Welcome to Day 4 of 30 Days of Grits!

Today’s recipe is Sausage and Cheese Grits:

1 pound bulk sausage; 1 clove minced garlic; 1 cup grits; 1 cup water; 1 cup milk; 1 cup grated cheddar cheese; 1/4 cup melted butter, 2 beaten eggs, salt and pepper to taste

Brown the sausage and drain the grease. Add salt, pepper, and any hot sauce you wish to taste. Set aside. Cook the grits in water and milk, adding more of any part if necessary to the necessary thickness. Combine all ingredients and pour into a well-buttered (or Pam’d) 9x13x2 inch baking dish. Bake uncovered for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Welcome to 30 Days of Grits, Day 2!

Yankees and Southerners alike can enjoy these grits recipes for breakfast, brunch, or anytime. That’s the beauty about grits. They can even be part of a breakfast supper.

So, onward to the grits recipe for day 2! We are getting closer and closer to the release of NO GRITS NO GLORY :)

Bacon Grits Casserole

8 slices cooked, crisp bacon; 1 chopped medium onion, 1 can undrained chopped tomatoes; 1/2 tsp sugar; 4 cups water; 1/2 tsp salt; 2 cups uncooked regular grits (not instant).

Crumble the bacon and set aside. Saute onion, tomatoes, sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes (stir occasionally). 
Bring water and salt to a boil, add the grits. Cook approximately 20 minutes until grits are thick. Remove from heat, stir in tomato mixture. 
Pour into serving dish and sprinkle the bacon crumbles on top.

Welcome to 30 Days of Grits Month!

For the month of September, I’ll be featuring a new grits recipe each day, all leading up to the book release of NO GRITS NO GLORY.  On Twitter, the hashtag is #30DaysofGrits so please RT and look at the conversations! Feel free to join in or submit your fave recipe.

While Southerners are fond of and familiar with grits, not everyone has tried them. So I’m starting the month with some history.

According to Wikipedia, grits originated in the Southern USA with the Native Americans. And let’s face it, it was a great way to utilize and eat corn.

So, let’s dive into 30 days of grits, recipe #1! A special thanks to all my friends and family who submitted their favorite home recipes for good grits!

Garlic Baked Grits

4 cups water, 1 cup grits, 1 tsp salt, 1 stick butter, 2 eggs, 1 roll garlic cheese, 1/2 cup milk

Cook the grits in salted water for 20-25 minutes. In a separate skillet, melt the butter and the garlic cheese. Beat eggs and milk in a small bowl, then add eggs, milk, butter and cheese into the grits pot.

Mix ingredients well, bake in dish at 350 for 45 minutes.

 Hi everyone!

On this last day of August, I’m doing a preface to our 30 Days of Grits for the September blogs. In September, I will be featuring a grits recipe on my blog each day (#30DaysofGrits – use it on Twitter!) so you can see the wide variety of ways you can cook grits so they taste amazing :)

Why, you ask? Because on October 1st, the first book in the Southern Ghosts Series (NO GRITS, NO GLORY) releases and we are ramping up to that with 30 grits recipes!

Click the link below to see whether or not you remember a key part of grits in pop culture!

Sooo…how many people remember this? 

Today, I feel like I’m channeling Joe Pesci in the movie, “MY COUSIN VINNY.”

His argument scene concerning Grits in the South is hysterical, and right now I have a few more lines of dialogue I would add. See, I have another series coming out this fall (Book #1 – NO GRITS, NO GLORY, releases in early October) and I want to have grits incorporated on the book cover somehow.

Only grits are not very photogenic. Even if they are, they are at the wrong angle for my graphic designer to use them. So here I sit, cussing out grits as I search. I can just hear Joe Pesci’s tone as he would say the following:

* Why aren’t there any photogenic grits out there on the Internet?

* Are these vampire grits that don’t allow themselves to be photographed?

* Exactly what would make a great photo of a grit?

And more…

Look for #30DaysofGritsRecipes starting on 9/1. It’s the gear up to the book release in early October.

For now, I’ll leave you with a photo I took of grits (that of course won’t work…see Joe Pesci rant once more!)