Shrimp 'n' Grits

This is Valentine's Day dinner at my house :D

In honor of the date, I attempted to make the bacon look like little hearts, a la Pinterest.  Mine came out heartish-shaped rather than heart-shaped.  Here is the pin I worked from. I highly recommend NOT using center cut bacon as it's somewhat shorter than "regular" bacon and you need the length to make the shapes...I screw up so you don't have to.

Note: you do not have to make heartish-shaped bacon snouts to make this dish.

This does not take long to make, but it does help if you prep some elements ahead.  It all freezes pretty well too.  I chose to cook the shrimp in the oven to keep kiddo hands away from hot pans on the stovetop but you could do it on the stovetop (or grill) as well...it will take a pinch less time.

You can also cook your bacon in advance (even in heartish-shaped forms) and fridge it until needed.  Just be sure to save the bacon grease for cooking the shrimp.  If you fridge the cooked bacon, just reheat it lightly in the microwave or put it back in the oven for a few minutes to warm up.

One last note...how much bacon you use is up to you.  You can go with "bacon as seasoning" and use just a couple of slices or you can go with "bacon as major protein" and use a half pound or even a whole pound if you want.  I used a half pound to make 8 heartish-shaped bacon pieces in the oven.  If you're turning on the oven, you might as well make a lot of bacon IMHO.  If you're doing this on the stovetop, less bacon works better.

To make this super-delicious, cook the grits in chicken or seafood stock.  Water is just fine though.  Tips on dealing with stock/broth for freezer kits here.

If you make a freezer kit, you could measure out the dry grits and freeze them (be sure to get all the air out!) but really, grits keep for-eh-ver in the pantry.

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Pistachio Tilapia

Sort of a lower-carb fish amandine recipe.  Suitable for a freezer kit or prepping ahead for same-day or next-day cookery.

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Veggie-stuffed turkey meatloaf

This is adapted from a Better Homes and Gardens recipe.  I like using grits instead of breadcrumbs in turkey meatloaf.  Ground turkey can be, well, squishy and breadcrumbs just seem to amplify that quality.  Grits give a little more tooth to a slice of turkey meatloaf in my opinion.  If you don't have grits, just use breadcrumbs but I do think grits are worth keeping around if only as a breadcrumb-substitute.

The vegetables tucked inside the meatloaf help keep it moist and almost count as their own side dish.  You need 2 cups of lightly cooked, chopped vegetables.  Doesn't really matter what they are.  A brilliant plan would be to get some frozen mixed vegetables, nuke them a couple minutes and pulse them a couple of times in the food processor to chop them.  You'll wind up with enough vegetable stuffing from a 16 oz. bag to do two meatloaves in advance.

As far as the glaze, it's delicious but not really necessary.  Skip it if you want, or use whatever type of jelly/jam you have on hand.  I would avoid strawberry or grape, personally, but apricot, currant, apple, or blackberry would all be delish.

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