Shrimp and Grits

This is another Brown family favorite recipe! And while it's not necessarily the healthiest recipe, it sure is one of the tastiest! Jon absolutely loves shrimp and grits and even though I've known this for a while, this was my first time making it for him. I'd say it was a tremendous success (and mommy and Joshua enjoyed it too!) Thanks to my mother-in-law, Gisele, for passing on the recipe and my sister-in-law, Stephanie, for originally posting the recipe so I could follow it!


What you need

- 1 C grits
- 1/4 stick of butter
- 1 C shredded cheddar cheese
- 8 strips of bacon, chopped
- 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used frozen)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 3 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp dried parsley

*optional:
- 1 C chopped green onion
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

I left the optional things out because of my preggo heartburn but it's really yummy with a little spice!






Directions

- Cook the grits according to the directions on the box

- After they have simmered, add the butter and cheese. Stir and set aside

- Cook your bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove and set aside but DON'T drain the pan!

- Run warm water over your shrimp (if using frozen) and remove the tails

*NOTE: I usually buy fresh shrimp but I can't really stand the smell of the seafood counter at the grocery store these days, so I bought the frozen kind and they worked great!

- Add the garlic, shrimp (and red pepper if using) to the bacon grease and cook for 3 minutes.

- Add the lemon juice, parsley (and green onion if using) and immediately pull off the heat

- Add in the cooked bacon and stir

- Add the shrimp mixture to your grits. Be sure to not waste any of the delicious juices left in the pan!

- Stir well and serve. You can top with more cheese if you like (which we did!)

*CONFESSION: I ate 2 bowls. It was SO delicious! Hope you all enjoy!

Penne a la Betsy

As I mentioned in my last post, the husband loves shrimp. This is another fabulous shrimp recipe from the Pioneer Woman that I have made many times. This was the first time that I made it with gluten free pasta though and it was terrific! This is a really good company meal as well (in fact I will be making it again tomorrow night when we have friends over!) I've substituted chicken for the shrimp or you could leave out meat all together and add some vegetables like zucchini, eggplant and peppers. Yum!

What you need:

- 1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1/2 lb GF penne pasta
- 2 T butter
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 C white wine (you can sub broth)
- 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
- 1/2 C heavy cream
- Fresh parsley
- Fresh basil
- salt and pepper




Directions:

- Cook the pasta until al dente, drain and set aside

- Heat 1 T of butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the shrimp and cook until they just start to turn pink. Do not overcook them! Remove and let cool.

- Dice your onion and mince your garlic

- Add to the same skillet you used to cook the shrimp and add a bit more butter and olive oil if needed. Cook until the onions begin to turn translucent and the garlic is fragrant

- Add in the white wine and stir the bottom of the pan really well to scrape up the browned pieces. Let the wine cook for a few minutes stirring occasionally. If you aren't a wine person or prefer not to use it, you can substitute the same amount of chicken broth.

- After the wine has cooked down a bit, add in the can of tomato sauce and stir well

- Add in the heavy cream and stir

- As the sauce simmers a bit, chop up the cooled shrimp into bite sized pieces and add to sauce

- Add some salt and pepper. Chop up some fresh parsley and fresh basil and add to sauce. I ended up using about 1/8 C of each herb. Using the fresh herbs really finishes out the dish and adds great flavor so don't skip them!

- Add in the pasta and stir to combine everything. Top with some grated parmesan cheese if you have it and enjoy! As I mentioned before, this is really yummy with chicken as well!

Tuscan Bean Soup with Shrimp

My husband absolutely loves shrimp. I mean really loves them. So I'm always looking for good recipes that use shrimp. This particular one is another from the Pioneer Woman. I didn't have everything on hand that her recipe calls for so I had to substitute a few things and also added some of my own. It turned out really well and the husband and I had lots of leftovers for the rest of the week! I know shrimp sounds a little odd, so if you don't like shrimp you can always substitue chicken or just leave a meat protein out all together. It's plenty filling without it! Enjoy!


What you need

- 1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and tails removed
- 1 small onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 1 C carrots, chopped
- 2 T tomato paste
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 can diced tomatoes (15oz)
- 1/2 C dry white wine
- 4 C broth (I used a mix of chicken and veg)
- 2 cans Great Northern Beans (rinsed)
- 2 C baby spinach
- 1/4 C fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp lemon juice



Directions

- Over medium heat in a large pot or dutch oven, heat a bit of oil (I used coconut)

- Add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent and fragrant

- Add in the chopped celery and carrots

- Add in the tomato paste and stir well

- Add the red pepper flakes and oregano

- Add the white wine and scrape up the browned pieces from the bottom of the pan

- Add the can of diced tomatoes and the juice

- Add the rinsed white beans and stir well

- Add the broth and a bit of salt and pepper

- Let the soup simmer for about 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally

- When the soup has about 5 minutes left, go ahead and prepare the shrimp

- In a medium skillet, melt 2 T of butter (or oil but I like the butter flavor on shrimp)

- Add in the shrimp, parsley and lemon juice

- Cook until the shrimp turn pink and set aside

- Add in the baby spinach just before serving the soup

- Serve up the soup and add some shrimp on top. I also added some grated parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Jambalaya

This recipe is one of the husband's favorites...and since it's one that I made up myself I can never remember the exact recipe! This time around I wrote everything down so that I could share it with you and the husband said it was the best version yet. Now, if you are looking for an authentic jambalaya recipe, I am pretty certain this isn't it. But...it's what I named it because I think it's close enough. You can easily adjust this recipe to include things that your family likes and can just as easily take out the things I use. I've substituted chicken for the sausage before and it turned out great and I usually only add shrimp if they are on sale. Hope you all enjoy!

What you need (serves 4)

- 1 T Cajun seasoning (recipe below)
- 1/2 lb sausage, sliced (I used turkey sausage)
- 1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 small onions, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1/2 C green pepper, chopped
- 1/2 C red pepper, chopped
- 2 T chicken broth
- 1 T tomato paste
- 1 C cooked rice
- 2 green onions, sliced (optional)




Cajun Spice Recipe
You could certainly buy a cajun spice mix, but I had all these ingredients on hand anyway so I made my own. If you buy a spice mix, check the label for hidden gluten!

- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 1/4 tsp oregano
- 1 1/4 tsp thyme
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp chili powder

 Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until evenly blended. Store extra spice mix in an airtight container.

Directions


- In a large pot or dutch oven, heat a bit of oil over medium heat

- Add the sausage and start to brown

- Add 1/2 T of the cajun spice mixture and stir to coat the sausage pieces

- When the sausage is browned, remove to a plate and set aside

- In the same pot, add the white onion, celery and bell peppers. Cook 2-3 minutes

- Add 1/2 T of the cajun spice mixture and stir to coat

- Add in the shrimp and stir

- Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the shrimp start to turn pink. I put the lid on my pot so the steam could help them along.

- Add in 2 T chicken broth to deglaze the pot

- Add 1 T of tomato paste

- Add 1 C cooked rice (white or brown) and stir well. I like using white rice for this dish because it's easier to tell when the rice has soaked up all the flavor.

- Add in the cooked sausage and stir to combine

- Top with green onion (if using) and serve! This makes great leftovers too!

*NOTE: This is only mildly spicy. I can't take too much heat so the husband always adds hot sauce to his serving.

Happy Saturday everyone!