OK, I admit it.  I procrastinated! I waited too long to decide what dish to bring to the office holiday party. By the time I checked the sign-up sheet, the only thing left was corn.  Yes, plain-old, ordinary corn.   Seriously, how boring is that? 

Now I had a big problem. How could I make a corn dish that is worthy of a cooking diva like me, yet actually requires very little prep time?  I mean, it is the holidays. So while I want to impress the masses, I have as little free time available for cooking as the next person. 

While I was driving home from work contemplating my dish options, I turned on the holiday music station on my XM radio in an effort to find a little inspiration.  Feliz Navidad was playing.  As I hum along, it hits me!  What is the most popular type of ethnic cuisine?  Mexican!  And I just happen to have a great, easy recipe for Mexican corn casserole that I can tweak to include my favorite food – shrimp! 

This dish takes about 45 minutes to cook. That’s because of the time it takes to cook the rice and bake the casserole, but your actual hands-on time is only about 12-13 minutes.  So you can still fit this dish into your busy holiday season schedule.   This recipe calls for a can of mild green chilies which add great flavor without adding any real heat.  If you are in the mood to spice things up this holiday season you could substitute a couple of jalapeños for the mild green chilies.  Just dice the jalapeños up (without the seeds for medium heat or with the seeds for a real spicy dish) and sauté them with the diced onion. 

Fiesta Christmas Shrimp and Corn Casserole

Hands-on cook time: 12 minutes   Total cook time: 45 minutes

• 1 (10 oz) package SeaPak® Shrimp Scampi, frozen
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 1 cup dry white rice (2 cups cooked)
• 1 lb frozen yellow corn (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese
• 1 ½ cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 small can diced green chilies

PREHEAT oven to 325 degrees.  Cook rice according to package instructions until rice is al dente (not mushy).

HEAT olive oil for 2 minutes in a medium-size sauté pan.  Add diced onions and sauté for 3 minutes.  Add frozen shrimp scampi to the skillet.  Sauté for 5 minutes.  (Shrimp will not be fully cooked but the butter sauce will be fully melted.)

COMBINE warm, cooked rice, shrimp, sautéed onions, frozen corn, 1 1/2 cup cheese (reserving 1/2 cup for later), and the next 3 ingredients in a large bowl.  Pour mixture into a shallow 3-quart baking dish and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. 

BAKE for 20-25 minutes, or until mixture is thoroughly hot and the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Now you may be thinking, isn’t it a little non-traditional to serve a Fiesta Shrimp and Corn Casserole at a holiday party?  But just think of it as a super-fancy version of creamed corn, and it doesn’t seem so out of place. Trust me – everyone will be wanting seconds of this deliciously cheesy shrimp, corn, and rice dish!  Feliz Navidad everyone!