Shrimp and Cheese Grits.

Tonight I achieved a new culinary feat. I made grits. I know, some of you are going to roll your eyes and say big whoop. But for a girl that has grown up in the South since she was 6... and have had grits a handful of times (out of not wanting to be rude, so taking the smallest serving possible) rather than the desire to actually eat them.

Tonight's recipe came out of Southern Living "May 2009" issue. There is a restaurant that they got this recipe from. It's called the Hominy Grill. Now I have no idea where in the south this restaurant exists but I have got to give them credit. Their recipe looked better than mine, and I only had 1/2 the recipe instructions... so I had to improvise a little. It was delicious, and besides this pregnancy, I'm not sure I would eat it otherwise. But for tonight, I made it, ate it and LOVED it.

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With all that said, I'm not sure how to make it diet friendly besides cutting back on the amount of cheese it calls for. So this may just end up being one of those "splurge" meals that you enjoy every once and a while. I used Yellow grits, because I couldn't find the grits they called for in the recipe.

Shrimp and Creamy Cheddar Cheese Grits (makes 4 servings)

Creamy Cheddar Cheese Grits

Make recipe according to package just substituting 1/2 water and 1/2 milk, instead of all water.

Then stir in 1/2 a block of reduced fat Extra sharp white cheddar cheese (shredded) and 1/2 cup reduced fat Cheddar cheese. Salt & Pepper to taste. I added 2 tsp of butter to it, which wasn't on the package.

Shrimp

1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp

5 bacon slices, chopped (I left that out)

1- 8 ounce package sliced fresh mushrooms

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions

2 tsp hot sauce

1/2 tsp salt (optional)

Heat saute pan with 2 Tbsp Olive oil. Saute shrimp and Mushrooms until shrimp are pink and done through, should be 3-5 minutes. Remove shrimp and keep warm. Add garlic and saute with mushrooms. Add lemon juice, hot sauce and green onions. Add shrimp back and mix together.

To plate, Put grits in bowl or bottom of plate, then top with shrimp and mushroom mixture. Serve hot.