Success!

I mentioned last week that I was on the hunt for the perfect Shrimp and Grits recipe.  I failed to mention that I was also looking for a relatively low fat, low calorie Shrimp and Grits recipe.  My first attempt tasted good, but the shrimp were overcooked.  And overcooked shrimp do not meet the standards of "Deliciousness of Yum."  While searching for recipes and obsessively thinking about making a better, healthy Shrimp and Grits, I stumbled onto Cooking Light's website...and found Shrimp and Grits nirvana.
I made this dish for the whole family and the entire casserole was devoured.  It turned out creamy and cheesy and the shrimp were not overdone.  Yay!  As a bonus, this recipe is a snap to prepare.  So let's review: this tastes good, is relatively healthy, and easy to make.  This might just be a perfect meal!

Here's the original recipe from Cooking Light:

Shrimp and Grits Casserole
Ingredients

• 2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
• 3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup uncooked quick-cooking grits
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 (3-ounce) package 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp, coarsely chopped
• Cooking spray
• Hot pepper sauce (optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Combine milk and broth in a medium heavy saucepan; bring to a boil. Gradually add grits and salt to pan, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook 5 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in Parmesan, butter, and cream cheese. Stir in parsley and next 4 ingredients (through shrimp). Spoon mixture into an 11 x 7–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until set. Serve with hot pepper sauce, if desired.

VARIATION
Before making this, I read the reviews.  People seemed to be missing heat and seasoning from this dish.  To rectify this, I gave my shrimp a liberal dose of Slap Ya Mama cajun seasoning.  This gave my finished dish a nice hit of heat and added some authentic flavor to everything.  Use what you have on hand...since I'm a Maryland girl by birth, I could see seasoning the shrimp with Old Bay.

If you're not concerned about caloric content, you could go ahead and use full fat cream cheese, though I didn't find the skinny version to be lacking in any way, shape, or form.

I hope you try this one out--it rocks!