What’s for Supper?

“An’ what’s for ‘sert? An’ are the kids comin’?” inquired Jabber about noon yesterday.

Hmmmm, I had to think about this.  It was chilly outside, but sunny.  Late winter, with the days getting longer, but still feeling that we needed comfort food.  The kids WERE coming for supper and I wanted to make something a bit different.

Shrimp N’ Grits!

Required a run to the store, but thankfully it was Wednesday and “old people’s day” so I get a 5% discount at Publix being the ripe old age of 110.  Good! 

(And a note about this discount:  first of all, the checkout folks always try to make me feel younger by not immediately offering to give me the discount. Anyway, that’s what I choose to think.  Secondly, I’ve actually been carded which is somewhat of a hoot!  But truthfully, I want my discount, so I always inquire if they’d calculated it.  I’ve noticed the past few times, they no longer look at me inquiringly but just say, “Oh, YES!”  I don’t want to contemplate what this means.)

There I go digressing again and all you want to know is what’s for supper.  So, here goes:

First, decide what is for dessert, the most important part of any meal, of course.  So I dug out a box of frozen cookie dough lurking in the freezer from the holidays and proceeded to bake them:

 

Cranberry walnut and chocolate chip.  Made up a big batch.  Pretty tasty, although I refrained from sampling because while the cookies were baking, one batch after another, I was

  Cleaning the shrimp.

And

  Chopping up the green onions…

And……….

  Frying up some bacon

And, I took a minute to do this:

 

 

Yes, I planted the bottom of the onions in the onion pot.  Notice that I now have another sprout coming up from the onions I planted earlier!  I watered them well, and went back to the kitchen to proceed with supper………..

Drain cleaned shrimp well and lay out on a paper towel.  Blot well.  Place shrimp in flour, salt and pepper and toss around.  Lay out shrimp in another dish or cookie sheet while you prepare the rest of the ingredients:

Sautee the mushrooms and onions as directed in a bit of bacon grease.  I turned off the burner and set these aside when they were softened. 

Next, I made the grits—YUMMY! 

Cover and place in a warm oven, but not hot.  You just want to keep them warm until you serve them.

Now, chop up the salad and add tomatoes.  Start another lettuce growing by placing the bottom of the Romaine in water.  (See previous posts on Lettuce.)  And cut up your French bread, wrap in foil.  You can heat that up right before dinner is served.

  I topped salad with cheddar cheese.

Clean up, wait for the kids to show.  Around here, we’re never sure exactly when, but when I say I’m cooking supper, they usually DO appear!  Sure enough, they did…………so then, I turned the oven on to heat the bread and proceeded to heat up the mushrooms and onions in the pan…….

Then I added the shrimp and browned them. Finally you add the chicken stock and other ingredients to finish the shrimp.

Shrimp N’ Grits, salad, French bread and cookies.  It’s what’s for supper.

Recipe:

(Note, I doubled this recipe to serve six people because…….we love Shrimp N’ Grits.  I did have a little bit left over, but not much!)

Shrimp and Grits (makes 4 meal-sized servings)
Chef:  Bill Smith
Crook’s Corner
Chapel Hill, N.C.
SOUTHERN LIVING (unsure of date)

2 cups water
1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
¾ cup half and half
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup regular grits
¾ cup shredded Cheddar cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesean cheese
2 Tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon hot sauce
¼ teaspoon white pepper
3 bacon slices
1 lb. medium-size shrimp, peeled and deveined
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sliced mushrooms
½ cup chopped green onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup low-sodium, fat-free chicken broth
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon hot sauce
Lemon wedges

Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepan, gradually whisk in grits.  Reduce heat, simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until thickened.  Add Cheddar cheese and next 4 ingredients.  Keep warm

Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp; remove bacon, and drain on paper towels, reserving 1 Tablespoon drippings in skillet.  Crumble bacon, and set aside.

Sprinkle shrimp with pepper and salt; dredge in flour.

Sauté mushrooms in hot drippings in skillet 5 minutes or until tender.  Add green onions and sauté 2 minutes.  Add shrimp and garlic, and sauté 2 minutes or until shrimp are lightly brown.  Stir in chicken broth, lemon juice, and hot sauce, and cook 2 more minutes, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet.

Serve shrimp mixture over hot cheese grits.  Top with crumbled bacon and sprinkle a few chopped green onions on top; serve with lemon wedges if desired.