Thursday, January 29, 2015

Cooking Grits


Right up front, I will explain to my Southern friends,  I don't know how nor have I ever fixed grits.  Megan fixed grits the other night for her sons, my grandsons. My sons, said, " What are grits?"
When Ron and I were going to get married, I was talking to him on the phone before I left for work, and I asked him what he was fixing for breakfast and he said, " Fried eggs and grits." I thought is was just so cute that he was having that. Even though, all of my family came here from lots of other states, my Mother and I were both born in California.  Iced sweet tea and fried potatoes, both were manna that she fixed, and that was about it on the Southern scale.

Stupid blooming tree.
Last night, I fixed dinner which was this lovely shredded BBQ chicken over pumpkin grits. It was lovely.
Since I have never seen them cooked even though I have read recipes. Ron was nice as I was getting ready to dump them in the boiling water, to say, " don't just dump them in, pour them very slowly and keep stirring." I was just going to dump them in and leave them. He said, " You need to stand there and stir or they will stick." Those things were popping all over me and I burned myself really good before it dawned on me to turn the fire down. Then he kept his mouth shut. Isn't it amazing all of the things you learn after almost 35 years. :)

Somewhere in the depths of my mind, I remembered eating them. I think my Mom must have fixed them but they were full of lumps. I liked the lumps. Anyway, mine were not lumpy but creamy and nice. I felt pretty proud of myself.

I will fix them again. You know I don't do recipes but I liked this recipe very much so I thought I would share it today. I changed it a bit though, I made the sauce and poured it over the chicken and put it in the crock pot. The left over chicken would make great sandwiches. It is a really good BBQ sauce I think. This comes from Taste of Home---Comfort Food Diet Cookbook.

I hope you enjoy it. I will fix this again. Have a lovely Thursday.

~ Kim~

Shredded Barbecue Chicken over Grits.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
  • 1 cup hickory smoke-flavored barbecue sauce
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1 tablespoon ground ancho chili pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2-1/4 cups water
  • 1 cup quick-cooking grits
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • 3/4 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese
  • 1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
  • 6 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

Directions

  • 1. Sprinkle chicken with pepper; place in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray.
  • 2. In a large bowl, combine 1 cup broth, barbecue sauce, molasses, chili pepper and cinnamon; pour over chicken. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 170°. Shred meat with two forks and return to the skillet.
  • 3. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring water and remaining broth to a boil. Slowly stir in grits and pumpkin. Reduce heat; cook and stir for 5-7 minutes or until thickened. Stir in cheese until melted.
  • 4. Divide grits among six serving bowls; top each with 1/2 cup chicken mixture. Serve with tomato, sour cream, green onions and cilantro. Yield: 6 servings.

 

 

 

 


 

11 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

i've eaten grits but certainly didn't grow up with them and wouldn't know how to cook them except for 'instant'. :)

i like your stupid blooming tree. ;)

Kessie said...

I haven't the foggiest idea what grits are or how you eat them. Are they, like, cornmeal mush or something?

Christine said...

Good for you! You can learn something new everyday!
Are grits like porridge oats?

Julia said...

Oh I love this post... I had to laugh while reading your description of cooking grits.

I'm not sure exactly the part of the corn they call grits but I have cooked corn meal often when I make Polenta and it's like you said, it bubbles and spit hot burning splashes so you have to keep the heat down and stir, stir and stir.

I then spread the thicken yellow mixture in a buttered glass pan and put it to set in the fridge until firm and I them I cut squares and fry them. It's served with spaghetti sauce or some mushroom sauce and cheeses and many other ways of serving it. Yummy.

I've used tomato juice instead of water to cook the polenta and I also add some grated parmesan cheese , some herbs, garlic when I cook the polenta. Anything to make it tasty...There are so many ways of serving it. I don't call it grits though.

For breakfast I usually eat oatmeal with nuts, seeds and raisins but I never ate grits. lol.

Hugs,
JB

Kim said...

I've always wondered what grits were. They sound delicious

Nellie said...

Yum! This is my kind of recipe, Kim. We have grits about once a week for breakfast. I've an overnight recipe that is excellent, too. One of my favorite dishes is Shrimp and Grits, though I prefer to order that in a restaurant. I've never really prepared it as it should be prepared. xo Nellie

Dog Trot Farm said...

Grits are a foreign entity in my neck of the woods... as is white gravy on biscuits...here in New England it's butter and molasses...I give you a big high five, it's always fun to try different foods from different regions of the country...

Joy said...

ahhh... sweet tea. I can taste it! In the early 70's I traveled with some college friends (I was AWOL from college) down south. Stopping at a cafe for breakfast, grits came with one friend's order. He looked a them and asked the waitress what it was. Replying in her southern accent she said, "Them's grits!" We didn't think they looked too tasty. I've never eaten them.

Meg said...

I'm so glad you posted it! After hearing you describe it today, I'm making it for lunch tomorrow. It will be going in the crock pot tonight. :) It was so, so nice visiting with you today. Ben called at break and said "You sound so happy!" haha.

Kathy ... aka Nana said...

I used to turn up my nose at grits, but I finally "bit the bullet" and had them a few years back ... I'm now a fan. But I can't believe I've never tried them ... I must remedy that. ;-)

Kerin said...

Yay! I'm so glad that the recipe turned out so well for you!
I love it when that happens!!
Thanks for sharing the recipe, we'll have to give it a try :)
It's always appreciated to have something new on the menu.

~K.