Tag Archive for: grits

A Bowl Full of Fall Flavors

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We are taking a house party up to Linville in about a month, and I am so excited for it that I have already started planning the menu.  I was going to have traditional spaghetti sauce, homemade bread, and salad for dinner one night because it is what we always have for house parties in Linville, but I came across a recipe yesterday that looked so intriguing and delicious, that I might have to put aside the spaghetti for once.  The recipe is for BBQ chicken over grits, and what really stopped me was that it called for putting a can of pumpkin in the grits as well as pepper jack cheese.  Wow!  I can not wait to try this!! (the photo is from www.tasteofhome.com)

BBQ Chicken and Grits

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/4 tsp pepper

14.5 oz can reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided

1 cup hickory smoke-flavored BBQ sauce

1/4 cup molasses

1 tbsp ground ancho chili pepper

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 1/4 cups water

1 cup quick-cooking grits

1 cup canned pumpkin

3/5 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped

6 tbsp sour cream

2 green onions, chopped

2 tbsb minced cilantro

Directions:

Sprinkle the chicken with pepper and place in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of the broth, bbq sauce, molasses, chile pepper and cinnamon and pour over chicken.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the chicken reads 170 degrees.  Shred the meat with two forks and return to skillet.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring the water and remaining broth to a boil.  Slowly stir in the grits and pumpkin.  Reduce the heat and cook, stirring, for 5-7 minutes or until thickened.  Stir in the cheese until melted.

Divide the grits among 6 serving bowls and top each with 1/2 cup chicken mixture.  Serve with tomatoes, sour cream, green onions and cilantro.

Grits and Hominy

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Growing up the words grits and hominy were interchangeable.  There was no difference between the two, and it has only been recently that I found out there actually was a difference.  It was actually brought up last night as a topic of conversation preceding dinner.  What is the difference between grits and hominy.  The answer is is actually only in the way they are ground.  Grits are made from hominy.  Hominy is a corn kernel removed from its hull, and grits are ground up hominy (either stone ground or commercially milled- obviously stone ground is the best).  No matter the answer, both are superb for breakfast or any time.  Here is my favorite sausage and grits recipe since I can’t eat shrimp.  But of course, if you are in Charleston, the best place for either of these is the Hominy Grill!!

Sausage and Grits

Ingredients:

1 pound bulk spicy pork sausage
4 cups water
1 cup quick-cooking grits
4 ounces shredded Gouda cheese
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
3 eggs, beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring until the sausage is crumbly and lightly browned. Drain off the grease and place the sausage in a bowl. Meanwhile, bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Stir in the grits, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook and stir constantly for 5 minutes until the grits are tender, or follow package directions.  Stir together the sausage, cheese, butter, hot pepper sauce, and eggs. Fold in the grits until combined, then spread into an ungreased, small casserole dish. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown on top, 30 to 40 minutes.

Gouda Grits and Seafood Goodness

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We spent a long weekend down on Wadmalaw Island, just 30 minutes south of Charleston, SC.  The weather couldn’t have been more beautiful, and we ate some good good food!  Here are two of the best things we had.  First- the crabs!  I am not actually going to write a recipe for this as we caught fresh crabs, and a lot of them, put them in a pot with some seasoning and boiled them.  Then we ate them.  I am using “we” rather loosely as I am allergic to shellfish, but I did help catch the crabs and lived vicariously through everyone else watching them eat, and they are a lot better in pictures than grits (and here is the sunset thrown in as well)!

 

 

 

 

Next came the grits, which I ate. And ate. And ate.  I am not sure if it has come across yet how much I love cheese.  But I do.  I love it so much!  So Gouda Grits sounded pretty amazing when I ran across the recipe in Southern Living magazine.  I have grown up eating my mother’s amazing cheddar cheese grits, and I have never strayed from that recipe, but this sounded too good to pass up, especially now that I am writing this blog which gives me an excuse to try just about anything!  Here is the recipe.  The next time I make this, I will cut it in half if not quarter because it made so much!

Gouda Grits

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup whipping cream

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 cups uncooked quick-cooking grits

2 cups (8 oz.) shredded Gouda cheese

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup butter

2 teaspoons hot sauce

Preparation

Bring first 4 ingredients and 4 cups water to a boil in a Dutch oven over high heat; whisk in grits, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat, and stir in Gouda and remaining ingredients.