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 

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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

 

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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.

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