good these smell coming out of the oven!

Garnish with sour cream, green salsa, and chopped fresh cilantro if desired.  I made black meals and mexican rice on the side (Nothing fancy, out of a can, and out of a box!  Something's gotta give when you have a baby and 4 other kids to take care of). 

*This makes approximately 24 enchiladas, enough to fill two 9x13 pans. Half the recipe if you don’t need to feed an army. ;-)  If you do need to feed an army, this is the recipe for you!  David's pan was enough to feed him for 3 days at work...which he really appreciated and enjoyed.  He's never been one for cold lunches. 

Hope you make these soon.  God bless your table tonight! 

Cheesy Shrimp and Rice Casserole

Oh my...it's been a few days (12 and counting) since my last post.  But I must say...between the ham I made for Christmas, and roasting my first turkey a few days later, I didn't have to cook for days.  We had plenty of meat in the fridge.  We finished the ham, and even after 3 days of turkey, we had enough left to make a simple turkey pot pie using the rest of the turkey gravy as well.  Rebecca was in seriously mourning when we ran out of mashed potatoes...bless her heart! 

After all that...the hubby went back to work...and life got BUSY again.  But I hope you missed me.  In the meantime...I've been tweaking the settings, and uploading things on my new, PURPLE laptop, so I finally feel like I have time to post a recipe. 

Anyway, I was rummaging around in the deep freezer and came across 4 pounds of beautiful shrimp, and though it would a nice change from all the meat. 

So I made this casserole...1/2 the kids liked it (meaning the older two), and the 2 younger kids wouldn't touch it.  Oh well...David had seconds, and took more to work, so I was satisfied.  I'd made something simillar many years ago using a prepackaged rice mix, and didn't care for it because it was so salty!  Now I take the time and use plain, regular rice...and it turns out so much better...trust me!  If you'd like, brown rice can be substitued for white...just keep in mind it takes 2x as long to cook, so allow extra preparation time.

Cheesy Shrimp and Rice Casserole

2 pounds unpeeled, medium/large shrimp (I used 16-20 count)

2 cups white/brown rice

1 large onion, chopped

2 medium green peppers, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

1 can (10.75 ounces) cream of mushroom soup

1 can (10.75) ounces cream of chicken soup

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups panko/bread crumbs

salt and black pepper to taste

We're going to cook the shrimp first.  Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a large pot.  Once the water is boiling, add the shrimp (do not peel beforehand!), and cook for 2 minutes.  We don't want the shrimp cooked through...they will finished cooking in the oven later.  Overdone shrimp taste like rubber...we don't want that! 

Drain the shrimp immediately to a ice bath to stop the cooking process.  Peel, devein, and set aside.  Since my shrimp were big, I cut them into thirds.  If you look closely, you can see the shrimp are just a bit raw in the middle. 

I like everything in a casserole to be the same size...it makes a nicer presentation, and saves us from cutting the kids' food at the table. 

Now, this is important...SAVE the water you cooked the shrimp in.  It'll still be about 4 cups. 

This stock will give the rice a nice flavor...more so than using plain water.  If you are pressed for time, you can skip this step...but I really think you'll become a believer if you make and reserve the stock. :-)

Now bring the stock back up to a boil, salt to taste, and add the rice.  Cook according to package directions, but reduce the cooking time 1-2 minutes.  You want the rice to be just a little wet, so it will mix into the casserole better, and not be overcooked by the time it's all done.  Still with me?  Good!

On to the rest of the dish!  In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter...

add the garlic, peppers (from the garden, hence all the pretty colors), and onions, along with the dried thyme and Old Bay.  (I confess, when I found the shrimp, I saw some frozen leeks I'd put up from the garden last year, and used them instead).

Season with a little salt and pepper, and saute for 5-6 minutes until crisp-tender, ...remember we're finishing this in the oven, so we don't need to cook the veggies very long. 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

Once the rice is done, add the vegetables to the pot, along with the shrimp...

the canned soup (I only got a picture of the cream of mushroom, the other can chickened out...but I got him in there ;-)...

and the cheese.  I love cheese!

Give the pot a good stir, then spread evenly into a greased 9x13 casserole pan.  Oh, and for good measure...sprinkle a little more cheese over the top.  It can't hurt, right?

In a small, microwave-safe bowl (I nearly always use a pyrex measuring cup), melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter.  Stir in the panko/bread crumbs until well coated. 

Spread the buttered crumbs over the top of the casserole, and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until you see the edges bubbling.  You can broil it for just a couple of minutes to brown the top to your liking...but don't leave the kitchen or you'll burn it!

Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving. 

Here's a close-up...divine isn't it?

As I've said already, not everyone in our house ate this, but those of us who did though it was great...creamy, cheesy rice with tender shrimp...perfect for a cold winter's night.  And to all of my Catholic readers out there...don't forget to bookmark this post so you can make it during Lent.  It's coming up soon!

Enjoy...and God bless your table tonight!