Cheddar Grits

In a medium Dutch Oven or soup pot, whisk together chicken bouillon base and milk, then bring the milk to a boil. Add the grits, 1-2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, whisking well.

Reduce the heat to low and cook until the liquid is absorbed, 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the butter, cheese, and more salt and pepper to taste. Cover until ready to serve.

Sauteed Garlic Shrimp

In a large cast-iron skillet, fry the bacon over medium-high heat. When crisp, remove the bacon and place on a paper towel-lined plate to remove the excess grease and oil.

Add the shrimp and red pepper flakes to the bacon grease in the cast iron skillet, turn the heat down to medium, and saute the shrimp, flipping them over after just over a minute, and letting the other side cook, cooking for about 3 minutes, but no more than 3 minutes total.

Turn off the heat and add the minced garlic, stirring for about 30 seconds; the residual heat will cook the garlic through. The shrimp should be opaque entirely, and gently curl in. Stir in lemon juice and season to taste. Remove the shrimp from the pan onto a plate and set aside.

White Gravy

In the same pan, add the ¼ cup all-purpose flour over medium heat to the bacon fat and whisk to fully combine the fat and flour.

Slowly whisk in the milk. Remember hot roux + cold milk = no lumps. Gradually splash in the milk (it will be thick and seize up at first while adding the first half cup or so, that is normal. Keep going.) and add the chicken bouillon base once all the milk is whisked in and smooth.

Let the gravy simmer and thicken for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently until it reaches the desired consistency.

Serve

Plate the grits hot with shrimp and chopped bacon, then generously pour the bacon white gravy over top.