Joey's Crab Rangoon Casserole

 

 

 

 Have you ever heard of Crab Rangoon?

 It's an American-Chinese appetizer made of deep-fried wontons filled with a creamy mixture of cream cheese, imitation crab meat, garlic, and scallions, and it's one of my all time faves when I'm ordering take-out. It's right up there with my favorite egg rolls and pan fried dumplings.

And then of course, as with so many other dishes, someone took all of these flavors and ran with them to turn it into a fabulous casserole! I thought, how can this not be good???? CLEARLY I needed to try it.  

 Now, I thought, ok, this is pretty straight forward, but OH how wrong I was! Just like every other home cooked casserole, there are about a million and one versions of it. So I did what I always do. I read through a bunch, took what I liked from each of them, and made my own. (I know I say that all the time, but it's truly how I do!) I'm SO pleased with how it turned out!!!! So, although I can't lay claim to the idea of turning a crab rangoon into a casserole, I'll happily take credit for making it this way. It was so good, everyone went back for seconds! Sometimes a really good casserole just hits the spot, doesn't it?!?

 Even if you've never had crab rangoon, definitely give this one a try. It's warm and comforting, feeds a crowd, and.. side note.. it just happens to meatless, if that's how you roll. 

 Hope you like it!

16 oz wide egg noodles

3 or 4 scallions

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

1 tsp minced garlic

2 tbs butter 

2 pkgs cream cheese 

2 cups half and half

Splash of soy sauce

1/2 tsp onion powder 

1 tsp Old Bay seasoning

Pinch of salt

1 lb imitation crab 

2 cups mozzarella cheese

Sweet Chili Sauce

Wonton Chips 

Heat oven to 375F. 

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook noodles until al dente. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, slice the scallions and separate the green ends from the white. Add the white ends to a sauce pan along with the butter and celery. Sauté over medium heat for a few minutes, then add the garlic. Sauté for a few minutes more then add cream cheese, half and half, soy sauce, and spices.  Heat and stir until smooth.

 In a casserole dish, add cooked noodles, flaked crab meat, and 1 cup shredded mozzarella. 

Pour cream cheese mixture over all and toss until well combined.

Top with remaining cheese. 

Bake for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned and bubbly. 

To serve, top with sweet chili sauce, crispy wonton chips, and reserved green onions. 

Tips:

When boiling the noodles, you want to drain them when they're just under done. They'll finish cooking in the oven. Otherwise they might become too mushy. And no one wants mushy pasta. 

If you like a lot of something, add a lot! Want more crab! Do it! Want it to be cheesier?? Go for it! Want to add shrimp? Why not? As my friend Carol would say, "It's your story, you tell it any way you want!" 

Be sure to include the toppings! Thats what takes the whole dish from good to amazing! 

And I know this may seem obvious, but I'll say it anyway... instead of using half and half, you can use 1 cup milk plus 1 cup heavy cream.

(Half and half = half milk and half cream, get it?)