So...whats for dinner?

MinusTwo

Freya, but you'd have to grind the polenta really fine. Not quite cornmeal, but close.. The closest equivalent if you're not from the South is "Cream of Wheat", a cereal that might not be around much any more. We ate that for breakfast in Northern California along with Oatmeal & Ralston (another hot cereal that was tasty).

Lacey - good to hear from you. I had forgotten you were gone.

HappyHammer

Hope this post isn't too long!  Here is the recipe I used last night for Shrimp and Grits...this one is a "casserole" just for the sake of cooking all ingredients together to meld. It really IS delish! I also make "real" shrimp and grits where the shrimp mixture stays separate from the grits until time to plate.  The "casserole" dish is an easy one to take for a crowd.

 

Cheesy Shrimp-and-Grits Casserole

Creamy cheese grits and succulent shrimp make a devine casserole. Don't expect leftovers because your guests are certain to ask for seconds—maybe even thirds!

• Yield: Makes 10 to 12 servings

From Southern Living

Ingredients

• 4 cups chicken broth- (I actually use about 3.5 cups and add a little water as they cook if needed....finish with .5 C of half and half)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup regular grits
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese with peppers
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 med sweet onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 pound small fresh shrimp, peeled and cooked
• 1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, drained
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• * some recipes call for 6-8  slices of good bacon, chopped and cooked.  (You can cook veggies in bacon grease- instead of butter)
• *some recipes add 1 lb. mild sausage, browned, crumbled and drained  (You can cook veggies in sausage drippings- that is what I do)
• * depending on your taste- may decide to add some red pepper flakes or your favorite hot sauce

Preparation

Bring 4 cups chicken broth and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil in a large saucepan; stir in grits.   Cover, reduce heat, stir often and simmer 20 minutes.

Stir together grits, 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese, and Monterey Jack cheese.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add green onions, bell pepper, and garlic, and sauté 5 minutes or until tender. (or, use 1-2 T pork drippings)

Stir together green pepper/onion mixture, grits mixture, shrimp, and next 3 ingredients. Pour into a lightly greased 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle top with remaining 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese.

Bake at 350° for 30 to 45 minutes.

ChiSandy

Yum, HH!

Was planning to do a choucroute garnie for late dinner—got some fresh active-probiotic kraut, will rinse it and saute a little bacon before adding it. Then a splash of white wine and some caraway seeds (out of juniper berries, as well as gin—Bob’s a vodka guy). Will lay some chicken bratwurst and free-range veal hot dogs on top so they’ll steam. Not having any wine with it (normally, a riesling) because I had a glass each of cava & red at the Super Bowl party, which had no desserts. En route home I stopped at Lickity Split to drown my sorrows (wait till next year, Atlanta) in cupcakes—bought one each of red velvet, “Death by Chocolate” and Oreo. Tried the DbC: meh. I still don’t get the whole fuss over cupcakes. My guys relieved me of the other two.

Buuuut...

Had to go to Warby Parker in deepest Lincoln (no)Park (any Chicago neighborhood with “Park” in its name means you usually can’t) to get some new glasses adjusted, but this time I drove; and wonder of wonders: a legal parking space across the street! Used my app to book it for an hour, so killed a little time after the specs-tweaking by daring to allow myself some Jeni’s ice cream at the eponymous store. O to the M to the G—best ice cream I’ve had since the gelati I ate in Rome. Had “darkest chocolate” and “Roxbury Road,” their version of Rocky Road using house-made marshmallows, salt caramel and waffle pieces. That was at 6. Still not hungry. May just nibble on some tomato, basil and a little fresh mozzarella if it’s still good (if not, just the veg. or maybe a slice each of jamon serrano, iberico and chorizo and a cube of Manchego or Drunken Goat) and delay the choucroute till tomorrow night.

MinusTwo

Happy - thanks for sending the recipe. Sounds delish.

eric95us

I had a hard time finding anything suitable for grits until I mentioned my plight to the nearby grocery store's manager. She says it sells well.

Cream of Wheat is easy to find in the grocery stores, here at least. DD loves it, both now and when she was little--especially when it includes maple syrup or brown sugar and cinnamon. :-)

Sharon mentioned to DD that I had made the two dishes and today DD called me on the phone....."Dad. Could you bring me some soup and jasmine rice tomorrow. Pleeeeeassseeee" :-)

I work about 10 minutes from her dorm, so it's easy enough to do that. My commute time is about 90 minutes each way and three hours in the car would make DD crazy, so the dorm is worthwhile.

Hi to CoachVicky.

SpecialK

I am a lifelong Cream of Wheat fan, a serving has no sugar or cholesterol and 4g of protein - I ate the original during chemo with a little bit of butter and brown sugar. It was a bland source of protein that didn't have texture issues. My SIL (from NC) brought us a bag of stone ground corn grits, they are very good and I tend to use them as a polenta type base, with cheese added, for thicker stew or short ribs in place of rice or noodles. Something that was popular a while back was to cook the grits or polenta and put it into a shallow casserole or baking sheet. Let it set up in the fridge and then cut into firm squares or rounds and pan fry and use for a base for sautéed vegetables, or a protein and veg combo. You can also cut them into small strips and pan fry them until crispy and dip in marinara, like cheese sticks.

carolehalston

I see very little difference between polenta and grits. And a lot of difference between grits and cream of wheat. The latter is not popular in the south. I never buy the quick-cook grits. All this talk of grits is making me want to cook some!

We lowered the storm shutters and holed up in an inner hallway today during a tornado warning. Fortunately we sustained no direct hit.

Dinner will feature chicken thighs cooked with lemon. Veggies will be brussel sprouts and maybe carrots. Possibly a salad, too

eric95us

Carole..My phone started beep with weather alerts for there and I was thinking about you...Stay safe.

Everyone else, too.

HappyHammer

Thanks for letting us know you guys are ok, Carole!

MinusTwo

((Carole)). Just read about the snow & ice storms in the NW. Our day is sunny & up to 86 degrees so far.

Lunch was a lazy old favorite of mine - cottage cheese w/canned peaches. Yeah I know, I even buy the fruit in heavy syrup. But I don't eat them often. For example: today's can expired 12/2015. Of course they tasted fine since those darn dates are just "peak flavor by...". It makes me so angry that we can't get people to understand this. All that food thrown away. None of the food pantrys or homeless kitchens will accept these cans or boxes anymore either. I hurt for all those people in the world who are hungry when we're trashing perfectly good food. Of course the food industry is not upset that we're throwing away good food & spending more money buying replacements.

SpecialK

minus - throwback Tuesday! I love peaches and cottage cheese! My mom also used to do cottage cheese with fresh tomatoes, topped with Catalina dressing and scallions. She served it as the salad course with dinner often

MinusTwo

Oh yes, I love cottage cheese with REAL tomatoes. But when I can get my hands on some true tomatoes, I just want to gobble them down as is. Big sigh for the things at the grocery store that are called tomatoes!!!

Hmmm - maybe in honor of the throw back, I'll have grilled cheese sangy for dinner? Or maybe I'll be healthy and eat my salad greens with some tuna.

Gracejoy

Lago I tried your borscht recepie. it was great. thanks

eric95us

If they could grow cube shaped tomatoes that were strong enough to use as wheel chocks, they would sacrifice every bit of tomato taste to do it.

SpecialK

minus - spoiled growing up in California, with such a long growing season for tomatoes - my dad grew tons in the backyard, organically - a man before his time! On the nights we didn't have the cottage cheese and tomato salad, we had spinach picked in the backyard and tossed with red wine vinaigrette, topped with chopped hard-boiled egg and crumbled bacon. It is weird in Florida - such an early growing season means that tomatoes look good now and strawberries are at their peak next month - crazy!

HappyHammer

Oh all the talk of CC and fruit or tomatoes has me wishing I had some CC!  My sweet dad always had a big garden...for us and to share.  A favorite summer salad was CC with fresh tomatoes and a blue cheese vinaigrette he always made.  Another fave was cottage cheese with pineapple....typing this as my mouth waters. 

Since DH is away all week on a job...had a hot dog (no bun) with coleslaw the neighbor made...back to being "good" tomorrow 

MinusTwo

Happy - I forgot about w/pineapple. That's what my Mother liked.

HappyHammer

Minus- thinking about cc with pineapple for supper tomorrow night....protein and carb...works for me!

ChiSandy

Super-lazy dinner tonight. Went to the pop-up Nespresso boutique at the local mall (its permanent boutique opens in May) for the latest limited edition espresso capsule: 2014 aged Colombian blend. (Very smooth & rich, not bitter). On the way out, passed Buffalo Wild Wings and saw it was “Trad Tuesday:” half price on traditional (bone-in, not breaded or battered) wings. So I got a medium-sized box with mild sauce (still plenty spicy) and celery. But was viciously attacked en route home by some heart-shaped Boston Kreme Drunken Donuts. Extra session on the treadmill tonight (which won’t make much of a dent, of course, but is partial atonement).

Tomorrow night’s my monthly BC support group meeting up in Evanston. Glad I’m someone’s ride home so Hoosier Mama Pies won’t be on my route. Maybe I’ll make that choucroute tomorrow, maybe just dump a can of sardines—olive oil & all--on top of some salad greens and then squeeze a little lemon on the oil. And hopefully, those remaining donuts will be taken off my hands by then...

Freya244117

Cajun fish with a lime, cumin and coriander (cilantro) slaw tonight. I made some tortilla's earlier, so might have mine as a wrap.

We grow heirloom tomatoes, collecting and storing the seeds each year. Some may not be pretty, but they taste like tomatoes should. Too much of our food has been modified so it travels and stores better.

auntienance

Dinner for one tonight (me). Not feeling great today due to the continued hacking cough and accompanying laryngitis. It's robbing me of sleep as well. I rallied a bit by dinnertime so boiled a few baby potatoes and a couple of frozen Maine lobster tails. Melted butter was the only accompaniment. Awesome.

I'm the only one here who likes cottage cheese (but not the low fat version. Blech.) I go through phases with it. I will eat lots and lots and then not again for a year. I'm about due to binge again.

auntienance

Sandy, I'm intrigued by your drunken donut.

ChiSandy

Nancy, that’s my nickname for Dunkin’ Donuts. (Other fast food nicknames are Taco Hell, Long John Slivers, Pizza Butt, Kentucky Fried Children and Booger King). Sorry to hear you’re going through what I just did. For the cough, Bob swears by the Phenergan elixir with codeine he was prescribed for his pneumonia, but I swear at opioid-induced constipation. What helped get me through the night was generic dextromethorphan liqui-gels every 6 hrs. In between, sugar-free Luden’s cough drops (not Ricola—menthol aggravates GERD). For the laryngitis: hydration, warm herb tea with honey & lemon, bone broth, and Singer’s Saving Grace throat spray (3 sprays up to 7 times a day). It’s the only one out there with Jack-in-the-pulpit extract, which helps reduce laryngeal edema (swollen vocal folds—the anatomically correct term for vocal cords, since they are actually muscles). The swelling, as well as any thick mucus clinging to the cords, keep them from fully contacting each other along their entire length —so that when they vibrate, there are “gaps” in the voice and at the pitches corresponding to where the cords are supposed to meet but can’t—so air passes through at those spots without the cords vibrating—analogous to playing a violin with the bow not touching the strings.

As to cottage cheese, for me it’s gotta be whole-milk (4%) or nothing. I like it best with cinnamon, vanilla and a little sweetener on toast and then broiled briefly in the toaster-oven. I also like ricotta mixed with rum extract, sweetener, and either crushed pineapple or apricot spread—tastes sort of like cannolli filling. (Both recipes from my classic 1970s Weight Watchers’ days).

M0mmyof3

Sandy, I am the same way with restaurants. Taco Bell is Taco Smell, Pizza Hut is Pizza Smut, Dunkin' Donuts is Double Dognuts and McDonald's is McFleas.

carolehalston

Love the fast food nicknames. I had to grip the wheel when driving past a doughnut place yesterday. It's not a chain. The need for doughnuts has been building lately.

We buy 2% cc for fast lunch or snack. I cook fresh cranberries for a topping. On top of that a spoon of mayo. Also sliced banana as an alternative topping. Fresh pineapple on those rare times I buy a pineapple. Sam's has large tubs for a good price.

Salmon tonight

eric95us

Jack in the Box????

auntienance

Ha ha, we use taco hell but the rest are new to me.

I like cottage cheese best with salt and pepper. But I love canned peaches Minus.

I have the fresh Costco corn and some baby potatoes left so tonight I think we'll have frogmore stew with smoked sausage and shrimp.

auntienance

Thanks for the explanation Sandy. That explains why my voice cracks like an adolescent boy.

MinusTwo

I agree with Sandy's DH - Phenergen with Codeine works best for me when I've had a cough that causes lack of sleep. Hope the healing hurries up Nance.

april485

Tonight is chicken Florentine pasta. Simple, yummy and delicious. Basically I sauté chicken breasts in olive oil/butter combo with garlic. I then deglaze the pan with white wine and then throw a pile of spinach in the large pan that I use and then put the lid on and let it wilt. Then I add some lemon juice at the end to brighten it up and serve over linguini or some other long pasta. I love this dish as it takes all of 20 mins tops to prepare. Serve it with a salad and some grated parm/reggiano and if I am really being bad, I make some garlic bread too.

Tomorrow we are expecting 6 inches to 1 foot of snow. If I don't work, I will make a big pot of stuffed cabbage (my mother in law's recipe which is to die for) and bake some bread (in my bread machine as I am not as ambitious as some of you may be on that front..LOL)

Enjoy your day!