Sea Shell Casserole
It’s like pasta meatloaf. Or meatloaf pasta? I don’t know, but it’s super easy, and really tasty! It’s called Sea Shell Casserole.
Emma Ratzlaff was sweet enough to share it in the 1950’s California Kitchens community cookbook. It is one of my favorite vintage cookbooks, and I cook out of it all the time. It’s packed full of awesome recipes, and I’m obsessed with the artwork. Best of all, most of the recipes are hand signed by the cooks who contributed them. Love that.
Oh, and for this particular recipe, since I’m celebrating how budget friendly casseroles can be, I break down the costs for this one, so be sure to watch till the end for that.
So, let’s get to cooking some Sea Shell Casserole. To start, all you need to do is cook some sea shell pasta. Don’t over do it, al dente is best for this recipe.
After that, all you need to is combine all the ingredients with the pasta. Corn and garlic salt, and no vintage casserole would be complete without Campbell’s Soup - tomato soup in this case.
It’s flavored with Worcestershire Sauce, and speaking of flavor, I stuck to the recipe this time, but I would recommend a teaspoon of salt. Up to you, but I think it needed it.
Then, add a pound of raw hamburger. For more flavor, add onions and diced green bell pepper. A cup of water for moisture, and all you need to do from there is give it a good mix. Once it’s fairly well blended, transfer it to a casserole dish, then top it with cheese. I used Parmesan.
The recipe calls for a 2 quart dish, so I was super excited because I thought it would look cute in my Chelsea JAJ Pyrex bowl, but it didn’t really fit at all. Overflow wasn’t actually too bad, and it still looked cute, but I would definitely use a bigger dish than I did.
Bake it in the oven, and then enjoy a bite of Sea Shell casserole. It’s sweet and savory, with crunchy veggies and yummy pasta.
Super family friendly, easy to make, and cheap. It cost me exactly $13.56 to make the whole thing. That’s only $2.26 a portion for red meat, Parmesan, and a rich tomato sauce. That’s pretty budget friendly by any standards. The perfect casserole. So I am so thankful Emma Ratzlaff shared it in her community’s cookbook, and I hope it inspires you to save more vintage spiral bound cookbooks, and cook more old recipes.
KITCHENWARE USED IN THIS RECIPE
VINTAGE PYREX
Homestead from the 1970’s
Other Recipes in this Series
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Viva La Chicken Casserole
A classic creamy chicken casserole everyone grew up with a version of.
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Chicken Curry Rice Casserole
Sometimes taking the time to do things the slow way is best. You’ll see what I mean with this delicious creamy casserole.
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Bride’s Pride Casserole
A surprisingly fresh casserole with Asian flavors, packed with veggies.
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Cheese Grits Casserole
Delicious, cheap, and satisfying. Everything a great casserole should be!
