Tasty Tuesday -- Shrimp and Grits

I've never linked up with a Tasty Tuesday meme before, but I had a request to share my shrimp and grits recipe (see the great tomato debate post from last weekend).

A couple of months ago a dear friend of mine posted of Facebook that she was cooking shrimp and grits and then graciously sent me a recipe when I begged for it. It's become a family favorite. Better still, it's the sort of recipe where I can just keep the ingredients on hand and throw it together without much fuss.

I can no longer find the original stained printout, and I'm sure I've changed the recipe around a bit anyway. I'll just share what I did the other night.

Ingredients:
Grits (quick cooking)
Chicken broth (or water)
Cheddar cheese
Garlic Powder (optional)
Bacon
Shrimp (raw, peeled, tail-off)
Garlic (1-2 cloves)
1 regular sized can of diced tomatoes

I put about a half a pound of bacon slices into a hot skillet to fry. (Yum! Anything that starts with bacon has to be good, right?)

While the bacon cooks, I start the grits. You need Quick grits -- the five minute kind, definitely not instant grits (Ick!). For my family of big-eaters, I used 6 cups of liquid and 2 cups of grits. I usually cook them using chicken broth instead of water, but nobody complained about them when I was out of broth. I think I had a 4 cup container of homemade broth in the freezer the other night, and I added 2 more cups of water. If you are using all water, be sure to add salt when cooking. When the broth boils, add the grits and turn on low for at least 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, back at the frying pan.... When the bacon is crisp, remove from the pan and chop into small pieces (leave them bigger than bacon bits though).

Add the shrimp and let cook for a minute or two until it turns pink. I buy frozen uncooked shrimp, already peeled with the tails off. Once or twice I've picked up the wrong package and had to slip the tails off myself. No big deal. For my family of five big eaters, I use 20 ounces. This is often served on one of our busiest nights and is the only dish on the table. If I made salad or bread or something, we'd need a bit less. I also usually end up with at least one mom-sized serving to have for lunch later in the week.

When the shrimp is done, add a couple of cloves of garlic (minced) and the can of diced tomatoes. I like to use seasoned tomatoes, the kind with basil, garlic, and oregano. Cook until it's all hot, about a minute or two more, and then stir in the bacon.

When the grits are done, add in a handful of grated cheddar cheese. My guess is that a handful is about a quarter to a third of a cup. (Note: precise measurements are very important to this recipe.) You can add a little garlic powder, too.

Serve the shrimp mixture over the garlic-cheese grits.

If you have tomato-haters in the family, let them pick out the large chunks of tomatoes. An artistic arrangement of the undesired tomatoes is completely optional.



I'm linking up this post at A Glimpse of Our Life and with Stay at Home Babe. Come join the fun if you'd like to find new recipes!