With my love affair with seafood, you would think I would be a die hard fan of something like shrimp and grits.
Truth is, I never even had it until New Years Day this year.
You all have heard me say that my other half is the main cook in our house. Well, on New Years Eve, he got a little over zealous with his meal planning and by New Years Day, he was too out of it to make the shrimp and grits breakfast he planned.
So being the kindhearted wife I am, I took on the charge and made it for him.
Best idea EVER. It was amazing.
I was really expecting this to be a difficult meal to make, but it was really easy, just loooooong. Grits take forever, especially whole corn meal, which makes all the difference in taste.
Here's what you need:
1 cup whole corn meal
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup half and half
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup sliced red pepper
1 tbsp chopped green onions
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup peeled uncooked shrimp
1/4 tsp minced garlic
Like I said, the grits take for-e-ver, so don't try to make this when you're hungry.
Start out by bringing the chicken stock to a boil, then slowly add the corn meal in a thin stream while stirring constantly using a whisk (if you stop stirring, there will be lumps).
Once boiling again, add in the half and half, and stir.
Allow the grits to boil for an hour on medium heat, stirring at frequent intervals.
Keep in mind if you start to run out of liquid, just add more water or half and half (don't freak out if this happens, I had to add more liquid at least 3 times).
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a sauce pan, melt butter and add in garlic, red peppers, and spices. Saute for about 5 minutes on medium heat, then add in green onions. Toss in the shrimp and cook until shrimp starts turning pink. (Don't worry about cooking the shrimp all the way through cause everything is going in the oven soon).
Toss in shrimp and peppers into the grits, along with 1/2 cup of cheese and mix in (leave a few shrimp back for garnish).
Remove grits from heat and transfer to a medium baking dish. Sprinkle the remainder of the cheese on top, and bake for about 40 minutes.
Keep in mind this is going to be a little spicy so, use as much or as little cayenne as you see fit.
