I present a delightful light dinner, that works equally well for fancy or family. This fabulous combination was born of a lack of time, and what happened to need to be used in my fridge. It was pronounced yummy by the 4 year old, even! And the whole thing came together in less than 30 minutes. Due to the bacon and sour cream, it’s not the healthiest dish on the planet (although I did use light sour cream in mine!) but it’s simple and tasty.
Shrimp & Bacon, over Sour Cream Grits
(serves 2-3)
- 1 lb Shrimp (peeled, de-veined, tailed)
- 10 strips good quality Bacon, cut into 1 to 2 in pieces
- Optional: 1 teas chopped garlic, 1 teas cajun spice blend (Note, the 4 year old has been picky about spicy food lately, so I left these out of the pictured version, but both would be a welcome addition)
- Salt/Pepper
- 1 cup Quick (not Instant) Grits (Aunt Jemima is fine) [If you can’t find grits, polenta would be an acceptable substitute ]
- 3 cups water
- 1 Teas salt
- 1/4 – 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1 Tbls Butter (optional)
In a large skillet on medium heat, cook your bacon (cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces), turning occasionally, until desired doneness (i.e. as crispy as you typically like it).
Toss your shrimp with a sprinkling of salt and pepper (and/or your optional spices above).
Remove bacon from skillet and place shrimp in pan. Cook ~2-3 min per side (turn them over when you can see the opacity of the bottom side).
Remove and toss with bacon (Taste and add additional salt/pepper if desired. Feel free to spice things up a bit at this point too).
Bring 3 cups of water and 1 Teas salt to a boil in a medium side saucepan.
Add 1 cup grits and stir thoroughly, then cover and reduce heat to medium low.
Set timer for 5 minutes, and check– grits should look thick and creamy (if not, give it another minute or two).
Stir in sour cream and butter, and cover until serving time. Grits are only good hot, so don’t do this ahead of time and let them sit around. Start to cook them 5 minutes before you need them.
Serve with shrimp and bacon on top of grits, topped with a few sprigs of fresh thyme, and a spritz of balsamic vinegar (or the bottle on the side).
Side dish suggestion: Greens, such as Roasted Kale.