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You are here: Home / Recipes / Savory Dishes / Mermaid Casserole with Kraft Mozzarella

November 16, 2015

Mermaid Casserole with Kraft Mozzarella

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. Keep on reading to find out how to make my delicious Mermaid casserole with Kraft Natural Shredded Cheese! (No mer-people were harmed in the making of this recipe!) #NaturallyCheesy #CollectiveBias 

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Hayla is the definition of a “girly” girl. Any pipe dreams I had about gender-neutral parenting went right out the window when her pink and glitter fabulous self walked into our lives. And for all the globs of lipstick and sparkly nail polish stains on the bathroom floor, I really wouldn’t want her beautiful soul to be any other way.

The past couple of months, Hayla’s been obsessed with fins and wings.

Mermaids and faeries.

Faeries and Mermaids.

All. Day.

Every. Single. Day.

The upside to this, is that it was a piece of cake to convince her to dress up as Ariel for trick or treating this year, and thusly fulfilling my own costume plans of going as Ursula. You can find photos of our costumes on my Instagram feed.

Because we were going trick or treating three different places in the same number of days, we definitely needed to plan for some wholesome dinners to counter balance the inevitable sugar coma we were all facing. So while I was at Walmart stocking up on BOO kit supplies, I wandered over to the grocery side to try to figure out our meal plan.

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Cheese is one of my favorite things on Earth. There is hardly a food that can’t be improved upon with a little sprinkle of cheese. We just finished off a big bag of cheddar at the house, so I picked up some Kraft Natural Shredded Mozzarella and started pulling ideas together to make Hayla a special treat that fit the rest of our Under the Sea shenanigans: Mermaid casserole!

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With sea shells (pasta), seaweed (spinach), oyster pearls (pearl onions), and fins (shrimp), Mermaid casserole is finished off with a super delicious and easy white cheese sauce and dusted with some sand (seasoned breadcrumbs) before hitting the oven.

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I like comfort food that’s as hassle free as it is fulfilling. This pasta is definitely that kind of dish! To start, get a pot of salted water on medium-high heat. Once it’s boiling, drop in 3 cups of medium shell pasta and cook until the noodles are just tender. (al dente at the very max. You’re baking this in the oven afterwards!) Drain and set the noodles aside.

The white cheese sauce starts out with a basic roux: melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-low heat, then add in 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour, stirring constantly until it’s smooth and the flour has started to cook through (about 5 minutes). Once the roux is ready, add milk, Kraft Natural Shredded Mozzarella, and salt and pepper to taste. Keep stirring as you add and you’ll end up with a silky smooth cheese sauce that’s to die for!

When the sauce is smooth, take it off the heat and add in a bag of fresh spinach, and stir until well combined.

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Once the cheese sauce is done, combine it with the cooked pasta, pearl onions, and shrimp (thawed if necessary!). If you think ahead farther than I did, you would make your cheese sauce in a pot big enough to mix everything together in. If not, you’ll need a big bowl to mix everything so the pasta is well coated.

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Pour the mixture into a baking dish and top with a light coating of seasoned breadcrumbs and the remaining cheese and bake, covered, for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Uncover the dish and continue baking (or kick on the broiler) until the top is golden brown (about 15 minutes).

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You’ll want to let this bad boy cool on the counter for about 15 minutes before digging in, because the center of the casserole dish is a distant cousin of molten lava. Your tongues will thank you.

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Be sure to check out more delicious casseroles and other cheese recipes at Kraft.com. I’d love to hear about your favorite cheesy recipe!

4.6 from 5 reviews
Mermaid Casserole with Kraft Mozzarella
 
Print
Prep time
25 mins
Cook time
60 mins
Total time
1 hour 25 mins
 
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 3 cups shell pasta
  • 2 tbs butter
  • 2 tbs flour
  • 1½ cups milk or cream
  • 2 cups of Kraft Natural Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
  • 8 oz fresh spinach leaves
  • 12-16 oz small shrimp, peeled, de-veined, with tails off.
  • 15 oz jar pearl onions, drained and rinsed.
  • 2 tbs seasoned breadcrumbs (optional)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Cook 3 cups of shell pasta al dente according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
  3. In a small sauce pot, stir flour into melted butter until smooth, continue cooking for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add in milk, 1.5 cups of Kraft Natural Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Continue stirring on medium-low heat until sauce is smooth. Remove pot from heat and stir in spinach leaves.
  4. In a separate bowl, combine cooked pasta, thawed shrimp, and pearl onions. Pour cheese and spinach sauce over top and stir until pasta is well coated.
  5. Transfer mixture to a baking dish, and top with seasoned breadcrumbs (optional) and remaining cheese. Bake covered for 45 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until cheese is golden brown, about 15 minutes.
3.5.3208

Filed Under: Collective Bias, Recipes, Savory Dishes Tagged With: Casserole, Cheese, Mac and Cheese, Mozzarella, Onion, Pasta, Seafood, Shrimp, Spinach

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Eliza Flug says

    December 1, 2015 at 9:42 pm

    Hey. You’re a great writer and I’m enjoying the recipes and photos. Not bad at all! Trying the casserole.

    Reply
    • Joyceann Gray says

      December 5, 2015 at 8:44 pm

      ME TOO, THANKS

      Reply
  2. Donna says

    December 3, 2015 at 5:35 pm

    Is this recipe started with raw shrimp? Thank you.

    Reply
    • Jenn says

      December 3, 2015 at 6:42 pm

      Yes, I started with raw shrimp

      Reply
  3. Suzanne McFarland says

    December 3, 2015 at 8:16 pm

    Do you really mean 15 cups of milk or cream???

    Reply
    • Jenn says

      December 3, 2015 at 8:22 pm

      1 and a half cups (or 1.5) 🙂 The decimal point is a little hard to see, I’ll update how it’s written to make it easier. Thanks for pointing it out!!!

      Reply
      • Niki Mattes says

        October 25, 2016 at 3:33 pm

        try 1 1/2 🙂

        Reply
  4. NoNo says

    December 4, 2015 at 9:48 am

    Could you make this in the morning or the day before. and baked later? Also 12 or 16 oz of shrimp you don’t mean the salad size.

    Reply
    • Jenn says

      December 4, 2015 at 11:40 am

      I think it would be fine to bake the next day – the noodles would probably soak up the cheese sauce even more! And the 12-16oz was the total weight of the bag of shrimp. I went with medium sized, tails off and de-veined that way it was easier, but whatever you have would work fine!

      Reply
  5. Eleanor says

    December 4, 2015 at 10:07 pm

    Is not 3 cups uncooked pasta a lot when cooked?
    Could you use other Vegas instead of spinach?

    Reply
  6. Romy says

    December 5, 2015 at 10:46 am

    Eleanor, I think some lightly steamed asparagus would be wonderful with the shrimp and cheese. Better yet, spinach AND asparagus.

    Reply
  7. Cathy says

    December 5, 2015 at 5:11 pm

    I’m not into pearl onions. I’m thinking of mushrooms instead.

    Reply
  8. Anne says

    December 5, 2015 at 5:53 pm

    I think some grape or cherry topatoes would add color and variety.

    Reply
  9. Frances Garrison says

    December 5, 2015 at 10:20 pm

    The recipe calls for seasoned bread crumbs. What kind of seasoning? This recipe sounds really good and bet it would be equally good as left-overs the next day. Can’t wait to try it.

    Reply
    • Jenn says

      December 5, 2015 at 10:29 pm

      I used Italian seasoned breadcrumbs because that’s what I had in my cabinet. If you really want it crispy on top, I’d try panko! Hope you enjoy it! 🙂

      Reply
  10. Rita Doyle says

    December 6, 2015 at 5:04 am

    This is very inventive, mommy! I hope the casserole becomes a Sunday standard for your girlie- girl to take to adulthood!
    You sound like a fantastic mom!! Good job!!! & I’ll be looking at those trick or treat photos to see your imagineering at work!!
    Good job!!???

    Reply
  11. Niki Mattes says

    October 25, 2016 at 3:34 pm

    Sounds YUM, I added it to my recipe list to try, thanks!

    Reply
    • Jenn says

      October 26, 2016 at 9:51 am

      Thanks Niki, I hope you like it! I’d love to hear how it turns out for you!

      Reply
  12. shannon fowler says

    October 27, 2016 at 4:23 pm

    This looks amazing! I can see this easily being a family favorite.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Mermaid Casserole with Kraft Mozzarella – Doing Wheelies | Onlinegranny's Shared Recipes says:
    December 6, 2015 at 3:35 pm

    […] Source: Mermaid Casserole with Kraft Mozzarella – Doing Wheelies […]

    Reply
  2. Easy Baked Pork Egg Rolls - Doing Wheelies says:
    January 11, 2016 at 6:01 am

    […] tea flavors by checking out their Facebook page. Want another tasty idea for dinner tonight? Try my Mermaid Casserole or BBQ Ranch Turkey Meatball […]

    Reply

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