Seafood Mac and Cheese is an amazing dish that is both delicious and easy to prepare in case you wanna avoid food delivery. What makes it unique is the way it adds a refreshing air of luxury to one of the simplest traditional dishes. That’s right! Mac and Cheese couldn’t sound more classy with seafood if it’s tried! Especially if you’re planning to wash it down with some wine.
Now, to make this absolutely delicious version of Seafood Macaroni and Cheese, we’re using shrimp and crab meat, but you could use the seafood of your choice to make this creamy dish. It’s quick and easy to make, and it will bring back lots of great memories of walking in the sand along your favorite beach. Except if you’re allergic to seafood, in which case, do not try this at home!
Asides from being delicious and absolutely wonderful for the non-allergic, Seafood Mac and Cheese also happens to be very nutritious. To keep track of your Weight Loss journey,each four person serving recipe has a total calorie content of 560.3, potassium content of 188.8mg along with a host of several other nutrients.
We definitely recommend for families as well as for individuals, or singles living on their own.
EQUIPMENT
Now, there are only a handful of equipment and materials that are needed in order to prepare the Seafood Mac and Cheese dish – that is, asides from the usual pots, spoons and pans assembly that often ends up inside the dishwasher whenever we cook.
An oven
Saucepan or skillet
And just to be perfectly thorough, you’ll need:
A knife (’cause there is a whole lot of chopping involved).
A large mixing bowl
Sieve (for food)
Grater
Aluminum foil (optional)
INGREDIENTS
2 cups of dry Macaroni
6 oz. Claw Crab Meat
8 oz. Shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 oz. Sour Cream
4 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons Flour
1 Spring Onion
1 can Evaporated Milk
8 oz. block Sharp White Cheddar Cheese
4 oz. block Mozzarella Cheese
¼ cup Panko Bread Crumbs
Salt, Black Pepper, paprika to taste
One thing to note is that these ingredients, in the above stated quantities, are only good for a few servings- three or maybe four at the most. To cater for more than that number of people, you’re going to have to tweak the recipe a little, increasing portions to feed an increased amount of people and vice versa. Now, the fine art of tweaking recipes is easy but it can also be very tricky. If you need help, please do not hesitate to consult us in the comment section of this page and we’ll get back to you on that. Also, you do have to check properly that each of your ingredients is in good condition before you pick it with the intent of cooking this dish.
DIRECTIONS
The very first thing we like to recommend at the start of each recipe is a clean and tidy cooking area. So, clear it out, clean that counter and then, set out all the ingredients individually in clean bowls and make sure that everything is in order equipment-wise. Take in a deep breath and now, you’re ready to start:
Preheat oven to 350°.
(We do this to create a regulated heated temperature inside the oven so as to prevent a situation where only the outside of the dish will be done while the inside is still uncooked. i.e. preheating helps to cook the Mac and Cheese evenly and thoroughly).
Peel and de-vein shrimp if needed. (Or you can find some of the already peeled and deveined ones at the grocery nearest to you, to save yourself the hassle; especially if you’re not exactly sure how to peel and devein shrimps.)
Cook the macaroni according to package directions. Drain well. (Some people like to drain it at the sink or into a bowl by hand, but I like to use a sieve. It can’t get more drained than that.)
Place drained macaroni in a large mixing bowl.
Add the sour cream, stir together well, until all noodles are coated. (We do this to make sure that each and every little macaroni has as much of the sour cream as possible so as to even up the flavor within the dish.)
Add the crab meat, stir well.
Finely chop the green onion. Set Aside.
Grate the white cheddar cheese. Set aside.
Grate the mozzarella cheese. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, or skillet over a stove at low to medium heat.
Add the shrimp. Turn and stir shrimp until lightly done.
Remove shrimp from pan. Chop slightly when cooled. Add to the macaroni mixture.
Add the finely chopped onions to the saucepan, sauté until tender. Sprinkle flour over onions and mix well. Let cook and brown for about one minute. Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly until the mixture begins to thicken. (Do not skip out on the “stirring constantly” part of this instruction in order to prevent the disaster that is clomped together macaroni that stick to each other as well as the saucepan).
Gradually add the grated Cheddar Cheese, stirring constantly until cheese melts. Pour cheese mixture over the macaroni and seafood mixture. Stir well to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Place the mixture in a well-buttered baking dish. Sprinkle top with grated mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top of the mozzarella cheese. (Buttering the baking dish well is done to prevent the sticking of the Seafood Mac and Cheese to the pan; it will make it easy to remove the dish when it is done. A simple alternative is to use aluminum foil. Coating the pan with aluminum foil instead of/in addition to buttering it improves the heat efficiency inside the oven, as some people have reported better experience s with aluminum foil than pan-greasing, and not only for this recipe.)
Sprinkle lightly with Paprika, to add color.
Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.
Serve warm and Enjoy!
Notes
Use your favorite combinations of seafood to make this dish. If you like your mac and cheese a little creamier, add another half cup of milk to the recipe when adding the evaporated milk.
