Lightened up Shrimp and Grits

There are several staple foods that come to mind when you think of the south: Fried chicken, collard greens, cornbread, and white gravy.  But none is more elusive; more refined yet ruff around the edges than Shrimp and Grits.  A traditional serving would include TONS of butter, shrimp cooked in bacon grease, and then a small amount of that drizzled over the top.  You can bet your bottom dollar that it will taste delicious, but at a hefty price tag of a few hundred (or thousand) calories not to mention that you might as well poor the fat right into your arteries.  The biggest misconception amongst southern chefs is that cutting the fat means cutting the flavor, but that’s not so.  Thank goodness for the Hungry Girl who refined the recipe, allowing for a huge calorie and fat savings while still preserving the taste.   Woohoo for that!  The recipe is very easy and simple to prepare and you can add your flare to it any way that you like (I doubled it).  Even my picky husband loved it!  

Shrimp and Grits

½ cup quick-cooking grits

Dash salt

½ cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon light whipped butter or light buttery spread (I cheated and used real butter)

1 wedge The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss Cheese (I used Garlic & Herb)

8 ounces raw shrimp, peeled, tails removed, deveined

½ cup thinly sliced scallions (white and green parts)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon chopped garlic

2 tablespoons precooked real crumbled bacon

Optional: Hot sauce

In a medium pot, bring 2 cups water to a boil on the stove.  Add grits and salt and stir well.  Reduce heat to lowest setting.  Stirring occasionally, cook until water has been absorbed, about 6 to 7 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in shredded cheese, butter, and cheese wedge, breaking cheese wedge into pieces as you add it.  Cover and set aside until ready to serve.

Bring a large skillet sparyed with nonstick spray to medium heat.  Add shrimp and cook until opaque, about 3 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking.  Add scallions, parsley, lemon juice, and garlic.  If you like, add a dash or two of hot sauce.  Stir will and remove from heat.

Serve grits topped with shrimp and bacon. 

Makes 2 servings 

 It makes life so much easier if all ingredients are prepped in advance :) 

 I bought a pound of shrimp and deveined them as well as removed their tails.  I'm sure there are plenty of Shrimp and Grits purists out there that are scoffing at my removing the tails, but you can leave them on if you like.  It's all a matter of preference. 

 Too bad pictures can't also capture smells because it was divine

 Cheesy goodness!

Ta-dah!

Lavender-Honey Cupcakes

For those of you that don’t know, I am an avid cupcake baker and consumer.  I am always looking for or creating unique and exciting cupcakes as opposed to the traditional vanilla and chocolate.  On one particular spring day a few months ago, I was flipping through a cupcake magazine (Better Homes and Gardens) when I came across one of the most odd-ball recipes that I had ever heard of: Lavender-Honey.  I knew I loved honey and I loved lavender, but the herbal/floral combination with honey sounded almost too foreign for me to try.  Thankfully, a friend of mine and I were throwing a bridal shower and I was in charge of making a dessert and thought “These cupcakes are just too stunning not to try”.  They were an instant hit and since then I have been asked to make them for other bridal showers and friends in need of a festive dessert.  I fought with the decision to post the recipe, but I always hate when people tell me they won’t share a recipe so I was indebted to pass it on.  I hope you love it as much as I have!

½ cup butter

2 eggs

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons dried lavender

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup milk

1 recipe Honey Frosting Dried Lavender

1.) Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, line forty-eight 1 ¾ inch muffin cups or eighteen 2 ½ inch muffin cups with paper bake cups.  In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, the 2 teaspoons lavender, and the salt.  Set aside.

2.) Preheat oven to 350°F.  In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds.  Add sugar, honey, and vanilla; beat until combined.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Alternately add flour mixture and milk to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until mixture is combined.

3.) Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each about three-fourths full.  Use the back of spoon to smooth out batter in cups.

4.) Bake for 10 to 12 minutes for 1 ¾ cupcakes or 16 to 18 minutes for 2 ½ inch cupcakes or until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean.  Cool cupcakes in muffin cups on wire racks for 1- minutes.  Remove cupcakes from muffin cups.  Cool completely on wire racks.

5.) Pipe or spread with Honey Frosting.  If desired, sprinkle cupcakes with additional lavender.  Makes 48 (1 ¾ inch) or 18 (2 ½ inch) cupcakes.

Honey Frosting:  Allow half of an 8-oz package cream cheese and 2 tablespoons butter to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.  In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese, butter, 3 tablespoons honey, and ½ teaspoon vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Gradually add 1 cup powdered sugar, beating well.  Gradually beat in 1 ½ to 2 cups additional powdered sugar until frosting reaches a piping or spreading consistency.  Makes about 1 2/3 cups.

Oven Fried Chicken

So the first time I made this for Justin, I had not planned on it becoming his most favorite meal.  I was convinced it would be something more glamorous or labor intensive, but during a weekend visit while we were still in college, I threw this together for a date-night in.  Since that time, I have made it more times than I can count and Justin frequently tells people that it’s because of this meal that he married me.  Since this is one of our favorite recipes, I like to make a double batch for leftovers and work lunches.  I purchased two packages of tenders and ended up with 24.  And for the crunchy coating mix, double the recipe and you will have plenty leftover for the next time you make it and trust me, you definitely won’t want to wait too long to make it again.  It is best served with mashed potatoes, green beans, and gravy.  I hope that you and yours enjoy this recipe as much as we have J

Marinade

2 cups buttermilk

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1 ½ teaspoons salt

*** Marinate chicken in this mix overnight

Coating mix

2 tablespoons flour

2 ¼ cup crushed corn flakes

1 cup Panko crumbs

1 teaspoon salt

½ to 1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

½ teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1.) Line baking sheet with foil, spray Pam on rack to hold chicken

2.) Mix coatings in a large plastic bag, add chicken, then shake (Alternate method: Place coating in a bowl and dredge chicken in coating to cover well)

 3.) Bake a 400° for 15 minutes, leaving ½ inch space between each piece

Saturday Morning Breakfast

Good Sunday morning everyone!  I hope you are enjoying this sunny day as much as we are.  It was a bit of a late start today, making it a perfect morning for Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast with Strawberry Syrup.  You can tweak the recipe any way you want based off what you have on hand, half-and-half, blackberries, Neufchatel, etc.  The sky is the limit.

Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

2 (8 oz) cream cheese loaf

2 cups sugar

8 eggs

2 cups whole milk

½ t Nutmeg

½ t Cinnamon

24 slices of French bread

1 container of frozen strawberries

1.) Allow cream cheese to come to room temperature and mix with sugar in mixer;  mix until creamy

2.) Crack eggs into large bowl, add milk, nutmeg, and cinnamon; Wisk until thoroughly incorporated

3.) Cut French bread 1 ½ to 2 inches and cut a slit almost all the way through

4.) Fill each French toast with cream cheese mixture

5.) Once all French toast pockets are filled, dip in egg mixture until thoroughly covered

6.) Refrigerate or freeze until future use

7.) Puree strawberries