12 to 15 servings
YouTube instructional video is at the bottom.
What you’ll need
1 pound ground beef
2 pounds shrimp
Elbow macaroni
Salted or unsalted butter
2 six ounce cans Tomato paste
Sugar
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Shredded pepper jack cheese
Seasonings
1 yellow onion
1 Green bell pepper
Garlic
Salt
Black pepper
Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning
Chef Paul’s poultry magic
Chef Paul’s seafood magic
Dried oregano
Dried basil
Dried thyme
Tools you’ll need
9 by 13-inch glass or metal pan
Preparation of ingredients
Seasonings
Step 1- Chop half of a yellow onion, half of a green bell pepper, and 3 cloves garlic. Make sure you rinse your bell pepper off before you chop it.
Shrimp
Step 2- Remove the head and shell from the shrimp tail and place into a medium-sized bowl. Place the shrimp tails into a separate small bowl.
Step 3- Cut out the back of each shrimp tail with a knife and remove the contents of the shrimp’s digestive tract. Rinse the shrimp tails off with cold water. Add them into a small bowl and cover with lid. Place into fridge until ready to be cooked.
Shrimp stock
Preheat fire to medium heat.
Step 4- Add 1 1/2 quarts water, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon chef Paul’s poultry magic, 1/2 teaspoon chef Paul’s seafood magic, and the shrimp heads and shells into a 4-quart medium-sized pot. Stir all ingredients together. Let simmer for 1 hour stirring occasionally.
Step 5- Add the shrimp stock along with the shrimp heads and shells into a mesh strainer with a medium-sized bowl underneath it. Discard the shrimp heads and shells. Once done you should have 2 cups shrimp stock.
Elbow macaroni
Preheat fire to medium heat.
Step 6- Add 3 quarts water and 2 teaspoon salt into a large 8-quart pot. Stir al let come to a simmer. Add elbow macaroni and stir. Let simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Add cooked macaroni into a strainer and rinse off with cold water. Let set until ready to be used. If you’re cooking the macaroni at a later time place it into the fridge.
Ground beef
Preheat fire to medium heat.
Step 7- Heat a large 4-quart saucepan for 1 or 2 minutes. Add 1 pound ground beef and stir. Let sauté for 4 to 6 minutes stirring occasionally. Add cooked ground beef into a mesh strainer with a medium-sized bowl underneath it to catch the pan drippings. Stir the ground beef while it’s in the mesh strainer. Let the ground beef cool until it’s ready to be added into the casserole. Reserve the pan drippings because you will use that to sauté the seasonings.
Shrimp Marinara sauce
Step 8- Add 9 ounces in weight (1 full can + 1/2 of the other can) Tomato paste, 1 cup homemade shrimp stock, 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/4 teaspoon dried basil and 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme into a medium-sized bowl. Stir all ingredients together carefully with a whisk until combined and set aside.
Making the filling
Preheat fire to medium heat.
Step 9- Add 1 tablespoon of the pan juices reserved from the ground beef, 3 tablespoons salted or unsalted butter, 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion, and 2/3 cup chopped green bell pepper into a large 8-quart pot. Stir all ingredients together and let sauté for 6 minutes stirring occasionally.
Step 10- Add 3 cloves chopped or pressed garlic, Shrimp tails, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon Chef Paul’s poultry magic, and 1/4 teaspoon chef Paul’s seafood magic. Stir all ingredients together. Let sauté for 3 to 4 minutes stirring occasionally.
Step 11- Turn your fire off. Add Shrimp marinara sauce, cooked ground beef, and the cooked elbow macaroni. Stir all ingredients together.
Assembling and baking the casserole
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Step 12- Spread softened salted butter around the bottom and sides of your baking pan. Add half of the filling into the baking pan and spread around as evenly as possible. Sprinkle any amount of the shredded mozzarella and pepper jack cheese on top. Add the second half of the filling on top and spread around as evenly as possible. Sprinkle any amount of the shredded mozzarella and pepper jack cheese on top. I used two 8-ounce packages of the shredded cheeses.
Step 13- Place into a preheated 375-degree oven on the middle rack. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Once the baking time has ended remove the casserole from the oven. Let cool for 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving. For best results serve the next day so the flavors can settle and increase overnight.
YouTube instructional video
