Shrimp and Grits

One of my favorite southern dishes is shrimp and grits.  I didn't always like or even understand the concept of the dish, but I have grown to love it and have finally decided to make it.  The first time I heard of the dish was many years ago when my parents were throwing a dinner party.  As always it was craziness in the house before the guests arrived.  People were yelling, pots were clanging, and I was sitting there confused over this shrimp and grits mixture.  My step-dad, Jack, was the chef for the night, and he was such a great cook.  He was more of a throw-something-together-sort-of-using-a-recipe kind of chef, and he used his creativity to make great meals, but in return, left the kitchen a huge mess, which did NOT make my mom a happy camper.  Thank goodness kitchens have doors and none of the guests had to witness this debacle!  (I believe I learned all my cooking attributes from that smart, crazy man)  I remember hearing that we were having shrimp and grits for dinner and being so confused.  "Why would you eat grits that you eat for breakfast with shrimp?!"  I did not understand it and being the picky, stubborn child I was, I did not eat it.  Years later, though, I have learned to love this dish, and now I think of this moment every time I eat shrimp and grits and think how I missed out on one of Jack's great meals (lesson for all those picky eaters out there!)

So now here I am wanting to spread the love of this special southern meal with this recipe.


Grits
3 cups of milk
1 cup of water
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper

1 tablespoon of butter

1 cup uncooked quick-cooking grits

1/3 cup of shredded Parmesan

1/3 cup of mozzarella or  any other type of cheese (I also use Gouda)

Shrimp

5 slices (or 10 whatever your preference) of bacon

1 pound of shrimp

1 cup of thinly sliced onion

2 cups of grape tomatoes halved

2 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon of sriracha

Start off by making your creamy, cheesy, delicious grits!  Mix the milk, water, salt, pepper, and butter and bring to a boil.  Keep an eye on the milk and stir occasionally as the milk will stick to the bottom of the pan when it starts to cook.  Once the milk has started to boil, stir in the grits slowly and turn the heat down to low.  Let the grits cook for about 5 minutes and stir in the cheese until it melts.  I like my grits super cheesy, so you can add as much cheese as you like.  Just be careful with the salt content because the more cheese you add the more salty the grits will become. 

Now comes the best part! BACON!  Cook your bacon in a big fry pan and take in that yummy smell of cooked bacon.  I like mine pretty crispy especially for this dish, so I cook mine for about 7 minutes on the first side then flip and cook for about another 3 minutes on the other side.   Once cooked, take out the bacon and crumple it all into pieces and set it aside for later.

Pour out the bacon grease (but not into your sink, duh), but leave about a tablespoon in the pan because....you will be cooking your shrimp in that heart healthy grease!  Add your shrimp to the pan and cook for about 2 minutes on each side and then set aside the shrimp.

Now add your sliced onions and halved tomatoes to the same pan and cook for about 5 minutes or until tender.  Add the garlic and cracked pepper and cook for another minute.  Now add the shrimp and bacon back to the pan and pour in the sriracha.  I like my shrimp pretty spicy, so I tend to add about 3 squeezes of the hot sauce (real technical measurements here) until I taste enough spice.  Only cook until the shrimp are warmed up because you don't want to over cook them.  Now just spoon the shrimp mixture over your yummy grits and you are ready to chow down! 

  

I hope you enjoy and maybe you too will now think of my step-dad whenever you eat this dish!  Go Jack!

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