Recipe: Shrimp and grits

A friend recently made shrimp and grits and posted a photo/recipe on facebook. It looked so delicious and I've been craving the Southern classic ever since. I decided to try making a lowfat version. The real thing definitely tastes better, but my version turned out to be one of the best things I've made since I started Weight Watchers 2 1/2 years ago.

While I concocted my own recipe for the shrimp part (recipe below), I used a Weight Watchers recipe for the cheese grits. Here's the link: http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/RecipePage.aspx?recipeid=158391. One note: I used Cabot 75% reduced fat white sharp cheddar in the recipe. I don't know if it affected the points value, but I figured it couldn't be too different than regular reduced fat cheddar. I also served my dinner with a side of steamed fresh broccoli and a glass of white wine. The only thing wrong with this recipe is that it was so good I wanted to eat twice as much. (But I didn't.)

Ingredients

1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (50-60 count)
2 shallots, chopped (You can use whatever kind of onion you like best. You need about a cup.)
8 oz. fresh sliced mushrooms
1 red pepper, chopped (You can use a green pepper if you prefer.)
4 slices Canadian bacon, chopped
2 tsp. minced garlic (You can use fresh or the kind from the jar.)
Red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper
Cooking spray

Directions
Coat a nonstick pan with cooking spray. Add shallots and saute on medium heat until translucent. Add mushrooms, red pepper and Canadian bacon. Saute until mushrooms and red pepper are tender. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste and cook about 2 minutes. Add shrimp and cook until pink. To serve, pour 1/2 cup of cheese grits onto a plate and top with 1/4 of the shrimp mixture. Makes 4 servings.