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.

Shrimp Caesar Salad.

Last October when Michael went fishing with his dad down to the Mississippi gulf, they caught a shrimping boat coming back into the docks, and got the shrimpers (is that even the right word to call them??) to sell them some fresh right off the boat shrimp. Then the came home, and proceeded to let me separate them into 1 pound bags. Leaving us with a LOT of shrimp. Good thing it's healthy when cooked in the right way. I know the point value seems high on a shrimp caesar salad, but it's mostly the dressing, which eats up the majority of points.

Shrimp Caesar Salad (makes 2 servings)

WW points plus : 9 pts a serving

1 pound raw, peeled and deveined shrimp

1 tbsp light butter or margarine

4 tbsp Newman's light Caesar dressing

2 tbsp parmesan cheese

1 head of romaine lettuce, rinsed dried and chopped

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp rosemary, crushed

1 tsp oregano

In a large bowl or tupperware container, place lettuce, and drizzle with the caesar dressing. Stir to mix up or place lid and shake it up. Shaking the container more evenly coats the dressing on the lettuce. Meanwhile in a saute pan, melt butter over medium heat, Add shrimp and cook 3-4 minutes on each side. Mix in garlic salt, rosemary and oregano.

Plate the lettuce, then add the cooked shrimp. Before you serve sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

It's a pretty simple recipe, light and fresh when you can get fresh shrimp. If we don't have fresh shrimp I usually look for the shrimp on sale in the seafood department. If I can find it at 3.99-4.99 lb or cheaper, I usually buy 2-3 lbs and separate it into 1/2 or 1 pound packages!!

Jumbo Shrimp in Creole Mustard Cream

If you've read my previous blog posts then you know about the "Cajun Bible" or by it's original name Cajun and Creole Encyclopedia. Every recipe that we've tried or had at our friends house has been delicious. Tonight is no different. I was kind of wary about this recipe, because the original had heavy cream and a whole stick of butter. But reducing both of those, didn't seem to make a difference in taste. But with all the changes it brought the "point value" way down!!!

Jumbo Shrimp in Creole Mustard Cream (makes 6 servings)

WW pts: 7 pts a serving

3 Dozen Shrimp, peeled and deveined.

2 Tbsp Creole Mustard

3 Tbsp butter, sliced

1/4 cup chopped chives

1/2 cup sliced green onions

1/4 cup diced red bell pepper

1 tsp tarragon

1/2 cup Sherry

2 Tbsp whole wheat flour

1 cup fat free half and half

1 cup Fat free chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste

1 lb spaghetti noodles, cooked per package directions

In a large sauce pan melt 2 Tbsp butter, making sure not to brown or burn the butter. Place shrimp and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side, just so they start to curl and turn pink. Remove from pan and keep warm. Add chives, onions, bell peppers and tarragon to pan. Saute 3-5 minutes or until veggies are wilted. Add Cooking Sherry, to deglaze pan (scrape all stuff off the bottom of the pan) and cook until 1 Tbsp of liquid remains. Sprinkle in flour and stir. Whink in creole mustard, whipping cream and chicken stock until sauce thickens. Bring to a boil (low) and whisk in remaining butter. Add shrimp and cook until heated through. On plate, place pasta, then shrimp on top, spooning the extra sauce onto the shrimp.

We served it with a spinach salad, and it was a great compliment to the pasta dish!!!