Today was a good day. Above all else, I was quite relieved to get the call from the doctor that the tick removed from Mr. N’s scalp last night was not an engorged deer tick, but a dog tick and these little buggers don’t carry Lyme disease. Thank goodness. And I have to say Mr. N handled the whole ordeal with a bravery that just amazed me. He does not get this from me. I would have freaked out (or passed out) if a bug was attached to my head and don’t even get me started on shots. Eek!
And this was just the beginning, the day kept on getting better. My camera was fixed, the skies were blue, the bouncy house came out of storage and we had a darn good dinner. Tonight was state night again and Mr. N wanted to sample some good ol’ Southern food from Georgia. It didn’t take us long to pick our recipes for this adventure. The dish that stood out above all else – Shrimp and Grits.
Until today none of us have had shrimp and grits, so we were really looking forward to tonight’s meal – and it didn’t disappoint. We adapted this recipe from A Spicy Perspective who posted a version of shrimp and grits that got this whole thing rolling a few days ago.
Mr. N began the night for us by mixing the raw, deveined and peeled shrimp with paprika, oregano, basil and pepper. 
If you’re looking for some extra kick, a dash or two of cayenne could be added to the shrimp as well. Tonight we left it out in the hopes that Mr. N and Miss A would eat this meal. 
Once the shrimp was well coated, we set it aside and began cooking the grits and bacon. For the grits we boiled water, chicken stock and butter together and then slowly added the grits, whisking constantly for 5 minutes. In the meantime, dad began cooking the bacon. 
After the bacon was cooked, dad removed it from the skillet, reserving the grease in the pan, and chopped the bacon into pieces. While dad was working his magic at the stove, Miss A was busy learning how to grate cheese. 
I think this was Miss A’s favorite cooking technique yet. The cheese, that Miss A didn’t eat, was then added to the grits with tomato paste and a dash of cayenne. After stirring it together and cooking for a few more minutes, we removed the grits from the heat and set them aside. 
Next we returned to the skillet and added the shrimp to the bacon grease and seared it for several minutes. Dad then added some green onions, garlic and lemon juice and cooked for another minute. The shrimp was then ready to serve over the grits with sprinkles of bacon. 
I have to say that this might be my favorite state night meal yet; and it was a definite winner with dad and Mr. N too. The three of us gave the meal 3 spoons. If we had to separate them – the shrimp would get 4 spoons from all of us as well. The grits on their own weren’t as good as the with the shrimp, but I can see them growing on me. Warm carbs with cheese and tomato – mmmm. My comfort food. 
Unfortunately this meal was not a winner for Miss A. I think it was a texture thing for her. Not to worry though, I have a feeling she’ll like our Georgia dessert later this week. Any guesses???
Print this recipe: Georgia Shrimp and Grits
Eat, Play, Love 
Glad to hear Mr. N is okay and handled it bravely. Yep, ticks scare me and I’d be freaking out too.
Glad you camera is working, mine is broken and I have to wait 3 weeks to get it back. I’m totally lost without it.
Looks like you guys have beautiful weather today. It’s been raining here in Michigan since Saturday! Mmm, I think shrimp and grits is a perfect way to end the day. 🙂
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It is so frustrating without a camera. I lucked out and found a local place that fixes them. They told me it would take two weeks, but they turned it around in a day. Not sure how I got that lucky, but I’ll take it. 🙂 Yes…rain. We’ve had a lot here too – and clouds. Lots and lots of clouds. Gotta take advantage of the good days when they’re here – even if it’s only for an hour or two. Summer is coming soon though right?!
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Oh my gosh, what a scare!!! Thank goodness he is okay! Shrimp and grits sounds like a great way to celebrate. 🙂
Your kiddies are adorable!
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Totally scary. He seems to be a magnet for them too. Not sure why. We are getting good at nightly tick checks now though. 😉 Have a good one Kate!
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YAYA!! I wanted you to try out Southern food and I would so give Mr. N a high five for this :). I LOVE IT. I have been making Shrimp and grits since I was little and my mom taught me basic southern cooking. If you ever need help with southern cooking.. my mom and I are at your disposal :). And I can’t wait to know what the dessert is.
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Working on dessert right now. 🙂 I’m definitely coming to you and your mom for recipes/advice when we hit our next southern state. I haven’t forgotten your suggestion for buttermilk fried chicken. Yum! Have a good one Kay!
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What a wonderful post! Your children are SO adorable and so great to get them cooking at a young age. The shrimp dish looks incredible, now I’m really hungry again after looking at your photos. I really don’t know much about grits – but have recently been learning through some blogs, so thank you so much for sharing such a lovely recipe.
have a great day
Mary x
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Thanks Mary! We didn’t know anything about grits either, but it turned out really well and was very easy. It’s good for rainy nights too. 😉
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Glad Mr. N is OK. He sounds like a trooper. I bet he’ll grow up to grill in the rain.:) This dish looks fantastic and I love that you served it with corn. Living in the South has given me a new appreciation for grits. My wife has always loved them, but has Southern parents.
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LOL! I’ll pass that message along to hubby. Ha!
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Your children are adorable! I love the photo of Ms. A so intense on shredding her cheese! I have never had shrimp with grits before either and did see it on Sommer’s blog. Now that you’ve called it a winner, I will have to try it out too!!
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Thanks Linda! Miss A cracks me up. She’s a very lively, funny and giggly little gal, but get her in the kitchen and she goes all serious. It’s very funny. I’d never had shrimp and grits before either, but it was great! We combined Sommer’s recipe with a few others we had seen that looked interesting as well. 🙂
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Well, I learned a new thing today – “Grits”, apparently “A dish of coarsely ground corn kernels boiled with water or milk.”. I’d never heard of these before… not even sure if I could find them in France, although the dish looks great!
Also – tell your son he’s a bad-ass! I too would have been freaking out if I’d had a tick on my head… a tick… Yuck! You should see how angry I get when I’m bitten by just a mosquito 🙂
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This was my first experience with grits too. They are pretty good, but I don’t think I could eat them all the time or on their own due to the consisteny. Paired with some spicy food though – yum!
I’ll pass along the message to Mr. N. He’ll appreciate it. 😉 He absolutely amazed me. He usually freaks out over shots and blood draws, but didn’t flinch about the tick or when he had to have the shot on his head to numb the area. I think they would’ve had to sedate me! They are such nasty little bugs.
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