Recipe Monday: Yankee Bastard Cheese Grits

I'm not native to the land of the grits, northern girl that I am. In fact, I'd never tasted grits until I decided to make them. It didn't go well, but I was committed to making it better. And so I tried dozens of batches until I came up with this cheesy combo. It's now one of our favorite things, and my husband requests it regularly. Since it's so easy and quick to make, I'm more than happy to oblige.

I'm quite certain my version of cheese grits would be enough to make a proper southern cook faint a little. I do it all wrong. I gather from my research that "real" cheese grits are to be baked, something I saw as an unnecessary extra step, especially if you're trying to get breakfast on the table lickity split. I use quick-cook grits rather than their more revered stone ground cousin because of availability issues. That said, if you can look past the inauthentic-ness of things, I think you'll find these grits are worth it.

YANKEE BASTARD CHEESE GRITS

• 2 1/4 c. water
• salt for the water
• 1/2 c. quick cook (not instant) grits
  
• 3 oz cream cheese
• 1/2 c. extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/2 c. pepper jack cheese, grated

1. In a 2 quart sauce pot, lightly salt the water and let it come to a roiling boil. Add the grits and bring the water down to a medium-low heat. Stir grits for about 30 seconds, until boiling subsides a bit, and then cover. Continue cooking the grits over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

For grits newbies, if you are unsure whether your grits are done, give them a quick taste. If you feel like you are chewing on half-cooked rice, it could probably use another minute or two. Grits are done when they are soft.

2. Turn the heat down to low. Add your cheeses, starting with the cream cheese, making sure each is melted and well-combined with the gits before adding the next. Serve immediately.

What's great about this recipe is that you can tweak it to accommodate whatever you have on hand. I've used mozzarella, swiss, and even processed American cheese slices. I've never received a complaint, although the recipe above is our favorite combination. I like to serve these grits with scrambled eggs topped with salsa. Yum.

Just as a side note, I've included a picture of what my "half cup" of cheddar cheese sometimes looks like. We're cheese fiends over here. If you want to increase the amount of cheese in this recipe, you'll get nothing but respect from me!

Source: Cats and Casseroles original recipe

Cocina De La Familia

Cocina de la Familia, by Marilyn Tausend with Miguel Ravago, Fireside, 1997.

I could eat Mexican-American food all day, every day. I grew up in a town that thrives on it, and, to me, a plate of enchiladas is more of a comfort food than a roast with mashed potatoes. And I'm always on the look out for good cookbooks that feature this cuisine I love.

Cocina de la Familia is the result of its author's travels across the country, exploring the food of modern Mexican-American families. What she discovered was a dedication to roots and tradition, with an American twist. Out of necessity, immigrant families changed their recipes to accommodate what's available in American supermarkets. Pork lard becomes crisco, stronger chilies are sacrificed for the more ubiquitous jalapeno. Most of the recipes in the book have substitution recommendations, making it a good option for those without access to more authentic ingredients. Cocina de la Familia is not a well-known cookbook, but I love it, and I highly recommend it.

Oodles Noodles Casserole

There are dozens of versions of this casserole floating around out there. I've seen this called Yankee Doodle Dandy, Sour Cream Noodle Bake, and Ground Beef Casserole. I call mine Oodles Noodles because I add extra noodles in order to satisfy the bottomless pit that is my husband. I'll do anything to get leftovers.

OODLES NOODLES CASSEROLE

• 5 c. medium egg noodles
• 1 lb ground sirloin
• 1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
  
• 1 c. sour cream
• 1/3 c. cream cheese, softened
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill a large stock pot with water and let come to a boil. Add in noddles.

2. While noodles are cooking, brown ground sirloin in skillet over medium-high heat. Drain excess fat. Add tomato sauce and season with salt, pepper, and onion powder.

3. In small mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and sour cream.

4. Drain noodles and transfer them to a 9 x 13 baking dish. Layer the beef and tomato sauce mixture on top of noodles. Dot the top of the casserole with large spoonfulls of the cream cheese and sour cream mixture. Smooth out, being careful not to disturb ground beef layer underneath.

5. Bake in preheated oven,uncovered, for about 20 minutes, or until heated through.

Source: Cats and Casseroles original recipe

Show and Tell

This weekend, we went to our first estate sale. I'm not much of a thrift shopper, although I totally aspire to be. We happened to pass an estate sale in our neighborhood and figured, why not? Turns out the lady who had lived in the house was crafty, but none of her grown children were. I wound up getting 70 skeins of dmc floss for a dollar. I don't do a ton of stitching, but I've been meaning to change that.

Notice the photo shoot crasher in the background? Sundae loves the camera.

I photographed part of my Hello Kitty collection this weekend. It's now up on my Hello Kitty collection page. Each item in my collection has a story, but I'm not sure I want to write the War-and-Peace-length novel it would take to tell them all. But I might select a few special items from time to time and go into more detail about them.

April Fools!

I took this photograph from my front door window this morning. A cosmic April Fools joke. It almost never snows here in March, even, let alone April. It's kind of freaky, really. If locusts come raining down next, I'll be sure to update.

The good news is that this weather is perfect for cutting the 176 squares I need for my Spring Fling quilt.