Lightened Up Shrimp and Grits

Shelly Slater is an award winning news anchor for the ABC affiliate in Dallas. She’s also a wife and mother and balancing her busy work and life schedule means something’s gotta give…. usually a healthy dinner her family can sit down to after a long day.  She asked me to come to her home and help her find solutions for weeknight meals.  Haven’t we all pulled into the driveway and realized we didn’t have time to think about what to cook for dinner, let alone stop by the grocery store for fresh produce? That’s when freezer and pantry items are lifesavers.  Shelly keeps her freezer stocked with basics like shrimp, veggies and shredded cheese and her pantry shelves filled with chicken stock and dried herbs.

We created the simplest Shrimp and Grits and lightened it up by switching out whole milk or heavy cream for stock.  We had a meal on the table in less than 15 minutes, which was great because hungry toddlers have short fuzes! I’m excited to share the segment with you, I will add a link once it airs later today.  In the meantime, try out this super easy dinner idea and stress less about making dinner tonight!

Lightened Up Shrimp and Grits

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

• Author: Roni Proter

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 lbs EZ Peel Large Frozen Shrimp (the EZ peel is key to cutting down on time
• 16 oz bag frozen tri colored bell peppers
• 1 cup frozen shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1, 32 oz box chicken stock
• 2 cups coarse ground cornmeal
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• juice from one lemon
• 1 tbsp dried dill
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning or Tony Chachere’s
• salt and pepper to taste

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1. Pour stock into a large sauce pan, cover and turn to high.  
2. Meanwhile, place frozen shrimp in a bowl and run warm water over until they thaw.  
3. Then peel shrimp, chop garlic and juice lemon.  
4. When the stock comes to a boil, slowly add the cornmeal and 1 tablespoon of olive oil, whisking constantly.
5.  Reduce the heat to low and cover (you’ll want to give it a stir again while the shrimp is cooking, so keep and eye on the pan).  
6. Heat the other tablespoon of oil in a skillet set to medium heat.  
7. Add the shrimp and frozen peppers (you don’t have to thaw them first) and sauté for a minute or two, until the shrimp begin to turn pink.  
8. Add in lemon juice, chopped garlic, dill and paprika.  Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.  
9. Flip the shrimp and turn off the heat.  The shrimp will continue to cook, but this ensures they’re not overcook by the time you sit down to eat.  The shrimp should be white in the center.  
10. The grits should also be done about now, they only need 10 minutes to cook.  Turn off the heat, sprinkle with cheddar cheese and stir until cheese is melted.  
11. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  
12. To serve, pour the grits into a large bowl, then pile the shrimp and peppers in the center.

Keywords: shrimp and grits