Shrimp and Wild Rice Casserole

I'll be honest. I'm a sucker for a delicious, calories-don't-matter and the more-cheese-the-better, stick-to-your-ribs kind of casserole. If it's got a crunchy topping, bring it. If it's ooey gooey and makes you want to take a nap, even better.

So who else would I try a recipe from than comfort food's queen, Paula Deen? Granted, I totally changed this recipe from her original. I love her, but she loves to dirty every bowl in her kitchen and add 48 steps that really are unnecessary, know what I mean? I guess if you have Food Network interns doing your dishes for you, you might dirty every dish in the cabinet, too. It might be fun.

My mom actually told me she made this. As she described it, I knew it sounded awesome. So I gathered my ingredients and made it the first time pretty much by the original. It was good. Dylan liked it, and he's not a big casserole kind of guy. But I love him anyway. I do have to say that it tastes completely different than you think it will. In a good way, trust me. And this picture shows a DOUBLE batch. It's usually much smaller.

I made it for a farewell party at school tomorrow. A fellow preschool teacher is leaving to stay home with her kids, and everyone signed up to bring some food to celebrate and wish her well. I will personally miss her daughter, Sadie, who was in my class. She is the sweetest thing.

Now I like to go a little heavy on the spicy side. We eat many a jalapeno in this house, and our favorite seasoning is Tony Chacheries. So if you aren't a fan, cut back!

I tweaked the recipe to get this one, and I love it.

Shrimp and Wild Rice Casserole

1lb shrimp, peeled and devained, and cut in thirds (I use frozen, but any other kind is fine as long as they are raw)
2 tbsp butter (it IS a Paula Deen recipe, you know)
1/2 cup chopped green onions (green parts and white parts)
1 chopped green pepper
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 pkg of long grain and wild rice mix (I used Rice-a-Roni, but Uncle Bens is just fine.. whatever you got)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup mix
2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese

Cook the rice mix as directed on the box. Add the cream of mushroom soup to it. In a skillet, melt the butter and saute the onions, green pepper, garlic and shrimp. Sprinkle Tony Chacheries (or whatever Cajun seasoning you prefer) all over the shrimp. Cook until the shrimp are JUST pink. You don't want to cook them completely. Those bad boys still have to bake in the oven. Besides burned chocolate cake, the only other cooking sin I recognize is overcooked, rubbery shrimp. For shame!!

Mix the rice mix and the shrimp mix together. I usually dump it all in the rice pot. I still have plenty of room at the top. Fold in the cheese, reserving some for the top (remember the gooey cheese layer). Pour it all into an 8x8 glass casserole dish and bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes, or until it's ooey gooey.

This doesn't taste like you expect it to. It's pretty freakin' awesome. Rich, but heck, it is a casserole.