Grotto Seafood-Pasta Casserole

Name: Grotto Seafood-Pasta Casserole
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 8 serving(s)
Ingredients: 1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped; 2 tablespoons scallions, thinly sliced; 4 tablespoons salted butter (divided); 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1/2 teaspoon table salt; 2 cups whole milk (pre-heated to about 100 degrees in microwave); 1 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped; 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced; 1 1/2 cups monterey jack cheese, with jalapenas (shredded, divided); 3 1/2 cups medium pasta shells, cooked and drained (or, bowtie pasta); 1 lb imitation crabmeat, chopped; 1/2 cup seasoned dry bread crumb; 2 quarts water (for boiling pasta); 1 teaspoon table salt (for boiling pasta); Pam cooking spray

Submitted by Bone Man

"I like to eat supper outdoors, in my Grotto (The Ancient and much-Revered Ospidillo Grotto!) and this is a great, easy casserole that I can enjoy there. And did you notice? There's no red meat in this dish. Lots of flavors and there's no can of soup in it either! I'll bet your family will like it just fine. Who gave me the recipe? I drank too many beers in the Grotto and I don't remember! Sorry!"

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Ready In:: 1hr
Ingredients:: 15
Serves:: 8

ingredients

¹⁄₂ cup green bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons scallions, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons salted butter (divided)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¹⁄₂ teaspoon table salt
2 cups whole milk (pre-heated to about 100 degrees in microwave)
1 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
1 ¹⁄₂ cups monterey jack cheese, with jalapenas (shredded, divided)
3 ¹⁄₂ cups medium pasta shells, cooked and drained (or, bowtie pasta)
1 lb imitation crabmeat, chopped
¹⁄₂ cup seasoned dry bread crumb
2 quarts water (for boiling pasta)
1 teaspoon table salt (for boiling pasta)
Pam cooking spray

directions

Cook your pasta in lightly salted water (about 2/3 of a pound, dry) until tender and drain. Set aside.
In a large saucepan, over medium heat, saute the bell pepper and scallions in 2 tablespoons of the butter until tender.
Blend in the flour and salt into the pepper-scallion mix, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in the pre-warmed milk. Bring to a boil.
Cook and stir the boiling sauce until it thickens and then remove from heat. Stir in the tomato and parsley. Stir in one cup of the cheese until it melts, then, stir in the pasta and crabmeat.
Transfer this mix into a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish which has been sprayed with Pam. Cover and bake in a pre-heated 350-degree F. oven for 20 minutes.
Melt remaining butter and toss it with the bread crumbs.
After the casserole has been in the oven for 20 minutes, remove it and sprinkle first the buttered bread crumbs over it, and then the remaining cheese (on top of the crumbs).
Bake UNCOVERED for 5-10 more minutes. The top should be golden brown.

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Reviews

I played around with this a little bit...I didn't see that the monterey jack cheese was supposed to be pepper jack cheese until I got home from the store, so the casserole didn't have the heat from the peppers. Probably because of that lack of heat, I needed to get a bit more flavor in the sauce, so I put in some Old Bay seasoning. I also added some green peas for color. Otherwise, I made as directed, and the members of my family (the ones that don't mind their food touching)all enjoyed it. Thanks!

Shawnee TX

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Bone Man

I am a retired State Park Resort Manager/Ranger. Anyway, as to my years in the State Park System (retired now), I was responsible for 4 restaurants/dining rooms on my park and my boss at Central Headquarters said I should spend less time in my kitchens and more time tending to my park budget. I spent 25 years in those kitchens and worked with some really great chefs over those years, (and some really awful ones too!) I spent THOUSANDS of hours on every inch of that park and adjacent state forest (60,000 acres) and sometimes I miss it. But mostly I miss being in that big beautiful resort lodge kitchen. I miss my little marina restaurant down on the Ohio River too. I served the best Reuben Sandwich (my own recipe -- posted on 'Zaar as The Shawnee Marina Reuben Sandwich) in both the State of Ohio and the Commonwealth of Kentucky down there and sold it for $2.95. Best deal on the river! They (friends and neighbors) call my kitchen The Ospidillo Cafe. Don't ask me why because it takes about a case of beer, time-wise, to explain the name. Anyway, it's a small galley kitchen with a Mexican motif (until my wife catches me gone for a week or so), and it's a very BUSY kitchen as well. We cook at all hours of the day and night. You are as likely to see one of my neighbors munching down over here as you are my wife or daughter. I do a lot of recipe experimentation and development. It has become a really fun post-retirement hobby -- and, yes, I wash my own dishes. Also, I'm the Cincinnati Chili Emperor around here, or so they say. (Check out my Ospidillo Cafe Cincinnati Chili recipe). SKYLINE CHILI is one of my four favorite chilis, and the others include: Gold Star Chili, Empress Chili and, my VERY favorite, Dixie. All in and around Cincinnati. Great stuff for cheap and I make it at home too. I also collect menus and keep them in my kitchen -- I have about a hundred or so. People go through them and when they see something that they want, I make it the next day. That presents some real challenges! http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/parks/shawnee.htm

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