Garlic Shrimp and Grits

I just had a thought, holidays weren't meant to be like this!

Honey and I have been extremely busy. Last Thursday night we went to Pine Lake and saw Chris Tomlin and Louie Giglio in the "Glory in the Highest" tour. It was great and I wouldn't have missed it for the world after the concert we went to my Dad's for the night, then picked up Punkin and kept her for a couple of days. We were able to take her to breakfast with Santa Saturday morning and it was so much fun. It's not everyday that you get to do these things with your grand-children.

Sunday we attended the Christmas cantata and then spent the afternoon with Ash and the baby. All afternoon I was stressed because of all that I had to do. Our computer is out and we are trying to set up a new one, I am days behind on paying bills, payroll taxes are due, Honey has new glasses to pick up, I have prescriptions that I need to have filled, the house needs cleaned, my washer isn't working correctly, we have a business meeting in a few days and on top of it all I have only sparsely decorated for Christmas. Earlier I had shared with my family that I was overwhelmed with it all. Christmas isn't supposed to be like this, this is not the reason for the season.

So while the family slept I made an executive decision, I took out a few more decorations and decided that there will be no tree this year. At first I felt bad because this is the first year that I have not put up a tree but we are leaving to go on a trip next weekend and we are having Christmas at Ben and Ash's when we get home. Besides, spending time with my family is the most important thing right now and I was wasting my time worrying.

After I made this decision I felt so much better, and I started to straighten up the house and think about cooking supper. Now after spending all afternoon fretting I had no meat thawed and had no idea what I was going to cook. Then I remembered that I had bought the ingredients to try a garlic shrimp and grits recipe that I had copied from Southern Living magazine. It was a cold night and so this sounded really good and man oh man it WAS!!! We all loved it and so I want to share it with you.

Garlic Shrimp and Grits
Servings: 4

Ingredients:
1 pound unpeeled medium size shrimp; cooked
3 c. water
1 c. whipping cream
¼ c. butter or margarine
1 tsp. salt
1 c. quick-cooking grits; uncooked
1 c. (4 oz.) shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
2 garlic cloves; minced

Instructions:
Peel shrimp, and devein, if desired. Bring 3 cups water, cream, butter, and salt to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, and whisk in grits. Cook, whisking constantly, 7 to 8 minutes or until mixture is smooth. Stir in 1 pound shrimp, cheese and garlic, and cook 1 to 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Garnish with chopped fresh chives, peeled and cooked shrimp, freshly ground black pepper if desired.

This is so good and EASY that I plan to make it often in the future!