Casseroles, they're the perfect meal for those busy nights, they're elegant enough for a crowd, they can be made ahead, and they're the perfect vehicle to hide certain ingredients, like shrimp (That's the part I like the best).

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I had just prepared a batch of Homemade Mushroom Soup and was in the mood for seafood, especially shrimp, but I had to be clever.

With the exception of our middle child (15), our entire gang loves shrimp. I too was picky as a child, and had "to clean my plate" even if I didn't like something, so I understand pickiness (our dog was well-fed...sorry mom).

Boy have things changed for me, thank goodness! My hubby and I are major foodies, and because we like to try lots of different cuisines, our kiddos are used to my culinary creations and usually like everything I prepare for them, including shrimp. (However, they don't have to "clean their plate", they just have to "try one bite").

So, here's the clever part, I knew my son would enjoy this recipe, but he'd be leary about the shrimp, so I hid the shrimp in the casserole, but not like the picture posted, I actually hid it.

I made two 8x8 casseroles. For the rest of the gang I made the casserole exactly like pictured above, with the chunks of succulent shrimp. For the second casserole, I pulverized half of the shrimp and cream of mushroom soup in my food processor, then added to the crab and rest of the ingredients. Done! I know, sneaky, right? He never knew what hit him.

It worked! Our son thoroughly enjoyed this delicious creamy casserole, including the shrimp, and even helped himself to seconds. Feeling guilty I had tricked my son, I fessed up after dinner. He said he had a feeling I did something sneaky, especially when his siblings were raving about the chunks of shrimp, shrimp that he couldn't find;)

Clever son:)

Have anything your children won't eat? Try hiding it in a casserole, but you may not want to fess up at the end, until maybe much later in life;) Ha!

Ingredients

20 oz. Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup (you could use small cans of Cream of Mush. soup...but why? Homemade is so much better)
1 cup lite mayonnaise
1/4 cup Sherry
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon (tsp) Cherchies® Garlic Seasoning
1 Tablespoon (Tbsp) Cherchies® Champagne Mustard
1 1/2 lbs. seafood (2 cans of lump crab meat and 1 lb. shrimp)
1 5 oz. cans of water chestnuts, drained and roughly chopped
1/2 cup minced green onions, reserving 1 Tablespoon (Tbsp) for garnish
3 cups seasoned stuffing mix (or bread crumbs seasoned with Italian Seasoning)
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Cooked rice or noodles (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the stuffing (or breadcrumbs) and cheese. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients, except for the stuffing mix (or bread crumbs) and cheese. Once the ingredients are mixed, spoon them into a 9x13 casserole dish. Sprinkle the casserole with the stuffing (or bread crumbs) and cheese mixture.