Grits Casserole

Grits...something Flo told Mel to kiss...yes.

Grits...girls raised in the south...also a yes.

Grits...something The Hunk doesn't like no matter how well I fix them, even when they are mixed with sausage & cheese & garlic...double yes.

The Hunk is not a fan of grits in any shape, form or fashion so when I have an opportunity to make this dish I jump at it.

This recipe comes from my Aunt Mac, her name is really Maxine but we all call her Aunt Mac, people who are not related to her nor her niece or nephew even call her, you guessed it, Aunt Mac.

Aunt Mac made this grits casserole for a Christmas brunch many moons ago.

Then a few years after that I realized that she had entered it in this cookbook I have. The cookbook came from the church that side of my family has gone to for generations. They recently put together a new one & I entered a few of my own recipes this time including some I have featured here on Gone With the Whisk.

So anyway, for the last few years I have been known to pull out Aunt Mac's breakfast casserole recipe, as she calls it.

I made a few tweaks including changing the name to Grits Casserole. I fix it for our birthday breakfast bash at work most often but most recently I took it to our my girls night wine & dine when we had breakfast . But no matter where I take it everyone loves it.

So what it's made up of you ask? Well, right this way...

We have grits (of course), onion, bell pepper, cream of celery soup, sausage & shredded cheese.

First you want to get your water boiling for the grits. For this recipe you'll use 4 cups of water & 1 tsp of salt. I know what you're thinking, that's alot of water for quick grits, but trust me & Aunt Mac when we tell you to use 4 cups.

While you're waiting for the water to come to a boil, dice 1/2 cup of onion & 1/2 cup of bell pepper. That's about half of each vegetable. If you're feeling frisky & really like onion & bell pepper, feel free to chop both of them up & use the whole thing.

  

 Now grab your skillet & toss in the sausage, peppers & onion.

  

Mix that all up really well & cook until sausage is brown & vegetables are tender. And if you take a picture of it make sure it doesn't turn out as bad as this one did.

While your sausage is browning go ahead & get your grits measured out & cooking in the boiling water.

Stir those well, I like to use a whisk to stir my grits. Stirring them right after putting them in the water ensures there are no lumps. Nothing is worse than lumps in your grits.

So now your sausage & vegetables are ready & so are your grits.

Take the both of those & dump in a mixing bowl. Add in the can of cream of celery soup & sprinkle on some fresh ground black pepper.

Mix that together until it's well blended.
 

Add in about a cup of shredded cheddar cheese.

And mix that all up. I know you're thinking this looks the same as the picture two up from here, but it's not, you can see the melted cheese in this one...see...it's right there.

Take your baking dish, about an 8x8 or 9x9, spray it with non-stick spray & pour the grits mixture in. Aunt Mac's recipe calls for a 9x13 which you could do too, it's just thinner. Obviously. 

This is why I'm here, to point out very obvious things to you. What can I say, I'm a giver.

Spread it out evenly in the dish. You could stop here & let it sit overnight. That's what I do when I take it to the birthday breakfast bash at work. Or you can...

...go ahead & top that baby with another cup of shredded cheese & bake it in the oven at 375 degree for 30-40 minutes.

When it's done it looks like this. Cheesey, melty, gritsy & sausagey.

I like putting y's where they don't belong, I think it's funny & clever.

Don't judge me.
 

 Look at that deliciousness.

Go ahead, have some & let me know how it turns out.

Enjoy!!

Grits Casserole

1 cup of quick grits
4 cups of water
1 tsp of salt
1lb sausage
1/2 cup bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 can cream of celery soup
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Bring water to a boil, add salt & grits, stir well. Cook grits until done, about 5-7 minutes. Brown sausage with peppers & onions until down. Mix grits, sausage mixture, cream of celery soup, black pepper & 1 cup of the cheese together. Pour into baking dish. to with remaining cheese. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Serve immediately.