A Hit and Remix of Week #24, Shrimp and Grits

After a summer of travel, I have returned to menu planning.  I am so much more organized when I do this and I always have ingredients on hand.  I have also found that this tool aids in budgeting both time and money.

As planned in week #24, I did several repeats of meal “hits” that we enjoyed over the past months.  I wanted to remake some of our favorites with revisions and then truly decide if I should keep these meals in a regular rotation.  My menu plan included several recipes that I remembered as standouts.

Our favorite shrimp and grits recipe (also receiving a big thumbs up from my daughter and son in law on their visit last winter) was once again a big hit.  The ‘Ole Buckeye and I had forgotten just how much we loved this dish and the fact that it is a cook once eat twice success.

Source:  The following is a link to the original recipe that I used, however the image does not represent the recipe in any way.

Cheesy Shrimp And Grits Casserole Recipe – Food.com

Delightful addition to a beautiful brunch or perhaps a light supper with a salad. From Southern Living Bring 4 cups chicken broth and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil in a large saucepan; stir in grits. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Stir together grits, 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese, and Monterey Jack cheese.

A better image of the actual shrimp and grits casserole.

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I made several changes to the recipe which apparently originated at Southern Living Magazine and I am totally excited about this new rendition.  The first thing that I did was to prepare my own shrimp in the shell and peel them to add to the dish.  I have read over and over again that preparing shrimp in the shell affords more flavor.

After thawing my shrimp I cooked the shrimp using my posted recipe.

Chesapeake Bay Shrimp

The depth of flavor of the shrimp added a wonderful dimension to the original recipe.  I will forever prepare shrimp this way regardless of how I use it.

I made minor changes to the shrimp and grits recipe as well, most of which were ingredient based.  Although the modifications were minor, they made a distinct difference to the recipe.  Originally I used Quaker Grits.  This time I used Stone Ground White Grits from Trader Joe’s.

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They are definitely better in corn flavor and loaded with texture, a definite game changer.  I also used 2 cloves of minced garlic, pepper cheese, and Rotel* Tomatoes and Green Chilis, the original version.

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I would easily serve this as a main dish for guests.  When my daughter and son in law were here last winter, we had leftovers so I served it as an appetizer.  My son in law had 3 helpings!  It reheats extremely well (in the oven at a low temperature), never in the microwave.  Best of all, it is a cook once, eat multiple times.  The first serving is creamy and moist.  An oven reheat changes the texture and it is dryer with a slightly crispy top, just as enjoyable.  The ‘Ole Buckeye never complains about eating leftovers when it is this shrimp and grit recipe!  In fact, we ended up having this for 4 enjoyable meals.