GRITS-So Southern

You will want to make these…and soon!  These are great for tailgating, for Thanksgiving, for brunch, for holiday mornings, or for just about any morning!  Easy to make, put in refrigerator the night before, bake the next morning, throw what toppings you want on them and chow down!  There won’t be any left, I can assure you.

 

Loaded Grits Cakes

6 cups chicken broth (can use fat free – I do)

1 ½ cups quick cooking grits (not instant, though)

1 cup shredded sharp (or extra sharp for a little extra flavor- or some smoked gouda would also be good)

2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

½ to 1 Tsp salt (or to taste – got to salt those grits!

½ tsp ground pepper (or to taste)

½ tsp garlic powder (or to taste)

A pinch of cayenne pepper (or to taste)

2 Tbsp melted butter

 

For Garnish after cooked cakes are baked:  Sour cream, shredded cheese, cooked crumbled bacon (or your choice of toppings)

 

1. Lightly grease a 13×9 inch baking pan.
2. In a large saucepan, bring broth, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to a boil over medium high heat. Stir in grits, stirring constantly, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 5 minutes stirring frequently to prevent lumps.  Stir in parsley when done.   Pour into 13×9 pan and let cool slightly.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
3. Unmold grits onto a large cutting board and cut into 2 dozen squares.

All cut up and ready for the oven!

4.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

5.  Brush a large rimmed baking sheet with melted butter. Place grits squares on pan.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Brush tops of cakes with more melted butter and turn over and bake for another 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown on both sides.

Nice and all golden Brown and just waiting for toppings!

6.  Garnish with toppings of choice and serve.

I added cheese on all of them, then added bacon on some, sausage on some, and left some plain, sprinkled chopped green onions on all of them, and dusted with a bit of parsley to make them look pretty!   And they went over quite well at Sunday School!

 

And winners, your cookbooks will be mailed tomorrow (Thursday).  Hubby has had some eye surgeries the past two weeks (one each week) and I haven’t been getting out much other than taking him back and forth to the eye doctor!  I will mail tomorrow!  Thanks for understanding!  Have a great weekend!  Cooler weather is on its way.  Well, a little cooler, anyway.

A breakfast casserole for any time of the day

Y’all.  This casserole.  Don’t just serve it for breakfast.  Serve it for brunch, lunch, supper, Christmas morning, Easter morning, your birthday, someone’s birthday you don’t even know!

Just serve it.  Throw it together the night before, bake it the next morning.  Done.  Enjoy.   What’s easier than that?   I am such an airhead I took no pictures.  None. Nada.  So that means you need to make it so you can see how beautiful it cooks up.

Steak and Eggs Breakfast Casserole

2 pounds sirloin (or ribeye) cut into 1 inch cubes

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 tsp smokehouse black pepper (optional but I included it)

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped (or use tri colored mix of peppers!)

1 (14-ounce) package English muffins, torn into 1 inch pieces

1 (8-ounce) pkg shredded monterey jack/colby cheese blend

1 (8 oz) pkg shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

12 large eggs

2 cups half and half

1/2 cup whole milk

In a large bowl, combine steak, salt, pepper(s) and toss gently to coat.  I also threw in a small bit of garlic powder.  You can flavor yours as you wish.  You want the steak to sear with flavor.

In a large skillet, heat oil and add steak.  Sear for about 3 minutes.  Add the garlic, onion, and bell pepper and cook for a couple of more minutes.  In a 3 quart baking dish (I used a deep 9×13 glass dish place torn english muffins on bottom; top with steak mix and sprinkle evenly with cheeses. Sprinkle top of cheeses with italian seasoning.  I actually used probably about 2 tsp of italian seasoning.  This is a big casserole and a lot of eggs!

In a large bowl, beat all 12 eggs, the half and half and the whole milk until smooth.  I also added just a bit of salt and pepper to the eggs.  I like to flavor all layers.  slowly pour over the casserole.  Cover and let stand overnight or 8 hours (make in the morning, bake for supper!).  Remove and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes.   cover with aluminum foil if necessary to prevent over-browning.  I did bake mine the full hour and 20 minutes and I did cover with foil after about 50 minutes of baking.  It came out so golden brown and fluffy and beautiful.  It was a big hit at Sunday School.

Pioneer Woman has come out with her new line of kitchenware.  Gorgeous glassware, beautiful dishes.  If you have not seen them, go to her website http://www.pioneerwoman.com and look at them.  Come back and leave me a comment on what is your favorite.  There will be a giveaway on some of her stuff.  I need to know what YOU are liking in her line of new wares!

Breakfast Panini…How do you like yours?

It is the last Sunday of the month…which means…we eat!

I made these….

Breakfast Paninis and Monte Cristo Sandwiches!   So easy and quick and since there is such a variety at our Sunday Breakfasts, I cut mine in to quarters so that everyone could partake of everything!

Make your Breakfast Panini and flavor yours with your favorite breakfast items.   These seem to be a hit.

Bacon and Egg Paninis

(serves 4 or if you quarter them like I did, a SS class!)

4 eggs

4 egg whites

2 Tbsp cream

1/4 to 1/2 tsp garlic salt – to taste

6 slices of bacon (but I actually used more to make sure I filled them up – I actually had 4 half slices on each panini so 2 whole slices per panini)

3/4 cup shredded cheddar (I didn’t measure – just piled some on each one but not overpiled)

4 refrigerated Grand biscuits, sliced in half through the thickness of the biscuit)

Fry bacon till done – (I like to do mine in the oven!)

Once biscuit is sliced in half through the center, roll biscuit halves out on lightly floured surface until thin.

Mix eggs, egg whites, cream and garlic salt.  Scramble eggs until light and fluffy and just cooked through.

Fill one side of flat biscuit with 1/4 egg, strips of bacon and about 2 Tbsp. cheese and top with other half of flat biscuit.

Spray panini press; cook until done.  Watch and don’t let burn.  Here is one that is all done with another one ready in the background to go on the panini press.

Yummy!

The Monte Cristo Sandwich was not made in the panini press but was just as equally easy.   Since it calls for thick sliced baked ham, I decided to use the Carving Board brand Ham and it worked great plus made for a pretty hefty filling sandwich.  I also cut this sandwich into fourths.

Monte Cristo:

2 eggs

4 slices bread (sturdy)

2 Tbsp mustard

2Tbsp mayonnaise

1/2 lb thick sliced baked ham (I used one pkg carving board ham and the bread I used was large sliced

Gruyere Cheese, shredded (I used about 1/2 of an 8 oz. pkg grated)

2 Tbsp Butter

Beat eggs with salt and pepper, to taste.

Assemble sandwich with mustard, mayo, ham, cheese, salt, pepper.  Compress sandwich.

Over medium heat, melt butter in skillet.  Dip sandwich in egg. (see my little line-up in the pic?  Sammy, egg to dip in? and skillet to throw them in!)

Brown till crisp on one side, turn and crisp on the other side.  (I added a smidgen more butter after I flipped mine but it may be because I used my gynormous skillet and my butter went all over the place). Serve and enjoy.

And here’s my platter of paninis and sammies!

Nice and crispy and warm and ready for Sunday School.   Make something different this week.  Maybe even throw a panini in there somewhere.    Have a great week!

Last Sunday means food

First thing, thanks for all the opinions on the cheesecake issue!   By the way – so far it is a tie!!!  I just may have to make one of each for the auction at this rate! HA!

Yesterday was the last Sunday of the month and yep! We ate in Sunday School.  It is a given. Last Sunday of the month…bring food!

This cheesy, grits filled goodness of a casserole was a hit!   A crowd pleaser if you are have company over for the 4th weekend.  Or not.  Make it for your family.  You won’t be disappointed.  I used the good old Conecuh sausage in mine.  But feel free to use whatever link sausage you wish – turkey sausage even!  But for my SS class, I wanted to give them the best flavor I could!  So get your aprons on and get the pots ready.

Grits and Sausage Casserole with cheese (can’t get any more Southern than that!)

1/2 Tbsp oil

1 pkg sausage (link) – I used 16 oz pkg of Conecuh smoked sausage – next time I am using the hot and spicy!

about 1/4 cup chopped bell pepper (I keep the tri-colored bell peppers – frozen pkg in my freezer – just grabbed a hand ful – let sit on the counter for a bit, and chopped away – hubby said the combination was great in this dish – and I may have chopped a bit more than a quarter cup – it’s up to you!)

4 green onions, sliced

2 1/4 cups water

2 cups chicken broth

1 tsp salt

1 1/4 cup quick cooking grits

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp garlic powder (I may have put just a smidgen more)

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (1/4 cup of this saved back to sprinkle on top)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease or spray an 11×7 inch baking dish.

Heat the 1/2 Tbsp of oil over medium heat in a nonstick skillet.  Add sliced sausage and saute for a few minutes (3 or 4 minutes should be fine) then add the bell peppers and onions and saute for 3 more minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside. (I actually did this step the night before and then put in microwave for about 20 seconds the next morning before using to knock the chill off of it. saved me time Sunday morning!)

In a medium saucepan bring water and chicken broth to a boil.  Add salt and then slowly stir grits in.  Simmer grits for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.    In another bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, and garlic powder.  Slowly stir in about 1 cup of the hot grits to temper the eggs (don’t want scrambled eggs)  Then pour the milk/grits/eggs mix into the saucepan with the rest of the grits, stirring constantly to combine.

Stir in the Parmesan cheese and half of the Cheddar cheese (the 1/4 cup), reserving the other 1/4 cup of the cheddar cheese.  Mix in the sausage mixture.  Pour into the prepared pan and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.  Bake for 45 minutes.  Mine actually came out after 40 minutes.

No, I did not take a picture.  I forgot.  Sorry!  It sure was purty!  I hope you will try it.

Have a great week.

Breakfast in Italy….sort of

Breakfast in Sunday School is the best!  There is such a variety of foods and flavors to sample!  I made this to take…and it is the “ready to go in the oven” shot – there isn’t one that is “just out of the oven” shot – I am a dumbbell! I admit it.

An Italian Breakfast Casserole! A recipe I found floating around the net and one I sort of revised to my likingt\. And man did it ever smell good!  This is a casserole you could serve for a brunch, lunch or a great supper night with a side salad.  And you can variate the meats/seasonings to your liking.

Use spinach/mushrooms instead of meats layered in on top of the dough.  Add some swiss cheese with it.  Man.

Use pepperoni or some prosciutto ham – include fresh garlic and a pinch of cayenne somewhere along the way!

Make this today and come and tell us what you used in yours!

Italian Breakfast Casserole

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 cups diced bell peppers (use tri-colored!) and onions

1 (8-0z) tube of crescent rolls

8 slices ham (i just bought some oscar meyer deli ham in the lunchmeat section – worked great)

15 slices salami – (did the same but got the small round “hard salami” as it is called)

(or any other combination of good meats)

8 eggs

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 dried oregano (optional but sure gives it a great flavor)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 cup Italian Blend Shredded cheese (or you can use just plain shredded mozzarella cheese)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9×13 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Add the olive oil to a large skillet and heat over high heat.  When hot, add bell peppers and onions and cook, stirring occasionally.  You will want them to be soft and have a slight char to their edge.  And you know me, I flavor in layers so I threw in a pinch of salt and pepper.  Remove to a plate and set aside.

In the prepared dish, layer the crescent rolls, (pinch seams), ham, and salami.  Beat the eggs with the seasonings and pour on top.  Sprinkle on the peppers and onions, and then the cheese.  Bake for 30 minutes.   Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.  I hope you enjoy this as much as the class did!

Oatmeal Muffins with toppings – yummy

Need something for a wonderful, delicious breakfast that is healthy?  Try these Baked Oatmeal muffins and choose what toppings you put on yours.  You can even leave off toppings and eat plain.  These will freeze well – just pop out what you need for the next morning’s breakfast before you go to bed – and heat for 10-15 seconds in the microwave – or not!

Even good with a tad of peanut butter on them!  Or a drizzle of honey or maple syrup.  The sky’s the limit with these.

Oatmeal Muffins

2 eggs

1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup packed brown sugar (I, of course, used my Splenda brown sugar)

1/2 cup applesauce (I used the unsweetened applesauce)

1 1/2 cups skim milk (any kind milk you use will work)

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp cinnamon

3 cups old fashioned oats(not the quick cooking or instant kind)

2 tsp baking powder

Toppings (your choice)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin pans with paper or foil muffin liners.  Don’t skip this.  I used regular and mini muffin pans – it should make about 16 large muffins if you use only the large size.

2.  In a large bowl whisk eggs, oil and brown sugar until sugar is dissolved (or combined well).  Add applesauce, milk, vanilla, salt and cinnamon and whisk until combined.  Stir in oats and baking powder (I measured out my oats and baking powder in another bowl and stirred to combine – that way the baking powder gets evenly distributed and you don’t get a big clump of the baking powder somewhere in the mix.)

3.  Fill muffin cups (about 1/4 cup per large muffin cup size).  Add toppings (I used chopped pecans on some, mini chocolate chips on some, craisins on some, raisins on some, and fresh blueberries on some) and slightly push toppings in to mix either with your fingers or back of a spoon.

Ready for the oven! (I didn’t take an “after baked” picture – I am an airhead.

4.  Bake for 30 minutes and let cool for 5 minutes.  (the cooling lets them come out of the paper liners easier.  Enjoy!

These are so moist – and like I said, are such an easy breakfast/snack.  And with no flour, they are good for those who can’t have it.

Try these soon and come back and let me k now what toppings you used!  Have a great weekend.

Breakfast or for snack- just make it

Oh my – this bread. This wonderful delightful bread. Peanut Butter Bread. Toast it and slather it with more peanut butter – or Nuttella spread – or more peanut butter! Or plain, good old jelly or jam! It’s like eating a PBJ piece of toast! It is good just by itself. Trust me on this …. it is why I am getting it out of the house!!

Peanut Butter Bread
1 cup milk (any kind will work – fat free, regular, 2%)
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter (I used creamy not the kind with nuts)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 3/4 cups plain flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put milk, eggs, sugar and peanut butter in a mixer bowl (or you can use your blender if you have a good one for this) and mix until blended (if using a blender put on “batters” setting-since mine is 30+ years old I am sure mine does not have a “batters” setting!).

In another bowl, stir flour, baking powder and salt together. Add to mixing bowl with peanut butter mixture (or blender if using it) and mix until combined. (on blender, pulse a few times until combined).

Pour batter (will be somewhat thick) into a prepared 9×5 inch loaf pan.

Look how pretty that batter is! And the smell is so incredible – even before baking.

Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Mine took exactly 50 minutes.

I just can’t tell you how good this is. Hope you try it soon.

Peanut Butter No Bake Bars

Peanut Butter in anything is a win-win for us. And with no flour, 3 ingredients, and no baking, you can’t go wrong. And if you want to get really creative, throw in some nuts, dried cranberries or raisins or other dried fruit, and you have a great afternoon pick-me-up! Or a wonderful breakfast bar.

Keep these in the refrigerator for a firm bar. Or if you prefer, let sit out for a short time for a more softer, chewier bar. But even in the refrigerator, these are still good and chewy. Enjoy and create your own version.

Peanut Butter No Bake Bars

3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey

( halved everything since there are only two of us and used an 8×8 pan and made a really thin bar – that way hubby doesn’t get much honey in each bar)

Line a 9×9 inch pan with foil and lightly spray with non-stick spray.

Melt the peanut butter and honey together in a microwave until smooth. (doesn’t take long!)
In a medium size bowl mix all ingredients together. Press into pan. I find that if I place a piece of saran wrap on top to use to press the mix down, it makes it much easier and less messier on my hands and the mix doesn’t stick to my hands nor to the saran wrap. Works for me!
Place in refrigerator until set. Cut in squares and enjoy!

Here are mine!

(please overlook the grandkids’ almost 20 year old melamine plate that I just can’t seem to throw away!)

Let me know what you plan on throwing in to your concoction! I just may have to give yours a try!

Sausage Gravy Biscuit Casserole is just what you need

This casserole rolls Sausage Grave (some call it sawmill gravy) and your biscuits into one dish casserole that makes it both delicious and great for a crowd pleaser. It is a great dish to take to a morning breakfast crowd, when you are having the family over for breakfast, or taking it to a Sunday School breakfast.

It comes together quickly and easily so make it and see how your family likes this dish. And I even remembered to take pictures this time! The airhead was gone this time! HA

Sausage Gravy Biscuit Casserole
Gravy:
1 lb breakfast sausage (bulk-mild or hot – your preference)
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 Tbsp all purpose flour
3 cups milk
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Drop Biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup cold butter cut into cubes

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees ( I baked mine at 400 degrees – I believe the 450 gets the biscuits done but doesn’t allow them to absorb all the gravy)
For the gravy:
1. In a 10 inch oven safe skillet (I actually put my stuff in an 11×7 inch pam sprayed glass dish since I took this dish to Sunday School so keep this in mind if you are not going to just use the skillet for cooking) and serving) brown the sausage until just lightly brown on medium high heat. Using a slotted spoon, remove sausage from skillet and set aside. There was very little oil left so I did not remove it from the skillet – great flavor in that stuff!

While the sausage is browning, get your drip biscuit dough ready – and y’all, these drop biscuits are good just making and baking by themselves so keep this recipe just for the biscuits alone! In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix with a fork until combined. I added about a quarter cup of shredded cheddar cheese at this point and stirred. Add the 1/2 cup cold butter and cut in either with a cutter or a fork until the butter is about the size of peas. Small chunks ensures tender biscuits! Stir in milk and stir with a fork until just mixed – mixture will be sticky don’t overmix dough!

Now for the gravy – add the butter to the skillet – when melted add the 4 tbsp flour and whisk together. Allow mixture to bubble for about 2 minutes to get the flour taste out. Whisk during this time to get all the bits off the bottom of the skillet and to get the lumps out of the flour mix. Add the milk and whisk to combine. Let the mix bubble for about 3 minutes. It will thicken as it bubbles. Add the pepper, (I also added a small bit of salt to mine as the brand of sausage I had bought was not salty at all and I also sprinkled in a couple of more pinches of pepper – salt and pepper is all to your own taste. And it all depends on the saltiness and spiceyness of the sausage – so be sure and taste your gravy before adding extra seasoning so that you do not over season.

I poured the gravy into my 11×7 inch pan and used a spoon to drop tiny biscuits (for ease of serving at SS) on top.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until biscuits are browned. Actually mine cooked a bit longer since I baked mine at 400 degrees. But next time I will bake mine at 450 degrees and for about 12 minutes.

Finished product! Yummy! Have a great week and have some gravy and biscuits!

A great dessert and a great breakfast

I made this yesterday but being the doe-doe head I am I did not take a picture of the completed picture. However, I did take pictures of the process! Yea me!

This recipe is so good and so easy. Eat it for a dessert – it stands alone and would b good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Or re-heat and have for a breakfast or brunch. Or just make the apple topping and serve these on your oatmeal! Oh my.

Try some and see how you would change this recipe and make it your own. And of course, I did…and I used splenda brown sugar in mine! I found this recipe on a blog I follow and changed it up slightly – (Cookies and Cups) so that hubby could have a bite—or two!

Skillet Apple Biscuits
3 medium granny smith apples peeled and chopped
1 tsp lemon juice – I also zested half of the lemon and included the zest in the apples
3 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar plus 2 Tbsp reserved for topping
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
10 to 12 large biscuits (canned works just fine but don’t use the flaky layered kind)

For the glaze:
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup (or more if needed) heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large (10″) cast iron skillet with butter and set aside.
Put apples into a medium sauce pan and sprinkle with lemon juice (and the zest if using) and stir to coat apples. Add the 3 Tbsp butter (its ok if its not melted as it will melt during cooking process but I did slice my butter up) and also add the heavy cream.

When through, set this aside.

Inn a bowl whisk together the flour, 1/2 cup light brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add this to the apple mix and stir to coat. Heat this mixture over medium low heat until apples soften and a thick sauce is created, stirring frequently, for about 7-10 minutes. Remove from heat.
Place biscuits in pan, completely covering bottom overlapping if needed. I cut my biscuits into quarters and added to the skillet for a better fit and for ease of serving – see?

Pour apple mixture over biscuits evenly and sprinkle with the reserved 2 Tbsp of light brown sugar

ready for the oven!
Bake for 30-35 minutes until biscuits are golden brown.

For the glaze, mix powdered sugar and heavy cream in a small bowl until smooth and drizzle on top of biscuits when they come out of the oven. Serve warm.

Have a great week! And enjoy these sometime soon! Great warmed over!