This morning I had a most amazing brunch with my Intercessor ladies to celebrate all that we are thankful for and I signed up to bring a grits casserole! If you only knew how much joy was brought to my life when I saw the sign up sheet and there was a line open for a grits casserole–oh I could hear Lisa Lyle’s giggle! She’d be so proud, I know!
You see, of course there is a story behind it. During my years at RHUMC my dear friend would make these grits for me whenever there was a special occasion–but especially for the special occasions in my life–from birthdays to wedding shower–she always had a way of making me smile! I never asked for the recipe as I always just referred to them as Lisa Lyle’s yummy grits. Well, then the Lord moves us and I lasted about 2 weeks before I was emailing her asking her for the recipe…I even asked if they had a bet going on how long it would take for me to ask for them! Well once I saw what was in these grits, I almost died–but I promise they are well worth the calories! 🙂
Well at our brunch, I had many requests for the recipe, so I thought I would share it with all of you out there! Here we go…with her notes that she passed on to me–I now pass on to you…(even if you aren’t going to make them now–scroll down and read my oops rendition on the bottom!)
Lisa Lyle’s Yummy Grits (I don’t know if they ever had a name, but this is what I call them).
1-1/4 cups water
2 cups half & half
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick cooking grits
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup diced green onions – I rarely put these in
4 ounces processed cheddar cheese, cubed (suggested: Velveeta)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chilies (suggested: Ro-Tel)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a saucepan, bring the water and 1/2 & 1/2 to a boil. Add the salt and slowly add the grits and return to a boil, stirring constantly for 1 minute. While stirring the grits add the 1/2 cup of butter and stir until butter is melted. Reduce the heat, cover and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the grits are thick and creamy. Remove from heat and set aside. Using a skillet, saute the onions in the remaining tablespoon of butter for 1 minute. (only if you want to add onions) Add the processed cheese, garlic powder, 1 1/2 cups cheddar, and onions to grits, and stir until the cheese is melted. Add the tomatoes and mix well. Pour the grits into a greased 9″ x 11″ glass casserole pan and bake for 40 minutes. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup cheese over the casserole for the last 5 minutes of cooking time.
**My oops rendition this morning: So my most wonderful hubby made the comment that I always make this dish when I’m going somewhere and I never make it for him. Well this recipe makes a pretty big dish–way too much for the two of us…so while I was making one for the brunch this morning I was trying to do the math in my head of cutting everything in half and making him a smaller dish of the grits. All went well until the cheddar cheese came in and I didn’t read the part that said put in 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese–saving the other cup for later…so all 2 1/2 cups went in—ooppsss!!!! So….I added an extra 1/2 can of rotel tomatoes (left over from the batch I was making hubby) and dumped it in to my big pot to try to counteract how cheesy my grits just got (I’m letting you see how my brain works–I’m sure there are many other ways to fix this and I just don’t know them!) and didn’t put any cheese on the top…I was told at the brunch today that you can never put in too much cheese—so I guess they turned out okay! 🙂
Okay, enjoy and by the way–I don’t put in the green onions either! 🙂
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