The other day I received a card in the mail that contained some sad news. Someone very special to me passed away in February. It was his daughter writing me to give me the news. He was very special to my family and me. And so was his wife, she passed away seven years ago. Growing up in Florida, with grandparents living in California, this couple were my surrogate grandparents. We actually called them Grandma and Grandpa. They would proudly show strangers and friends alike photos of our family declaring, “look at my grandkids!” They were Caucasian and we're not (I'm Vietnamese-American). I think a couple of times, someone said they don't look anything like you. And I think she put them in their place. You had to know her, I'm writing this right now and it makes me laugh out loud.

It took me a while to sit down and write a card back to their daughter. I found myself getting really emotional when I first received the card and when I was writing her back.

How do you put into words…your parents had a profound effect on my childhood. They played a crucial role in my upbringing and are a huge part of who I am today. I told her my only regret is that I didn't go visit him in Pittsburgh before he passed on (they moved back to Pennsylvania when Grandma was declining in health about eight years ago). I really wish I did. But I know they know how special they were to me. There was a period in time when my mom was a single mom, with six children, it was a struggle. Grandma and Grandpa sometimes brought over bags and bags of groceries. My mom didn't ask them to, they just did it.

Grandma took me on shopping trips to TJ Maxx and Marshalls, I have fond memories of her telling us not to touch anything. LOL And to pick out just one thing, she gave us a budget and it had to be under that amount and she would buy it for us. As a child, this meant so much to me. In high school, they took us to softball practice and picked us up. I remember them spending Thanksgiving and Christmas with us even.

They were special to me because they were there for us when our biological grandparents couldn't physically be there for us. Never asking for anything in return, they gave their time, money and love to us as if we deserved it and then some. They taught me unconditional love and that love does not have to come from blood relatives to be true. My grandpa taught me patience (I'm still working on it haha) but he was so patient with grandma, no matter what. Grandma taught me not to take crap from anyone. I love them and I miss them. I feel so grateful and lucky to have them as a part of my family.

Prep the shrimp and toss with dijon mustard.

It just so happened that I just enough spreadable butter left in the tub so I used the tub to make the spicy sriracha butter for the shrimp.

Curtis is literally obsessed with Land O Lakes® Butter spreadable butter, we can't keep enough of it in the house. It makes it really easy to make a spicy butter or a compound butter…and no more torn bread/toast!

When I went to make these amazing grits from the Ravenous Pig cookbook, I realized I didn't have any chicken broth. So I substituted it with water and butter. These grits came out amazing…so that's how I will make these grits from now on…with heavy cream, water and butter.

The grits are done and ready for…

Olive oil and goat cheese. I changed up their recipe to use olive oil instead of bacon fat…you can use bacon fat if you want.

Done and creamy. And guess what? It reheats fairly nicely too. Just add a few drops of water and microwave. Same thing if you left it sitting for too long before serving, add some water, mix thoroughly and reheat. You're good to go.

Cook the shrimp in a cast iron skillet and brush on the spicy sriracha butter.

Grandma and Grandpa weren't true southerners since they were from Pennsylvania but I think they would have gotten a kick out of this recipe.

This is now my go to shrimp & grits recipe…I know you'll love it. If you're completely against goat cheese, try sharp cheddar instead.

Print

Spicy Shrimp and Goat Cheese Grits Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 2 servings

Ingredients

Goat Cheese Grits

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup corn grits I used Bob's Red Mill yellow corn grits
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil use a really good tasting one
• 2 Tablespoons goat cheese
• kosher salt and pepper

Spicy Shrimp

• 2 teaspoons sriracha chili sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Land O Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil
• 1/2 pound shrimp peeled and deveined (about 10 to 12 shrimp)
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• fresh parsley chopped
• cooked bacon chopped (optional)

Instructions

• Prep the butter (mix spreadable Land O Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil with the sriracha chili sauce in a small bowl. Peel and devein the shrimp (I left the tails on). Add dijon mustard to shrimp and toss to coat.

Goat Cheese Grits

• Add cream, 1 cup water and butter to a small saucepan and bring to boil.
• Add grits, lower heat to medium and cook until grits are tender, about 8 to 9 minutes (be sure to whisk occasionally so that don't stick and cook evenly).
• Turn off heat. Add olive oil and goat cheese and mix. Season with salt and pepper. Remove saucepan from heat.

Cook the shrimp

• Heat a cast iron skillet on medium high for 3 to 4 minutes. Add shrimp to skillet and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until shrimp is cooked. After turning shrimp, brush sriracha butter mixture onto the shrimp.
• Add grits to a soup bowl, top with shrimp, parsley and bacon.

Just a note, I do have an ongoing relationship with Land O'Lakes and have done sponsored posts with them but this one is not a sponsored post. I always like to share with you my favorite products and brands. And pssst there are affiliate links in this post. Thanks!

The post Spicy Shrimp and Goat Cheese Grits appeared first on The Little Kitchen.

Who likes shrimp and grits? Meee! Let's rewind, when Kraft Foods contacted me to work with them to help promote their Fresh Take line of products, I jumped at the chance. I love the possibilities and the range of flavors that the Fresh Take flavors come in, nine different ones…all fresh and makes getting dinner on the table so easy.

The “Fresh Possibilities” Tour is going all over the country and making over 600 stops at a grocery store near you…so you can try the Kraft Fresh Take products in recipes Kraft has created. Yesterday, they made a stop to a Publix in Orlando, Florida and I stopped by to check it out. To find out when the food truck tour will be near you, check out tryfreshtake.com.

So fun! Here's me with my friend Marsha and her son, Luke. He's so cute, I remember when he was in a stroller…oh man, I think I remember when he was in his Mom's belly!

They sampled an artichoke dip, four cheese meatballs and chicken tenders…my favorite was the artichoke dip! Luke's was the chicken tenders made with smokey mesquite bbq.

So on to the recipe, I wanted to combine the easiness of the Chipotle Cheddar Fresh Take flavor with a favorite of mine, shrimp and grits. The Fresh Take packet has cheese, seasonings and breadcrumbs. I reserved a little for the grits and then placed the shrimp in a shallow dish with a beaten egg. Then they got loaded up with the cheese, seasonings and breadcrumbs. And baked for 15 minutes.

When the shrimp was just about done, I started on the grits. I love yellow corn grits (also used to make polenta). I like to add milk and butter to my grits…makes them creamy and smooth. Some of the chipotle cheddar Fresh Take got added to this too!

Here's a video, an appearance I made on Daytime TV showing how quick and easy it is to put together this recipe!

The verdict? Tastes so good and I love the spicy chipotle with the cheddar cheese in this dish and the overall convenience of it.

Want to try Kraft Fresh Take? I'm giving away samples along with a nice gift card for your grocery shopping, hop on over to enter!

Print

Chipotle Cheddar Shrimp & Grits Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 large egg beaten
• 3/4 pound uncooked medium or large shrimp peeled and deveined
• 1 pkg. 6 oz. FRESH TAKE Spicy Chipotle Cheddar Recipe Cheese Breadcrumb Mix (reserve 1 teaspoon breadcrumbs & 3 Tablespoons cheddar cheese)
• 1 cup uncooked grits
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
• fresh Italian parsley chopped

Instructions

• Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
• Place beaten egg in a shallow dish. Reserve the above breadcrumbs and cheddar cheese and mix together the remaining breadcrumbs & cheese in another shallow dish. Dip shrimp in egg and then FRESH TAKE mixture. Throw away any unused cheese mixture. Bake for 15 minutes or until shrimp is cooked -- tender and golden brown.
• Bring 1 3/4 cups of water and salt to a boil in a saucepan. Add grits to the pot along with the reserved breadcrumbs and cheese. Stir constantly, for five minutes. Halfway through, add milk and keep stirring. Add butter, remove from heat and cover for two to three minutes. Stir a few times before serving. (Add more water for even creamier grits.)
• Serve grits in bowls topped with shrimp and garnished with parsley. Optional: top with more cheese!
• Notes: Make it a well-rounded meal by serving it with a salad for dinner.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post and I'm excited to be working with Kraft Foods on this campaign. I always share my own, honest opinions and only work with brands that I love.

The post Chipotle Cheddar Shrimp & Grits appeared first on The Little Kitchen.