Potluck

Sharing a community meal is a great way to get to know people, have some laughs and enjoy a variety of food. Tonight I'm attending my first potluck with people from New Day. I'm not too worried about the socializing, but figuring out what to bring to the potluck is always an issue for me.

While I'm a great cook, I rarely make casseroles, even when I'm entertaining. The whole 101-things-you-can-do-with-a-can-of-cream-of-mushroom-soup thing doesn't do much for me; I'd much rather do a seasoned roast, or a huge pot of soup or stew, or a pan or two of lasagna. The last would have been an option, if I had remembered prior to this morning that I needed something. I'm not in the mood for something that complicated.

A co-worker recently shared the following recipe with me, raving about how good it was. Shrimp is currently on sale, due to the approaching New Year's celebrations. So I'm going to give it a try, and hope it tastes as good as she says.

In spite of the cream of mushroom soup.

Shrimp and Wild Rice Casserole

1 box Uncle Ben's Original Wild rice mix (roughly 5 1/2 - 6 oz)*
1 pound cooked shrimp**
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 cups sharps cheddar cheese, shredded, divided

Cook rice to package directions, using 1/4 cup less water than the box calls for. Let cool.

Melt butter and saute the green pepper and onion until soft. In a large bowl combine cooled rice, the veggies, the soup, the shrimp and 1 1/2 cups of the cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.

Spray a 9" square or 11 x 7" pan with cooking spray. Pour in mixture; top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.

Bake, uncovered at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes, until bubbly.

OR wrap with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Freeze. When ready to use, thaw completely in the refrigerator. Bake uncovered at 325 for 30 minutes.

*Yeah, good luck finding this. The local P & S carries twelve varieties of Uncle Ben's long grain and wild rice, NONE of them the original flavor. I used Near East brand - roughly the same size box.

**The original recipe calls for raw shrimp, which you then cook and clean yourself. As a teenager, I spent many days before New Year's Eve in the kitchen of the catering company in front of vats of just-cooked shrimp, pulling the legs and shells off, then scraping out the veins. It has scarred me for life. I bought a pound of cooked shrimp from the butcher case, pulled off the tails and threw them in. You end up with more shrimp in the casserole, which is fine with me; I'll happily eat the little buggers, as long as I don't have to clean them.