BBQ Shrimp and Parmesan Grits

Two of my favorite foods, shrimp and grits. They are perfect together which is why they are a southern favorite. For many years Pup Daddy swore he did not like grits. He was completely amazed when we had stone ground grits at The Farmhouse at Serenbe in Georgia. At this tiny farm restaurant everyone gets the same meal and the day we ate there the meal was fried chicken with grits and roasted veggies. He was quite certain he wasn't going to like the grits. What he found out was he had only ever eaten instant grits and that they are nothing like the real thing. Stone ground grits  do take longer to cook, usually about 45 minutes. You can use quick cooking grits if you must, but I don't recommend instant. If you make the grits with milk instead of water they are deliciously creamy!

The BBQ shrimp aren't cooked on the grill and don't have any BBQ sauce in them so I'm not sure where the name comes from. This is a New Orleans recipe that I found on the Food Network website. They are super simple and delicious. You should definitely have some great bread with this meal to sop up the sauce from the shrimp.

Ingredients

Grits
3/4 cup stone ground grits
3 cups milk
3 TB butter
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper

Shrimp
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 garlic cloves, minced (1 tablespoon)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 lemons), rinds reserved and slice
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
11/2 teaspoons hot sauce, such as Tabasco
1 pound (about 30) medium to large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

Freshly ground pepper

 

Directions

 

Grits

Put grits in a large bowl and cover with 3 cups of water. Let sit for several minutes to allow any chaff to rise to the top. Remove it with a strainer. Then pour grits and water through the strainer. Put grits in a medium sauce pan with milk and bring to a simmer. Simmer grits for about 45 minutes, stirring frequently until the grits absorb the milk.Add butter and Parmesan. Stir until both are melted. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

Shrimp

Heat a 12-inch skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium-high heat. Add butter, and cook until melted and foamy. Add garlic, rosemary, and lemon juice and rinds. Stir in Worcestershire and hot sauces, and bring to a simmer. Season shrimp with salt and pepper; add to skillet. Cook until pink and firm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with pepper.  

Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes

 

The Whippets love comfort! Pillows, blankets, beds, couches, you name it, they'll snuggle and sleep on it. In fact here's where they found comfort while I cleaned the house and did laundry today.

 

 In fact, I'm sure they were quite comfortable while I made this comfort dish for dinner last night.




While this dish does take a while to bake, about an hour, it is fairly simple to put together and turns out so creamy and yummy. You need to slice the potatoes thinly, so I used a mandolin. You could also use a food processor with a slicing blade, or just cut them with a knife.

 After you slice the potatoes, put them along with everything else except the Parmesan cheese in a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Then put 1/2 the potatoes in a buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with half the Parmesan. Top with the rest of the potatoes, the cream mixture and the rest of the Parmesan. Bake covered at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes. Let the potatoes sit for 10 - 15 minutes before serving.

This makes a lot of scalloped potatoes. You can halve the recipe, which I did the first time I made it, but it does freeze very well, so I made the full recipe this time.

You should try this soon!

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter, room temperature

3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into thin rounds

1 1/4 cups whipping cream

1 1/4 cups whole milk

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup green onion , chopped

2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped 

1 cup Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter 8x8x2-inch glass baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter. Place potatoes, cream, milk, wine, onions, thyme, salt, pepper and remaining 2 tablespoons butter in large pot. Cover and bring mixture to boil over medium-high heat.

Transfer 1/2 of potato mixture to prepared dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the Parmesan. Top with the rest of the potato mixture and the rest of the cheese. Cover dish with foil. Bake 40 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake until potatoes are tender, sauce bubbles thickly and top is brown, about 15 minutes. Let potatoes stand 10 minutes before serving.

Creamy Chicken, Broccoli & Artichoke Pasta

"There is no spectacle on earth more appealing than that of a beautiful woman in the act of cooking dinner for someone she loves." - Alice Adams

That was in an email I got from Puppy Daddy this week. No wonder I love cooking dinner every night. He is the best husband ever. He is extremely romantic, loving to surprise me. I get a special gift every time we go on a trip together. After a long day, I often come home to him greeting me at the car with flowers and a glass of wine. In fact, once I pushed the button to open the garage door to pull my car in and saw a little table set with wine and flowers!  He emails me a love poem or quote EVERY DAY! I have no idea what I ever did to derserve such an amazing man, but boy am I blessed.

No wonder I love cooking dinner every night! I especially love finding a recipe that allows me to make something delicious and use up ingredients from my fridge and pantry. This is that kind of recipe. You could use any protein, any vegetables, and just about any pasta shape you have in stock.

Start this dish by pounding your chicken breasts until they are about 1/2 inch thick. Then poach the chicken breasts in the chicken broth. When their cooked through remove them from the pan and add the cream. Cook until it gets thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Melt in your Parmesan. Then add back in your your chicken, artichokes and broccoli. Toss with cooked pasta and fresh parsley.

Eat!
 
Ingredients
2 (6 oz.) chicken breast halves
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 1/4 cup heavy cream

1 cup broccoli florets, cooked

1 (9 oz.) package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed

1/2 pound fettuccine pasta

Salt and pepper 1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup grated Parmesan (2 oz.)

 

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Pound chicken  to 1/2-inch thickness. Pour broth into a skillet; bring to a boil over high heat. Add chicken, lower heat to medium and cover. Cook, turning twice, until no longer pink, 12 minutes.

 

Transfer chicken to a plate and cover with foil. Increase heat to high and bring broth to a boil. Boil rapidly until liquid has reduced by half. Pour in cream, bring to a boil, and cook until thick enough to coat back of a spoon, 5 to 7 minutes. (Watch carefully and stir to prevent it from boiling over.)

 

Chop chicken and artichokes; set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Return pasta to pot and stir in sauce, chicken, artichokes and broccoli. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with parsley and grated Parmesan, and serve hot.

Parmesan Stuffed Burger with Balsamic Onions

My, oh my, oh my! This is definitely "Cheese  Burger in Paradise!" I love burgers and coming up with new recipes for them. Puppy Daddy definitely gave this one his "expert taste tester seal of approval". The Parmesan cheese melted inside gives it a salty, nutty flavor. The balsamic onions add a sweet, tangy flavor. Together with the beef they are honestly really delicious! I usually add lots of toppings to my burgers but this one doesn't need anything extra.

To make a stuffed burger, form two thin patties for each burger. Make the cheese filling by mixing together softened cream cheese and Parmesan cheese. Portion out the filling and roll each portion into a ball. Then flatten, place on one patty and top with the other. Then seal the sides. Season both sides of the burger with plenty of salt and pepper. Cook as you normally would.

The balsamic onions are super easy. Just cut the onions into thin slices. Cook over medium low heat with butter for about 15 minutes. Then add balsamic vinegar and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve the burgers on your favorite bun topped with plenty of onions. YUM!

Ingredients - for 2 burgers
2 TB butter
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1 TB balsamic vinegar1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated or shaved
1 lb ground chuck
salt and pepper
2 hamburger buns

Directions
Cook sliced onions in butter in a skillet over medium low heat for about 15 minutes until onions are very soft. Add balsamic vinegar and cook for another 5 minutes. Combine softened cream cheese and Parmesan cheese. Form ground chuck into 4 thin patties. Divide the cream cheese mixture in half and form two patties smalled in diameter than the ground beef patties. Place between two ground beef patties and pinch the sides to seal. Season both sides of the burgers generously with salt and pepper. Cook by your favorite method. Serve on your favorite bun topped with balsamic onions.

Creamy Lemon Parmesan Chicken

Wow, it's amazing how busy you can get being semi-retired! I haven't blogged in almost a month now, but I've still been doing plenty of cooking. Even when I'm DOG tired, my favorite thing to do is pour a glass of wine and prepare a home-cooked dinner. This recipe has been a family favorite for as long as I can remember. It came from a holiday cooking magazine about 20 years ago, but it makes a great any night meal. Even my son Brandon, who was quite a picky eater when he was young, loves this.

There are just a few simple ingredients: Chicken Breast, Lemon, Heavy Cream, Chicken Stock or Broth, Grated Parmesan Cheese and Butter

Begin by pounding the chicken breast very thin. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper and saute in some butter. When the chicken is done take it out of the pan, place it in an oven safe dish and keep it warm in the oven while you make the sauce.




Next deglaze your pan with lemon juice. Then add lemon zest, chicken stock and heavy cream. Bring to a boil and reduce by half. Add your Parmesan cheese. Stir until sauce thickens and serve it with your chicken. So tangy and cheesy!

Ingredients
2 TB butter
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 lemon, juiced and zested
1 1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt
pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Melt butter in 12 inch skillet. Pound chicken between plastic wrap until about 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Saute in melted butter, about 4 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from skillet and place in an oven safe dish. Place in the warm oven while you make the sauce.

Deglaze the skillet with 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Next add one tablespoon of lemon zest, chicken stock and heavy cream. Bring to a boil and reduce by about half. Stir frequently and reduce heat if sauce is bubbling too much. The sauce should easily coat the back of a spoon. Then add Parmesan cheese and stir until cheese is melted. Serve sauce over chicken breast.