Jessica, the future daughter in law is already a part of our family. Admittedly as the mom of her honey, the relationship is still new and I do not ever want to be the mom in law bloggers write about or the one who is the target or jokes or…
I just want a rich relationship with Jessica that is one we both can enjoy. I already love her. Good start I think.
It doesn’t hurt that she is a fabulous cook!
And that she wants to have my grandchildren.
This is a post Thanksgiving meal. No turkey or cranberry sauce in sight. There actually wasn’t too much left by Saturday night anyway.
When Jessica was a child she often taken to very nice restaurants. No chicken nuggets there! She just ordered what the adults ordered not knowing that children were not supposed to “like” this or that. It reminded me of Julia Child and her nieces and nephews’ stories. My girls are like that too.
Just give children the same varieties of foods we eat as adults!
She brought with her a bag of Brussel sprouts, shrimp and other odds and ends not wanting them to stay in the fridge over the holiday.
The menu was Shrimp and Grits with a side of Balsamic Tangy Brussel Sprouts. Yes, Brussel sprouts! They were DELICIOUS!!! We were all surprised!
I was skeptical.One of the worse dishes I EVER made were Brussel sprouts gone bad.
We gobbled those sprouts down and wanted more. I am so sorry the picture does not convey just how delicious these were.
A soup plate full of cheesy grits and yummy shrimp topped with crispy bacon pieces. Plus the unexpected pairing of Balsamic Tangy Brussel Sprouts! We were raving!
Here are Jessica’s recipes!
Shrimp and Cheesy Grits
Shrimp
Ingredients
- Medium - large shrimp 8-10 per person
- Half stick of butter
- 1 Tbs Old Bay Seasoning
- 1/2 tsp ea. garlic powder paprika
- dash of cayenne pepper to taste
Instructions
- Melt half stick of butter in skillet
- Add old bay, garlic powder, paprika and to taste, cayenne pepper
- Saute shrimp until just pink (If using cooked and thawed, just heat the butter with seasoning and toss quickly to warm)
Grits
Ingredients
- Quick cooking grits
- Salt
- 1-2 cups of shredded medium to sharp cheddar cheese
- cream cheese can be used if you are short on cheddar
- Garlic Powder to taste
- Chopped Thick bacon cooked until almost crispy use extra from the sprouts
Instructions
- Follow instructions for quick cooking grits per person (made additional servings to have more grits per serving)
- Add garlic powder to taste
- Stir in 1-2 cups of cheddar cheese
- (I've added cream cheese in the past which is excellent too)
- Garnish with bacon if you saved any from the brussels
Balsamic Tangy Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
Balsamic Tangy Brussel Sprouts With Bacon
Ingredients
- 1.5 -2 lbs fresh Brussel sprouts
- 1 lb good thick bacon
- 2 Tbs brown sugar
- 1.3 cup balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Cut Brussel sprouts in half and set aside (I used 2 lbs but 1.5 might be better) (small brussels work better than large)
- Chop up 1 package of good thick bacon
- Brown until mostly crispy
- Drain half of the bacon grease
- Put brussels flat side down as much as possible in the skillet or deep wide pan with bacon grease
- Let brussels brown
- Add additional butter or bacon grease if necessary
- Wisk 2 Tbs of brown sugar and 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar together
- When brussels have browned add balsamic mixture and let reduce until most of the liquid is gone
- Toss bacon back in and serve (Set some aside to garnish shrimp and grits as well)
I love these foods !!! This is very tasty and great. .I am saving this blog post . thank !