martha moments: shrimp and grits

nothing screams southern much louder than a big, heaping bowl of shrimp and grits. it's on my top 5 list of favorite foods and it's one of those dishes that has many different variations. i don't think i've tried very many that i don't like! 


for what it's worth, here's how i make mine.  we had this for dinner the other night and literally scraped the bowls clean. there was not even one grit left.  (can you even say "a grit", as in singular?) 

carolina shrimp and grits


you'll need:


1 lb. shrimp, shells removed and deveined
3 slices bacon
3 slices Virginia deli ham
5 tsp. fresh lemon juice (use the rest of the lemon in your sweet tea :-)  )
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. seasoning salt
3/4 cup scallions, sliced thin


4 cups water
1 cup of grits or polenta
3 Tbsp. salted butter
1/2 cup shredded gouda
1/2 cup shredded havarti
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar


To make grits:

Bring water to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add grits and cook until water is absorbed, about 20 to 25 minutes. Set aside and stir in butter, gouda and havarti.

To prepare shrimp:

Clean shrimp well under running water and dry with paper towel.

In a large skillet, fry the bacon and brown the ham until all is browned.  Drain well, reserving grease. Set bacon and ham aside. Return grease to pan with the shrimp and cook until pink.  Add lemon juice, seasoning salt, parsley, scallions and garlic.  Chop up ham and bacon into small pieces and add to shrimp mixture.   Saute in pan for 3-4 minutes.

Pour grits into serving bowls and top with shrimp mixture. Top each bowl with a pinch of sharp cheddar.

Bon appetit!

martha moments: mama's crockpot lasagna

perfect.

crockpot.

easy.

so easy you don't even have to cook the noodles.

makes house smell yummy.

italian.

requires little to no cooking skill.

but yet tastes like you have tons of cooking skill.

perfect for entertaining.

delicious.

mama's crockpot lasagna

you'll need:

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion, finely chopped

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 (12 ounce) package lasagna noodles

12 ounces cottage cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

16 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

directions:

1. In a large skillet over medium heat cook the ground beef, onion, and garlic until brown. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt, and oregano and stir until well mixed. cook until heated through.
2. In a large bowl mix together the cottage cheese, grated parmesan cheese, and shredded mozzarella cheese.it's easiest just to mix it with your bare hands.
3. Spoon a layer of the meat mixture onto the bottom of the slow cooker. add a double layer of the uncooked lasagna noodles. break to fit noodles into slow cooker. top noodles with a portion of the cheese mixture. repeat the layering of sauce, noodles, and cheese until all the ingredients are used.  meat sauce mixture should end up on top.
4. cover, and cook on LOW setting for 4 to 6 hours.
   
   bon appetit!
   
   
   
   

martha moments: aunt janice's shrimp

delicious. that's all i gotta say.
aunt janice is a wonderful cook and it makes me smile to think about her every time i make this.

try it. 

aunt janice's shrimp

*note: this makes a LOT of shrimp, so you may want to cut the recipe in half.

**another note:  is EXCELLENT served over linguine with crusty french bread to "sop" with.  :-)

Ingredients:

5 lbs unpeeled shrimp

1 ½ cup butter

8 oz. bottle Italian salad dressing

1/2 c. lemon juice

1/2 c. white wine (dry chardonnay is good)

¼ cup olive oil

2-3 cloves garlic, minced (I put more)

1 tsp. hot sauce (or more if you want spicier)

1 T. Worcestershire

3 T. ground black pepper

½ tsp. red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 350. Wash shrimp and drain well. Melt butter in 3 qt. casserole dish.

Add dressing, lemon juice, olive oil, wine, garlic, hot sauce, pepper, red pepper flakes and Worcestershire sauce.

Stir.  Add shrimp.

Bake covered 35-45 minutes until shrimp are pink.  (You may need to open the oven and stir occasionally).

...and that gives you, oh, close to an hour while they're cooking to find something to do with the rest of that bottle of wine you just opened.....  

martha moments: barbecups

anytime i ask my husband what he wants for dinner, his first reponse is always "barbecups!"  (well, not really...his first response is usually, "i don't care."  but then that quickly changes to "ooh, barbecups!")  the man loves his barbecue sauce. i swear, i think if i poured it over vanilla ice cream, he'd think it was the best sundae he's ever had.

ewww.

barbecups

you'll need:

1 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 cup bbq sauce (we like KC masterpiece regular for this)
1 T. brown sugar
1 T. minced onion
1 lg. can flaky biscuits
3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Brown ground beef and drain. Return to heat with the bbq sauce, sugar and minced onion.  Cook until heated through.

Press a biscuit into each cup of an ungreased muffin tin, pressing the dough up the sides to make a cup.

Fill with meat mixture and top with cheese.  Bake 10-15 minutes at 400 or until golden brown.

*For parties/entertaining, you can use mini muffin tins. Just cut the biscuit into quarters and press one quarter into each mini muffin cup.  Makes cute (and good!) appetizers.