Cheesy Southwestern Grits

I had been thinking a lot about when I visited Ohio a few years ago. I miss my grandparents and I miss the food. I think we had grits almost every day for something. Just a few weeks ago we went to a restaurant here in Tucson and I had grits. They were boring. Bland. Not what I remembered. So, I had to make some for myself.

It's a problem I have. I have to fix things. Even when they're not broken. Especially when they're not important - food is the most frequently fixed.

Grits. Perfect.

For this you will need 1 c. grits, 1 1/2 c. water, 1/2 tsp salt, 8 oz grated mild cheddar cheese, 4 oz. cream cheese cut into cubes, 1/2 can Rotel, 4 oz can of diced green chilies, 1/4 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, 4 green onions sliced thinly, black pepper, and a beaten egg.

Okay, the list seems long. Totes worth it.

Totes.

Boil water. Add salt. Add grits.

Be cave man.

Reduce temperature and cook for 5 minutes stirring a few times. Remove it from the heat. It'll get prettier later. Promise.

Speaking of pretty - my dear friend Amy gave me these measuring spoons. I LOVE them! They are secretly my favorites (well, now that I'm posting it on the internet, I guess it must be publicly).

Gah. So cute.

They look lovely- ish. Don't worry, the party hasn't even started yet.

Add tomatoes.

And chilies.

And cheeses. Stir it all up. Make sure the cream cheese has pretty much melted into the gritty mixture.

That sounds lovely right? Gritty mixture. Serve it to all of your friends.

Gritty mixture.

Then, add yo spices, yo. Word.

And green onions. Scallions. Whatever you want to call them.

Okay, in here is everything but the egg. The egg is the glue that holds it all together.

However, if you add dat egg straight up into the grits, the egg will cook and scramble and you'll have eggy grits. So, you must temper it. Feel fancy and smart when you do this. This is advanced stuff!

Add some grits to the egg.

Stir it all up. Keep stirring. Never stop stirring. Ever.

Once you feel the egg has been heated, you can move on.

Add the egg to the grits and stir all together.

Place in a greased pan and bake for 30-45 minutes until that crust is hard, golden, and bubbly.

Golden and bubbly - I think these are done! However, you must wait at least 15 minutes before digging in, or they'll be a hot runny mess. And that needs to be saved for the Real Housewives. They're the only hot messes I allow in my kitchen.

In fact, I'd be lying if I said I didn't just watch 3 hours of the OC Housewives tonight. I feel like my crazy life is so calm while watching this show. It makes me feel like a really sane person. I need to feel sane sometimes.

Here they are - the final masterpiece. These are scrumptious and spicy and comforting (which has been a theme of mine lately). 

And can I say that I ate almost all of them in just a few days? No? I can't say that. I did not eat almost all of them in a few days. I did eat all of them in just a few days.

Gahl. I love grits. 

Drew LOVED this dinner. He liked the grits, but he really loved the steak and asparagus that went with it!

Printable Recipe

Tomato, Spinach, Cheese Fritatta

Okay, after Easter we were LOADED on eggs. I mean, loaded. I went a little sale crazy and decided to buy way too many of them. So naturally, I decided to make breakfast for dinner and then eat it for the next few days for lunch. Dang it was good.

I also have about a billion hard-boiled eggs left over. Any ideas/suggestions on what to do with them other than eat them plain or make egg salad? I need something else! Help would be grand with that.

You'll need 1 clove minced garlic, 12 eggs beaten, a 6 oz. bag of spinach, can of Rotel with mild chilies, 1/2 c. tomato basil feta, salt and pepper to taste. You'll also need about a teaspoon of oil.

Preheat the oven to 350. Heat oil in a skillet that is also oven proof. Add the garlic and heat for a few minutes.

Add the spinach until it starts getting soft - 2-3 minutes.

Add the Rotel, salt, and pepper and cook for another few minutes - until spinach is wilted.

Spread the veggies around in the bottom of the pan so their well distributed.

Add the beaten eggs.

Sprinkle the cheese over the top.

Let it cook for about 7 minutes or so, moving the edges so the runny eggs can touch the pan.

Then, take the whole thing and put it in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes.

Let it sit for 5 minutes afterwards.

Smell. Smelling is good.

Flip it out of the pan. Cut into slices and eat!

Printable Version

Creamy Parmesan Chicken Breasts

Have you ever been in a mood where nothing you planned on making sounds good? Like, you're hungry, but you'd really rather not eat anything than the things you'd planned on originally?

No? No one?

Okay, then I stand alone there. But that was my afternoon today. I was home before 5 (shocking!) and decided I wanted to make dinner. So, I did some serious blog-stalking and I came across this. AHH! I had the ingredients and it sounded good. Golden. I immediately knew what we were having for dinner, whether Drew wanted it or not.

Sorry, if he cooked more he'd get to pick more. Lucky for him, he's not picky at all. 

Okay folks, here's the big list. And by big, I mean small. You need 2 chicken breasts, 1/4 c. mayo (I used light), 1/4 c. shredded parmesan cheese, a few dashes of garlic powder, a dash or two of either dried oregano OR paprika, and 3-4 tbsp. panko bread crumbs.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix everything but the chicken and the bread crumbs together in a teeny, tiny bowl.

Line a baking sheet with foil - trust me, cleaning up will be a zillion times easier. Lay the chicken breasts on the foil and evenly slather one side of each chicken with the mixture.

Put the breadcrumbs on top of the delicious goo.

That's right. I said goo. Goo.

I'm mature.

Bake for 20-30 minutes. That's it. Not kidding. That's it.

Eat. Enjoy. Serve with something of color because this looks quite boring on a white plate.

Or you could serve it on a colored plate - especially since I can see mashed potatoes going REALLY well with this.

Printable Recipe

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Okay, so I"m months behind on this one. Oops. You'll forgive me, I'm sure.

My favorite thing about winter is wearing comfy sweats and lying under a warm blanket. Some nights, even in the winter, that doesn't get to happen. That's where this soup comes in. It feels lovely. Warm. Filling. Classic. Comforting. Lovely. 

Okay, it's just plain ol' good. I can imagine putting it on baked potatoes, eating it out of a bread bowl, eating it straight from the bowl.

For this soup you'll need 1 whole diced onion, 1 stick of butter, 1/3 c. flour, 4 c. milk, 2 c. fat free half-and-half, 4 heads of broccoli cut into florets, 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese, pinch of salt, and pepper.

Okay, this makes a lot of soup. Be sensible and make this for more than 2 people. Or cut the recipe in half. I guess either would work. Really.

Melt butter in a heavy, duty pot and add the onions. Cook until translucent (about 3 minutes).

Sprinkle the flour over the top and cook for about 1 minute so we can thicken up the soup.

Add the milk and half-and-half.

And the broccoli, salt and pepper.

Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes. Until the broccoli is soft.

Add the cheese. I really need to cut down on cheese, but I don't think that'll ever be a possibility. Ever.

I love cheese.

You could blend this up if you want perfect soup. Actually, it would just be soup that looks perfect, because to me, this soup tastes perfect. Which is all that matters.

Peace. Love. Broccoli Cheese Soup.

Printable Recipe

Chicken Pillows

There are some foods that no matter what you do to them, they can't be bad. This, this was one of them. When I was home for spring break, my mom gave me this recipe. It was one of the many things I loved when I was younger, but she stopped making them a while ago because Crescent Rolls weren't "healthy". Well, I think these could be much, MUCH less healthy, so I decided to make them myself.

I like them. Drew liked them. Kids will like them. Senior citizens will like them. I mean really, unless you are a vegetarian or lactose-intolerant, or have a gluten intolerance, you'll love these bad boys. Okay, I guess that's a lot of people who won't like them. But still, lots of people will!

You don't need much for these. Really, not many ingredients and not much time. 1/2 c. shredded chicken, 1/3 c. sliced mushrooms, 3 tbsp. onion and chive cream cheese, 2 tbsp. butter, 2 pinches pepper, and 1 pkg. crescent rolls.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put everything in a bowl. Mix it all together and let it sit for about 10 minutes.

Take 1 tablespoon of the mixture and place it at the fat end of an uncooked crescent roll.

Take the fat end start rolling it up.

Seal the edges so no goodness can come out. Arrange them on a cookie sheet.

Bake according to crescent roll directions.

These are delicious. Purely delish. 

Printable recipe