Football and Cajun Food!

Who watched the big game last night? We most definitely did! The Hart family is all about some sports, even if our team is not involved. But I am kind of sad that football season is over. It just means that my favorite season is coming to an end. Although with a new season comes a new wardrobe and we all know that Katy and I love building that up! The thrifting begins again! OK so I am getting way off topic here! Clothes will do that to me. 

So the point of this post was to share with you what I made for dinner last night. My husband and his best bud are huge Cajun food fans. They love them some spicy food. I do like it myself! So anyway my husband had the idea for me to make some shrimp and grits since the Superbowl was being played in the Bayou state, aka Louisiana. So that's what I did. And really it was a simple recipe but oh so good! The recipe came from the foodnetwork.com but I will share it here for you! I made a few changes to give a bit more spice. Whats some Cajun food without the spice?!?!

Ingredients:

Shrimp:

• 1 1/2 pounds (26-30 count) shrimp (I used a bag of frozen)
• 1 cup of sliced Andouille sausage
• 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
• Freshly ground black pepper

Grits: ( I doubled this!)

• 2 cups of chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup quick grits (I used Quaker 5 minute quick grits)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 1/2 ounces Colby-jack cheese

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (I used Texas Pete)

Directions:

First, clean your shrimp and slice your sausage. In a small bowl, combine Cajun seasoning, paprika, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle the spice mixture over the shrimp and sausage and coat well and set aside.

Next, make your grits. In a medium saucepan, bring chicken broth and 2 tablespoons of butter to a boil. Slowly add the grits, whisking often for 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, a few dashes of Cajun seasoning, whipping cream, and cheese. Whisk for another 2 or 3 minutes until the grits become creamy. If you need to add more butter and cream go ahead. I definitely used more than what the recipe called for. It just depends on how creamy you want your grits. 

Now time to sauté the shrimp and sausage. In a large sauté pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add minced garlic and cook until the garlic is tender. Add in the spice-coated shrimp and sausage, and cook only until they're just done and tender. Don't overcook. Remove the shrimp and sausage from the sauté pan and set them aside in a bowl. 

The roux is next. With all those wonderful drippings from the shrimp and sausage in the sauté pan, add 3 tablespoons of flour and stir to make a roux. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes until roux reaches a medium-tan color, then slowly add the chicken stock and heavy whipping cream. Whisk together and cook for 2 minutes, then whisk in Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Set aside.

Now comes the good part...mix everything together and eat! Doesn't it look yummy!!!