Haven’t we all had those days when you decide what sounds good for dinner only to open the pantry and find you don’t have the ingredients you need?
I had my mind set on shrimp and grits. I knew I had shrimp in the freezer, and was pretty sure I had some grits, but… No grits.
So I poked around the refrigerator until I found something to scrounge together for dinner. Cheese, butter, milk, macaroni – it looked like a good night for mac and cheese.
I stayed with the shrimp, breading them with a mixture of cornmeal, breadcrumbs, flour and cayenne pepper.
While the macaroni was cooking, I fried the shrimp.
It wasn’t shrimp and grits, but it was crispy fried shrimp with creamy macaroni and cheese. Good enough.
Here’s the recipe I used for a good, basic macaroni and cheese.
One-Dish Macaroni and Cheese
1 (8-ounce) package elbow macaroni
¼ cup butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper
2 cups shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
1. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
2. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat; whisk in flour until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk, and cook, whisking constantly, 5 minutes or until thickened. Stir in salt, pepper and shredded cheese. Stir until melted. Add cooked pasta.
