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Still time to stock up on local seafood

Shrimp and crawfish seasons are still underway in south Louisiana. Take advantage of the seasons and stock up on the local seafood.
Here are some reasons to keep some in the freezer for future use.

CRAWFISH AND EGGPLANT WITH ANGEL HAIR PASTA
2 to 3 lbs. crawfish
1 large onion
1 large bell pepper
1 stick butter
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
½ cup white wine
Angel hair pasta
Sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
Lemon pepper seasoning
Fried eggplant rounds
Sauté vegetables in melted butter and olive oil.
Add cream of mushroom soup and cook 10 minutes. Add crawfish and cook 10 minutes.
Add white wine. Let that cook down to reduce liquids.
Add ½ cup of cheese, seasonings and sprinkle a half teaspoon of lemon pepper seasoning and sun-dried tomatoes. Let simmer 10 minutes and turn off heat.
Layer baking dish with cooked pasta, about one inch thick. Top pasta with half of the crawfish mixture. Take fork and lightly toss pasta so that sauce coats all the pasta.
Layer fried eggplant rounds on top of pasta then pour remaining crawfish sauce on top of eggplant. Top with remaining Parmesan cheese.
Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and let brown.

MACQUE CHOUX WITH CRAWFISH
3 to 6 ears of corn, shucked and cleaned
2 Tbsp. butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 small bell pepper, chopped
2 fresh tomatoes, diced
Sugar to taste, optional
In medium bowl, cut kernels off cob, scraping the milk of the corn into bowl for additional flavor and liquid.
Sauté onion, bell pepper and tomatoes in butter until pepper is soft.
Add corn to mixture, adding ¼ cup milk or cream, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black or red pepper and cook 30 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently.
For sweet corn taste, add ½ to 1 teaspoon sugar. Add crawfish in the last 20 minutes of cooking.

CRAWFISH MOLD
5 envelopes unflavored gelatin
2 cans tomato soup
2 cups mayonnaise
2 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped bell pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1 lb. crawfish tails, cooked
Dissolve gelatin in one cup tap water. Let set in refrigerator until gel sets.
Combine onion, bell pepper, celery and crawfish with mayonnaise.
Heat soup until boiling and add cream cheese. Blend on low heat until smooth.
Add gelatin to soup and cream cheese until gelatin dissolves. Mix all together.
Pour into a mold and refrigerate 12 hours.

STUFFED CRAWFISH BAKED POTATOES
6 baking potatoes
1 stick butter
4 oz. sharp Cheddar cheese
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup light cream
½ cup chopped green onions
1 lb. crawfish tails, cooked
½ cup sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
Bake potatoes at 400 degrees one hour.
Make sauce of butter, cheese, garlic and cream.
Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out.
Mix scooped out potatoes with sauce.
Add green onions and crawfish.
Put mixture back in potato shells.
Sprinkle with grated cheese and bake at 350 degrees until brown.

MIRLITON SHRIMP AND CRAB DRESSING
6 small mirlitons
½ lb. ground pork
1 cup onion, diced
¼ cup green bell pepper, chopped
1 Tbsp. garlic, minced
½ cup green onions, finely sliced
1 lb. small shrimp, peeled
½ lb. lump crab meat
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
Peel and cut mirlitons in half and remove seeds.
Boil mirlitons until fork goes through easily, 25 to 30 minutes.
In large sauté pan, brown ground pork and remove half the fat.
Add onion, green onions, bell pepper, celery and garlic.
Cook over medium heat until dressing browns.
Because mirliton is bland, season dressing with salt and pepper, over-seasoning slightly.
Drain mirliton and let cool. Mash with fork.
Add shrimp to sauté pan and cook until just pink.
Add mirliton and mix well.
Gently fold in crab meat.
Add bread crumbs. Pour into baking dish.
Bake at 350 degrees until heated through.

SHRIMP TACOS
1½ lbs. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
½ cup green taco sauce
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup tequila
½ cup lime juice
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. paprika
Pinch garlic powder
Heat fry pan one minute and add half of the olive oil.
To heated oil, add shrimp, garlic powder and small amount of taco sauce.
Fry shrimp, but do not overcook.
In a bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Mix well.
Toss shrimp in mixture. Cover and chill two hours.
Serves 6.
COLD SHRIMP PASTA SALAD
1 lb. small shrimp
1 (12 oz.) bag rotini pasta
1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix, follow directions on package
½ cup mayonnaise
3 stalks celery, cut in small slices
2 cucumbers, cubed
2 tomatoes, cubed
Seasonings, to taste
Boil shrimp in seasoned water about two minutes after water is boiling, and drain.
Boil pasta, drain, and set aside.
Add shrimp, cucumbers, celery and tomatoes to pasta; mix.
Add mayonnaise and prepared Ranch dressing.
Season to taste.
Refrigerator about two hours so flavors can set.

ST. MARY NOW

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