Shrimp and Grits

Things are still very crazy with us as we are attempting to sell our house and move. We are in temporary housing so cooking these days is nothing elaborate because I have none of my kitchen things to use.

HOWEVER, we live on the coast and can get GREAT seafood at AWESOME prices, it looks like I’ll be venturing into some seafood cooking. This is a traditional dish that everyone loves and this one is SUPER simple. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did—it’s a Bobby Flay recipe!

Ingredients

• 4 cups water
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup stone-ground grits
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 6 slices bacon, chopped
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 cup thinly sliced scallions
• 1 large clove garlic, minced

Directions

Bring water to a boil. Add salt and pepper. Add grits and cook until water is absorbed, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and cheese.

Rinse shrimp and pat dry. Fry the bacon in a large skillet until browned; drain well. In grease, add shrimp. Cook until shrimp turn pink. Add lemon juice, chopped bacon, parsley, scallions and garlic. sauté for 3 minutes.

Spoon grits into a serving bowl. Add shrimp mixture and mix well. Serve immediately.

Notes from A Kitchen of Reality:

- I used the 5 minute quick cooking grits. I used the amounts indicated on the box for 4 servings instead of following what the recipe recommended. But I still added the butter and cheese that the recipe called for.

-  We were hungry so we did 1 1/2 lbs of fresh shrimp.

- I really can’t ever find what I’m looking for when it comes to recipes with scallions, shallots, and green onions, nor do I really know the difference. BUT I found green onions, so that is what I used.

Spanish Beef and Rice

This is a great weeknight recipe when you have a lot going on. Just dump everything in one large skillet and dinner is ready in 20 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised for how easy this was.

3/4 pound ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice

1. Cook the beef, onion, and pepper until brown, then drain the fat.
2. Add the broth, tomato sauce, chili powder, garlic powder, and rice. Heat to boiling, then turn down to simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.

Kitchen of Reality Tips
- You can serve topped with cheese, sour cream, crushed tortilla chips, olives, you get the picture.
- I served this with a side of corn, but several reviews of the recipe said that they had added corn and/or black beans into the recipe with the rice. Also, some people said they made it with salsa or taco sauce instead of plain tomato sauce.
- This makes quite a bit and the ingredients are inexpensive. Great for freezing and reheating later.

Beef and Broccoli Ramen Stir Fry

My husband and I both get paid once a month so sometimes things get a bit tight at the end of the month. I was looking around for cheap dinner ideas and ran across this.

1 package beef or spicy beef ramen noodles
2 cups water
1 pound beef steak strips
2 teaspoons oil
2 cups broccoli, chopped
1 cup green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

1. Cook noodles according to package directions and drain.
2. In a skillet/wok on high brown beef and remove (3-4 min).
3. Add oil, 1/2 seasoning packet, broccoli and onions. Stir-fry for five minutes.
4. Add soy sauce and red pepper. Simmer for five minutes more.
5. Put beef back in and stir together. Serve over noodles.

Kitchen of Reality Tips
- I bought the thin cut sirloin tip steak from Aldi (has a yellow label for fajitas). It is $4.29 a pound. I think the broccoli was about $2 also at Aldi. The ramen I got on sale for 17 cents. The green onions were 99 cents. The rest I had on hand. It's a pretty good meal for under $8. If you need to serve 4 adults/teenagers you may need to use a little more steak and broccoli and I would definitely use 2 packages of ramen.
- I added some sesame oil to this as well because I had it on hand. Makes the flavor a little deeper.
- I did my ramen first like it suggested and it turned to glue. I threw it in with the beef and broccoli, mixed it around, and that unstuck it.

Hope you enjoy for some good cheap eats!