Kim's Shrimp & Grits Soup

The past few mornings, I've been waking up waaaaaaaaaaay too early and have been cleaning out some of my kitchen cupboards, reorganizing for my post-op life.  I packed up a lot of things for my daughter's family, and threw away a bunch of stuff I just can't have in my kitchen anymore.  It's just wonderful to have rediscovered the energy to do things like this on a lark! I've been retooling some of my recipes, too.  Here's my current favorite: KIM'S SHRIMP & GRITS SOUP Serves 4 adults with hardy appetites; 6-8 servings for post-ops! Approximately 180 calories per cup Cheese Grits Ingredients: 1 c. water 1.5 c. Wolfgang Puck Organic Chicken Broth 1/2 c. Silk Light Soymilk pinch of salt 1/2 c. regular or quick grits (not instant!) 1/3 c. Cabot's 75% Fat-Free Cheddar Cheese, cubed 1/4 c. grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese freshly ground black pepper to taste hot sauce Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil and whisk in the grits.  Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until thickened.  Stir in the two cheeses, pepper, and a few sprinkles of hot sauce, and.  Cover and set aside.

Shrimp Ingredients: 4 slices turkey bacon, chopped 1 pound raw medium-sized shrimp, peeled and deveined 1 Tb. Smart Balance Buttery Spread 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper pinch of salt 1 c. sliced mushrooms 1/2 c. chopped green onions 2 garlic cloves, mnced 2  c. Wolfgang Puck Organic Chicken Broth 2 Tb. lemon juice hot sauce Peel and devein shrimp, and set aside.  Saute chopped turkey bacon in a large skillet until crisp; scoop into a small dish and set aside.  Melt 1 Tb. Smart Balance spread in the skillet and saute the mushrooms for a couple of minutes; add green onions and saute for two or three minutes.  Add. the shrimp, garlic, pepper, salt, lemon juice, chicken broth, shrimp, and turkey bacon.   Add a few dashes of hot sauce to taste.  Stir, scraping bottom of skillet to loosen bacon particles.  Cook 3-4 minutes, until shrimp is pink and flavors are well-blended.  Stir in the cooked grits and let sit for a few minutes before serving. People at work tend to hover longingly whenever I have my Shrimp & Grits Soup for lunch.  I made a batch this morning for my daughter and her family.  (OK, so I kept a little aside for myself, too.  Yum!)

Kim - What a wonderful sounding recipe.  I can't wait to try it.  I have to wait about a month or so because I just had the RESTORe procedure (clinical trial involving stoma suturing endoscopically) and I'm on a liquid diet for another week, to be followed by soft solid proteins.  I figure 1-2  months from now I'll be back to eating semi-normally, and this recipe sounds like it's pretty lowfat, low calorie.  Thanks, Betsy