Shrimp & Grits Casserole

Shrimp & grits is a southern-tradition dish with which I was absolutely not familiar until I moved to North Carolina.  And, I'll admit, I was afraid to try it at first.  I mean, what was a grit, anyway??  Well, I've gotten past my fear - and I'm so glad I did.  I now love shrimp & grits.  This is a creamy-comfort food version to make easily at home.  A lot of shrimp & grit dishes are spicy - this one certainly is not.  It's a very mild-flavored, cheesy, shrimpy grits casserole-style dish.

I like my shrimp & grits with limas

The original recipe for this is from Cooking Light magazine, one of my favorite reads, but I think I've tweaked it to put back in all the bad things they worked so hard to take out.  Oh well. 

Start by cooking up your grits.  I've learned from my southern friends, who've grown up cooking grits, that the secret to good grits is to add the grits to the liquid mixture very slooooooowly.  Whisk them constantly while you're adding the grits, and cook them until they're very thick.

Get the grits good and thick ... like this

Then put in stuff that makes the grits even yummier ... Parmesan cheese, cream cheese, and butter!

Mmmmmmmmmm

Then you'll add in chives and shrimp, and bake it until it's set and getting golden around the edges.

All baked and ready to gobble up

Once it's out of the oven, dig in!  I like it just the way it is, but you can add a dash of hot sauce on the top if you like.  Enjoy the comforting creaminess!

Shrimp & Grits Casserole
Adapted from Cooking Light magazine
(Printable recipe)
Ingredients
2 c. milk
3/4 c. chicken broth
1 c. quick-cooking grits
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
2 T. butter
4 oz. cream cheese
1 or 2 T. chopped fresh chives (you can also use dried)
3 T. fresh parsley or 1 T. dried parsley
1 T. lemon juice
1 egg
1 lb. peeled shrimp, roughly chopped

Directions
Bring milk and chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Gradually add grits and salt to pan, stirring constantly with a whisk.  Cook 5 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly.  Remove grits from heat.  Stir in Parmesan, butter, and cream cheese until melted; then stir in remaining ingredients.

Spoon grits mixture into a 11x7" baking dish generously coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, or until set and the top is just starting to get some golden brown areas. 

Enjoy!