Smothered Andouille Sausage and Shrimp Over Creamy Cheddar Grits

Last weekend we celebrated my husband's birthday. He had originally requested to have steaks, as you may remember from my September Menu Plan, but decided a couple of days before that he wanted to go buy some good sausage and I was to come up with a recipe for it. I perused the Internet and nothing really stuck out to me and then I remembered having shrimp and sausage grits at a local restaurant and then I knew that was what we would have. I googled that specifically and found a great recipe on the Food Network's site. I changed a couple of things, mainly how I made the dish, and I think it worked perfectly. This was amazing. I will warn you, it is a little spicy, especially if you get spicy sausage like we did, so if you have milder taste buds, I would decrease the amount of cayenne pepper used. The boys ate this. My youngest eats sausage like it's candy, it's really funny, and my almost 4 year old shied away from the sausage and only ate the shrimp, but he was really anticipating the ice cream cake we were having for dessert. Mmmm, that was delicious too! I'll post the recipe soon! I promise! One recipe note, if you don't have time to do the long drawn out creamy grits, then skip it and follow the directions on your grits box. I didn't think these grits tasted any different than the ones I use in my other shrimp and grits recipe. Just use the same ingredients below and cook faster! Definitely try this, it was a definite hit at our house.

Smothered Andouille Sausage and Shrimp Over Creamy Cheddar Grits

adapted from Food Network

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup  celery, diced (about 2 small celery stalks)

Salt

1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper

1/2-1 pound andouille sausage, sliced 1/4-inch thick

1-1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined

1- 14 ounce can chicken broth

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1 recipe Creamy Stone Ground Grits, recipe below

Directions:

In a saute pan, melt the butter. Add the onions, peppers, and celery. Season with salt to taste and 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper. If you think this dish will be a little spicy for your family, half the cayenne pepper. Cook until vegetables are tender and begin to appear translucent. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the vegetables, stir, and cook for a couple of minutes for a medium brown roux.  Add the sausage and continue to cook for 2-4 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth and  then the cream. Bring the liquid to a simmer and continue to cook a couple of minutes. Season the shrimp with salt and cayenne, and add the shrimp to the mix. Continue to cook for 6-8 minutes, until the mixture thickens and can coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and stir in the green onions. To serve, spoon the grits in the center of each serving bowl. Spoon the shrimp mixture over the grits. Serve warm.

Creamy Stone Ground* Grits

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups water

2 1/2 cups milk

1 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

3 tablespoons butter

1 cups stone ground white grits *I used regular grits, not stone ground.

1 1/2-2 cups grated Cheddar

Directions:

In a large saucepan, over medium heat, combine the water, milk, salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of the butter. Bring the liquid to a gentle boil. Stir in the grits. Cook for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. (The grits will stick to the bottom of the pan, so make sure not to scrape the bottom of the pan. If the grits absorbed all of the water, add some hot water to thin out.) Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and cheese. The grits can either be served immediately or prepared in advance and reheated.

If preparing in advance, grease a pan with a teaspoon of butter. Pour the grits into the pan and reheat in a 400 degree F for 15 minutes.

*This can easily be made in 15-30 minutes. Just increase the heat on your stovetop and stir frequently.

This recipe has been linked to Prairie Storie Recipe Swap Thursday!