Rosie Makes Shrimp And Grits

 

  As I've said before, the Hawthornes don't do "leftovers."  We have what I call "moreovers."  I take what wasn't all consumed at one meal and make something "more" out of it for another meal.  For example, take breakfast today.  For breakfast, we had homemade biscuits with honey ham and some buttery, yummy grits.  And I overdid it on the grits.  So the grits made it into lunch - in the form of shrimp and grits.

Here’s what I did:

I had about 2 cups of grits still in the pan from breakfast, so I added a little water, set the pan over low heat, and stirred every now and then to heat through.  You want enough water so that the grits are pourable.  Add in a chunk of butter, swirl it around, and taste test.  Add more salt, if needed.  Cover and keep the grits hot.

Next, I minced a large clove of garlic, chopped up a small onion, chopped up an orange pepper because that’s what I had.  If you have a bag of those little red, green, yellow, and orange peppers, then chop up some of each for the pretty colors.  And I chopped a few sprigs of parsley from the garden.  

I peeled and de-tracted a bag of shrimp.  Yes.  De-tract not de-vein.  That black line going down the back of the shrimp is the digestive tract, not a vein.  And I always have shrimp in the freezer.  We buy pounds and pounds of shrimp in the fall, de-head them, and pack in individual freezer bags - 10-12 ounces shrimp per bag.  I seasoned the shrimp with some Lawry’s seasoned pepper and red pepper flakes.

Then I took a look in the fridge and found a package of bacon - 6 pieces.  I scissored the bacon into 

1/2 - 1-inch pieces and put them in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Cooked the bacon until crisp, then removed bacon from the pan and drained it on paper towels.  I threw out all but about a tablespoon of the grease, turned the heat up to medium-high, and added in a chunk of butter.  Let the butter melt and sizzle.  Round about 375° - 400°.  Add in the shrimp in a single layer.  Cook for a minute, turn over and add in the onion, garlic, and pepper.  Cook another minute or until shrimp is done.  Please do not overcook your shrimp.  Remove shrimp from heat.  

And serve.  Pour grits onto plate and add the shrimp.  Sprinkle some Togarashi seasoning over top and add some parsley.  Togarashi is a combination seasoning of red chile peppers, black and white sesame seeds, nori, and lemon and orange zests.  If you don’t have Togarashi, not to worry.  Just sprinkle on cayenne powder or red pepper flakes and zest some lemon and/or orange.

Enjoy!