Shrimp & Grits

On Christmas morning for many years, we would have Bacon Pleasers and grits. But this Christmas, my mother wanted to try a Shrimp and Grits recipe from Prevention Magazine.  

We made the grits the way we normally do with salted water and cooking and stirring for a long time.  If they get too thick, just add a little water and keep stirring until they are nice and creamy.  We cook our grits for almost an hour.  However, I’ve included the recipe for those who aren’t grit cookers.  This dish was simply divine!

Grits

1 cup of grits (not quick cooking)
2 cups of water
3 cups 1% milk
1 Tbsp unsalted butter

Shrimp
2 Tbsp olive oil
6 Slices or 3 oz. of Canadian bacon sliced into 1 1/2  inch strips
1 lb of large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 ½ tsp of chopped fresh thyme or ¼ tsp dried
¾ tsp paprika
¼ tsp salt
2 tsp all purpose flour
1 cup of low sodium chicken broth
½ cup 1% milk

Make the grits. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Gradually add grits, whisking constantly. Add milk, butter, and ¼ tsp salt and simmer, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until smooth and creamy, about 40 minutes.

Prepare shrimp. Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bacon and cook until crisp, about 4 minutes. Add shrimp and cook until near done, about 3 minutes. Transfer to plate. Heat remaining 1 Tbsp of oil in the same pan over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring until softened, 6 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, paprika and ¼ tsp salt. Cook 1 minute. Sprinkle flour over vegetable mixture and stir one minute. Add broth and milk and bring to a boil and stir constantly. Cook over medium –high heat, stirring until the sauce thickens, 3 minutes. Return the shrimp and bacon to the sauce in pan. Simmer until shrimp is cooked through, 1 minute. Season to taste. Serve the shrimp mixture over the grits. Serves 4 people.

I have a few thoughts on this recipe other than it being simply divine. There were a few substitutions that I made. The cost of the Canadian bacon was high and I noticed that turkey bacon was on sale.  For this type of recipe once could use Canadian bacon, regular (pork) bacon, turkey bacon or even ham.  However, I used the turkey bacon to keep it on the healthier side.   I used six strips which I chopped up instead of slicing into strips.   Dried thyme was used liberally, 1-2 teaspoons.  I used a few cloves of garlic.  One can’t go wrong with more garlic.  Before I returned the shrimp and bacon mixture back to the pan, I seasoned it liberally with Old Bay Seasoning.   I also added about a tablespoon of dried parsley and hot sauce to kick up the heat a just a little.