a la kathrine!

shrimp & grits.
call me southern, call me what you will.

shrimp & grits are outrageously delicious!
i don't care where you get them... well, i do. i don't want them to suck! clearly!
but, they are a safe bet.
there is something about the creaminess of grits and the sweet luxurious taste of fresh shrimp that just pair so super well together.
so tonite! i make my own...
of course i need to "beef" it up with some veggies. so, i made some grits, they were instant. sorry, i'm no professional grits maker. i pan fried some shrimp, and i defrosted / pan fried some spinach. there is something about spinach that pairs so well with shrimp, grits, and shrimp & grits together! you will love it...
i layered my amateur-attempt at grits in the bowl, topped it with spinach, shrimp, and i made a savoury sauce to top it all off.
i put about a cup of chicken broth in a pan and added chopped roasted red peppers. yeh, they were out of a jar. i'm totally okay with that. i cooked that on super high on the stove to cook out some of the water in the broth. as it was boiling, i added about two tablespoons of weight watchers cream cheese. (what!? it's 2pts all together!) so, somehow i managed to make (what i believe to be) and creamy roasted red pepper sauce. i was pretty impressed with myself.
i topped my tower of grits, spinach, & shrimp with roasted red pepper sauce and took my fork, and dug in.
i cannot believe that i achieved a perfect balance of sauce to food, and meat to veggies.
i can't lie, i was totally blown away by myself.
yeh, i'm awesome.

my ultimate compliment was when i brought the shrimp and grits to work to share with a friend. i left a cup with the perfectly-portioned bite for her. i thought was rude to not share with with a fellow foodie, and luckily i did. what she was about to eat turned led her to give me one of my most flattering reviews.
"that was delicious" she said. "what was it?"
"shrimp, spinach, grits, and roasted red pepper cream sauce. i literally had to stop in the middle of my meal and portion you out a bite or it would've been gone"
"i've never had grits, and i don't like them. but i REALLY liked that." she replied.

as rj would say.... yesssssssssss.

yellow corn meal!

it's polenta!
i've sliced the polenta roll and baked it, but i've never made creamy polenta.
no better time than the present!

i found a recipe for creamy polenta. it was pretty basic, 4x as much water as yellow corn meal. added a little faux-butter spread, and some weight watchers cream cheese. i know the key to creamy polenta is to keep on whisking. so whisk, i did!
i was pretty impressed with myself on the polenta front.
now... what to top it with.
mushrooms! and spinach! and onions!
i mixed that up in a pan, and topped my polenta.
now, some type of sauce to finish it off. i mixed some french onion soup mix with chicken broth, cooked it down, and added a tablespoon of weight watchers cream cheese. it made a great creamy onion sauce that worked well with the polenta and the veggies.
i didn't add anything to the polenta, no salt. no pepper. i figured starting out with it as a uber-plain base would be good for my trial.
it worked out perfect.

of course it did, i'm awesome!

bean patty cakes.

this was run 2.0.

previously, i used two cans of black beans, cilantro, red onions (soaked in red wine vinegar), garlic, the juice of two limes, and a bit of egg beater to bind my patties. oh, and corn meal. i hand mushed the beans so that they were about 75% mush and 25% whole bean. i dropped "patties" into a hot sauce pan, and let them brown and cook through on each side. one complaint, they were dry on their own but, with the following pineapple salsa they were super tasty!

today!
i used one can of pinto beans and one can of black beans. i added some chopped red onions and green onions. cilantro paste, garlic, chopped green chiles, a couple tablespoons of chicken broth, little egg beaters, and some corn meal. the consistency this time was much more liquid-y than the first time. that's ok... i'll bake them! i split the mix into 8 piles ... or patties, if you will. baked them at 400* for about fifteen to twenty minutes on each side.

yum!

magical mystery dinner!

i have to say, for this, i am very proud of myself.
i made an excellent stir-fry with broccoli, cauliflower, onions, and pineapple. that's pretty much my go-to delicious & easy meal. i seasoned it with some cayenne powder, garlic, and whatever else i haphazardly picked out of the spice cabinet. i cooked the onions first, so they'd caramelize. yum! then, i cooked down some frozen broccoli & cauliflower. once it was heated through, i added the onions, mixed, then threw in the pineapple. i use the rings and cut them down. i like how the pieces aren't the same size. yes! i'm neurotic!
once my stir-fry was screaming hot & ready, i added the best part.
this, is where i have to give myself a round of applause.
i made.... satay sauce!
one may think: no big accomplishment, monster!
alas, i made satay sauce with... pb2!
powdered peanut butter?
yes! it's fantastic! it has no preservatives and has 85% less fat AND calories than regular peanut butter. genius!
so, to make my outstanding pb2 satay sauce:
(holy crap! an actual recipe! with measurements!)
1/4 c pb2
1/8c low sodium soy sauce
1/8c low sodium chicken broth (to get to desired consistency)
1 tbs chopped garlic (i buy pre-chopped in the jar. yep, i'm a cheater)
1tbs cilantro (i buy the paste in the tube. busted again.)
mix it all together. yum!
i think i added a little more soy to give it a kick.
plus, i made a double batch.

not only was it delicious!
but i'm just so creative!

what's that i hear?
oh, it's your stomach growling!
roar!