Crawfish in a creamy Velveeta cheese sauce served with fettuccine.

Crawfish Velveeta Fettuccine

Here's another delicious recipe that is a popular dish down south along the Coast and appropriate for Fridays during Lent. If you aren't a fan of crawfish, shrimp is an excellent substitute here.

Here comes the soapbox folks - y'all know I gotta do it! Whenever possible, try to purchase Certified Cajun Louisiana bred crawfish or Wild American shrimp. It's miles better than the imported stuff and there really is a huge taste difference. During crawfish season here along the Gulf Coast, there are dozens of places you can pick up 5 to 10 pound bags of freshly boiled, good and spicy crawfish, and those are the absolute best for any crawfish dish. There is simply no comparison to the frozen variety even for Certified Cajun. But, I also know that many of you don't have that kind of access to fresh seafood, and frankly, it's lots more convenient to buy crawfish tails already cleaned and ready. Even we do that more often down here, because honestly, you have to peel a LOT of crawfish to get a pound of tails!

Superstores in this country are notorious for carrying mostly all foreign sources of fish, shrimp and crawfish - and in truth, most folks don't even realize that they are eating imported seafood. Flip your frozen tilapia package over, look at the very bottom of the back of the package and it will tell you the country of origin. Look closely at the labels, and ask for Wild American Shrimp and frozen Louisiana crawfish tails at your grocery store. It may cost a bit more but you'll be supporting our country, and with the cheaper foreign product, quality, and taste really do suffer. And if enough people stop buying the foreign stuff, the prices for fresher American seafood will come down! {tucking away the soapbox again}

Okay... on to the recipe! Cook the fettuccine according to the package direction for al dente. Drain, rinse well and set aside to fully drain. Chop up the trinity.



Melt the 1/2 stick of butter.



Toss in the onion, celery and bell pepper.



And cook until softened.



Stir in 3 tablespoons of flour and cook for about 3 minutes.



Add the garlic and cook another couple minutes.



Add in a small palmful of dried parsley and Cajun seasoning, if using.



And the crawfish.



Stir together well and simmer on low for about 30 minutes.



Add 3/4 cup of half and half...



... and the cubed Velveeta ...



... cooking over low until cheese has melted.



Add in the fettuccine.



And stir together to mix well.



Transfer to a baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.



Sprinkle a bit of Parmesan cheese on top.



And bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, or until bubbly.

Recipe: Crawfish Velveeta Fettuccine

©From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

Prep time: 30 min |Cook time: 30 min |

Yield: About 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pound of fettuccine noodles
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) of unsalted butter
• 1 cup of diced onion
• 1/4 cup of diced celery
• 1/2 cup of diced green bell pepper
• 3 tablespoons of flour
• 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, or to taste
• 1 to 2 level tablespoons of dried parsley flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning (like Slap Ya Mama), or to taste, optional
• 1 pound package of peeled crawfish tails, drained but not rinsed
• 3/4 cup of half and half
• 1 pound of Velveeta Mexican style cheese, cubed
• 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Bring a pot of well salted water to a rolling boil and cook the fettuccine to al dente according to the package directions. Drain, rinse well, and set aside to fully drain. Butter or spray a 2 quart casserole dish or oblong pan with non-stick spray; set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the chopped onion, celery and bell pepper and cook until softened. Stir in the flour and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another 2 minutes. Add the parsley, Cajun seasoning and crawfish tails and cook on a low simmer for about 30 minutes. Add in the half and half and cubed Velveeta, and continue cooking over low until the cheese is melted. Add the cooked and drained fettuccine and stir well to combine. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with a light covering of Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until bubbly.

Serve with a nice mixed garden salad.

Source: http://deepsouthdish.com

PRINT THIS Requires Adobe Reader - download it free!

©Deep South Dish

☛ Are you on Facebook? If you haven't already, come and join the party! We have a lot of fun & there's always room for one more at the table.

Check These Recipes Out Too!

Crawfish Monica
Stuffed Pistolettes
Easy Etouffee

Posted by Mary on April 3, 2009

Images and Full Post Content including Recipe ©Deep South Dish. Recipes are offered for your own personal use only and while pinning and sharing links is welcomed and encouraged, please do not copy and paste to repost or republish elsewhere such as other Facebook pages, blogs, websites, or forums without explicit prior permission. All rights reserved.

Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

.