Shrimp and Tomatoes with Cheese Grits

The options for vegan seafood keep expanding, and one of my favorites is faux shrimp.  Try the shrimp from Vegetarian Plus to make this traditional southern dish vegan with ease.

Ingredients:

• Cooking spray
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 24 ounces Vegetarian Plus shrimp, thawed
• 1 and 1/2 cups chopped plum tomato
• 1/2 cup sliced green onions
• 1 and 1/2 cups plain non-dairy milk
• 1 and 3/4 cups vegan chicken broth (prepared from Not Chick'n bouillon)
• 1 cup uncooked quick-cooking grits
• 1 cup shredded Daiya cheddar 
• 1 tablespoon Annie's Worcestershire sauce

1. Heat a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat.  Add the bell pepper and shrimp; saute for 7 minutes.  Add the plum tomato and green onions; cook for an additional 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

2. Meanwhile, combine the milk and chicken broth in a saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Gradually add the grits.  Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally - the grits should be thick by the end.  Stir in the cheddar and Worcestershire sauce, stirring until the cheddar melts.

3. Spoon 2/3 cup grits onto each of 6 plates, and top each serving with 2/3 cup shrimp mixture.

Nutrition Info:
6 servings (2/3 cup shrimp mixture, 2/3 cup grits), Calories 329

Tasting Notes:
The grits were absolutely fabulous, and creamy from the Daiya cheddar.  From now on I will consider Annie's Worcestershire sauce my secret grits ingredient.  The shrimp topping was nice, but unfortunately didn't quite rise to the level of the grits.  I would swap out the green bell pepper for okra (as a personal preference) and definitely add spices.  I think stewed tomatoes would be better than chopped plum tomatoes.  But as you can see, the grits were so delicious they kept up my overall rating of the dish.

Rating:
4

As a side note, this will be my last post for a couple of weeks - I'll be away from home (and my kitchen) on business, but please check back towards the end of the month.  I have many more vegan recipes to come.