Thursday, March 4, 2010

Musings on Casseroles and a Grits Breakfast Casserole

First of all, congratulations to Jenn on the release of Sprinkle With Murder. We’ve got a fun way to celebrate Jenn’s delicious new release…look below my post for details!

RileyAdamsFoodBlogPostpic_thumb_thumb You know how when you’re a kid and you don’t want your foods touching each other? It’s so funny—you can watch a child eat and almost every time you’ll see the same thing: they’ll very methodically eat one thing right after another on their plate. First goes the ham (all the ham), then the peas (as many as they’ve bargained with you to eat), then the bread. They’re blog30not taking one bite of one food, then a bite of something else. No way! That might mean that the flavors mix in their mouths. Toddlers even get plates with dividers on them to keep the food completely separate—no pea juice on the ham or it’s contaminated!

Then, as adults, we’re all about the casseroles. How many foods can we possibly make touch each other? We even call casseroles ‘comfort food’ because having all these foods mixed together comforts our tummies.

Does this mean that our palate has gotten more sophisticated? Or does it maybe mean that it’s gott003en duller and we’re not tasting the sharp differences between flavors?

All right, enough deep thinking for the day…it’s exhausting! :) Y’all know I’ve been on a campaign to introduce the wonders of grits to an unknowing, and possibly uncaring, world. Here’s another recipe that’s very easy….and so tasty that even my eight year old daughter will forget that her food is touching.



Grits Breakfast Casserole011

1 cup uncooked grits
4 cups water
1 stick butter
1 box cornbread mix
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (or substitute 1 lb. cooked sausage if you like a little more pop.)
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese
4 eggs
1 tsp salt

  1. Add 1 cup uncooked grits to 4 cups boiling water, 1 tsp salt, and 1 stick of butter. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer about 5 minutes, until liquid has been absorbed. Remove from the heat.
  2. Cook bacon, drain, and crumble.
  3. Beat the 4 eggs with 1 cup milk.
  4. Mix everything together with 1 box of cornbread mix. Pour in a 13"x9" casserole, that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle the cheese on the top.

Bake at 325o for 30 minutes.

When is it a good time for breakfast food? Anytime! We’re huge breakfast-for-supper fans in my family. Enjoy!

Riley/Elizabeth
Delicious and Suspicious (July 6 2010) Riley Adams
Pretty is as Pretty Dies –Elizabeth Spann Craig

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com

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Contest Time!

sprinkleFont size It’s March and we’re celebrating cupcakes! Our own Jenn McKinlay’s Sprinkle with Murder is now out in bookstores near you! If you’d like to win cupcakes from Crumbs Bake Shop, send us an email or a comment with your idea of the wackiest cupcake ingredients you can think of.

7 comments:

  1. Ok, I have a confession to make: Shhhh...don't tell my friends in Texas, I'll get my citizenship revoked....but I don't like grits. But *this* looks and sounds great. I'm going to have to give this a try.
    p.s. Riley/Elizabeth, that cover for Delicious and Suspicious is wonderful!

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  2. As I was reading the ingredients I was thinking this would be a great casserole for supper. I think sometimes we eat more "breakfast" meals for supper than we do for breakfast. :) Must be a Southern thing. This sounds great and a wonderful new recipe to try.

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  3. Shel--Thanks so much! :) I was excited about the cover. And...no grits? Maybe this recipe will make you a convert! Grits are always better with something in them...garlic, cheese, shrimp, etc.

    Mason--I think it must be a Southern thing. I always remember growing up...Sunday nights Mama let my little sister and me watch "Wild Kingdom" and "The Magical World of Disney"--and ACTUALLY eat on trays in front of the TV! And it was always breakfast food. :)

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  4. Riley, I've heard so many people reminisce about those Sunday night dinners watching Disney. And the peculiar thing is that, probably due to the big dinner after church, they almost always ate breakfast for dinner on those nights.

    This casserole sounds wonderful. No wonder your daughter likes it!

    ~ Krista

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  5. Riley/Elizabeth - Hilarious and too-true observation about kids vs. adults and that gradual move from one-thing-at-a-time to complex and combined. Real *food* for thought there (groan!). So anyway, the grits thing is something with which I'm totally in sync and happy to learn more about. Being Italian, I grew up on polenta, which is basically grits with a vowel at the end of it. This recipe looks delish and I'm a sucker for anything with cornbread in it, too. (Truly, I aspire to be an honorary Southern girl so your posts always rock for me.)

    Cheers!

    ~Cleo
    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    “Where coffee and crime are always brewing…”

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  6. Congrats on the new book, Jen!

    I'm still going through the food-touching dilemma with my 9-year old. I really hope it ends soon! I love casseroles, but nobody else, even my husband shares this passion. Oh well, their getting Shipwreck Casserole for supper tonight :)

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  7. Krista--I didn't think about that, but you're absolutely right. We came home from church and we had a big meal in the middle of the day...not lunch food, but supper food. That makes perfect sense!

    Cleo--I *think* I can arrange for you to be special,honorary Southerner. Especially because of the polenta! And if you love cornbread, you clearly ARE a Southerner, regardless of geography!

    Juju--Thanks so much!

    Janel--And they better enjoy it, too! :) Actually, Shipwreck casserole is sounding pretty good to me right now. I've already eaten my grits casserole twice today. :)

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