Savory Baked Grits

As previously mentioned in this post, I love grits. Last night at a holiday Christmas party, my co-worker Katie made these AMAZING cheese grits. I've seriously been day-dreaming about them ever since I went back for seconds last night. I wanted to make some delicious baked grits just like Katie's, but didn't really feel like consuming mounds upon mounds of cheese and butter so I altered her recipe a little.


The spices not only tasted great, but also made my house smell delightful when I pulled the grits out of the oven. And I'll tell you a secret, I didn't even miss the cheese. And I really, really like cheese.


What you need
1 cup quick-cooking (not instant) grits
2  c. milk
2 c. water
4 Tbsp. butter spread
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sage
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 1/2 tsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. pepper (you may want to start with less than this and taste as you go depending how spicy you like things)
A handful of shredded cheese

Grits and milk

What you do
Preheat oven to 350F. Heat milk and water in a saucepan until it begins to boil. Stir in the grits reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, covered for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick. Remove from heat and stir in butter and all spices except 1 tsp. of the parsley.


Pour into a 8 or 9 inch round or square baking dish, sprinkle with the cheese and remaining parsley, and bake at 350F for 45 minutes covered. Remove cover and cook an extra 15 minutes to brown the top a bit.

Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake

Black Friday. The biggest shopping holiday of the year. A lot of girls I know get psyched about it, but truthfully it kind of makes me want to barf. I mean, even if I liked shopping on a regular day (which I definitely, DEFINITELY don't), I'm pretty sure there is no way you would catch me anywhere near a mall if I had to wake up early, sit in traffic to get there, circle the parking lot 3 times to find a spot, and then side step my way between a million strangers I've never met before just to get around the store.


Nope. Black Friday, you are not my fave. But do you know what is my fave? This cheesecake. MMM minty and chocolate-y with just the right amount of crunch. If you like mint-chocolate and even half way like cheesecake you should probably make this. You probs won't regret it. I know I didn't.


What you need
For the crust
9 graham cracker sheets
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
3 Tbsp. sugar
6 Tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. peppermint extract


For the filling
3/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate)
24 oz cream cheese (I used fat-free and it still tasted wonderful), at room temperature
3/4 c sugar
3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. peppermint extract

1/4 c. crushed peppermint pieces (take mints or candy canes and put them in a sealed plastic ziplock bag then hit it with a large metal spoon or measuring cup to break the mints into tiny pieces)
1/3 chopped dark chocolate


For the sauce
1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 c. fat free half and half, at room temperature
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
a handful of peppermint pieces


What you do
For the crust
Preheat the oven to 350F. Put the graham crackers in a blender or food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add cocoa powder and sugar and pulse a couple more times just to combine. Put mixture in a bowl, pour melted butter and extract over the crumbs, and stir together. Press the mixture into the bottom and about 1 1/2 inches up the sides of a 8 1/2 inch springform. Bake at 350F for about 15 minutes. Remove from oven to cool.

For the filling
Leave the oven on at 350F. Melt the chocolate chips in a double broiler or in the microwave. In a large bowl, cream together cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time until combined, then beat in the extracts. Stir in the melted chocolate.

In the midst of stirring in the chocolate. Keep stirring. You want all of the filling chocolate-brown color.

When combined, stir in the peppermint pieces and the dark chocolate pieces. Pour filling into crust and bake at 350F for about 1 hour or until the edges appear set, but the middle still jiggles. DO NOT open the door to check on the cheesecake until it's been at least 30 minutes if not more because the draft from opening the oven door can cause the top to crack or the center to fall. When it's done, remove from the oven and cover with a larger bowl to provide a warm area for the cheesecake to cool in or just turn the oven off and open the door, allowing the cheesecake to cool slightly in the still warm oven. After about 20-30 minutes, remove from the open oven or take off the large bowl and allow to cool the rest of the way to room temperature. Once the pan is no longer hot, put the cheesecake in the fridge. Allow to chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. For more of an explanation as to why cheesecake needs to cool slowly in warm environments, check out this site: http://www.baking911.com/cakes/cheesecake101.htm.

For the sauce
Melt the chocolate in the microwave or over a double broiler. When completely melted, stir in the half and half, sugar, and salt and heat until smooth. The salt makes it sooo delicious and not too sweet. MMMM. Chill the sauce in the fridge for about 30 minutes just so that it firms up a bit, but it still thin enough to drizzle.


When you're ready to serve the cheesecake, remove from fridge, sprinkle peppermint on top and drizzle the sauce over. Enjoy!

Southwestern Spoonbread

I'd never heard of spoonbread before I read this post on my favorite food blog. The second I read Adrianna from a cozykitchen.com describe spoonbread as a hybrid between grits and cornbread, I made up my mind I had to have it. Seriously. Thick baked grits. Moist, flavorful cornbread. Do either of those sound good to you? Then you will like this. Also, you know me, since I'm a sucker for mexican flavors, I decided to make a mexican version of spoonbread. Just for the record, it was a very good decision. You could also add tomatoes or red peppers for added color or hot chilies for more spice. Whatever way you make it, you should definitely make it.


What you need
2 3/4 c. plus 1/4 c milk
4 Tbsp. butter spread
1 1/4 c. cornmeal
1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
3 large eggs
1 c. shredded cheese (preferable mexican blend or cheddar)
1/2 c. chopped green peppers
1/2 c. corn kernels (I used defrosted frozen corn)
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. corriander
Sour cream and salsa for serving

What you do
Preheat the oven to 350˚F.  Great an 8 inch round pan with butter or cooking spray.  Heat the milk and butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until the mixture begins to boil.  Decrease the heat and continue mixing while you sprinkle in the cornmeal, salt and baking powder. After a few minutes, it will thicken. At that point, remove from the stove. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs. Add just about 1/2 c. of the cornmeal mixture to the eggs. Stir together then add that mixture back to the cornmeal.

Stir in cheese, green peppers, corn and spices. Pour into the pan and bake at 350F for about 30-35 minutes or until puffed up and done in the middle. Serve with sour cream and salsa. 

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter "Healthy" Brownies

I think peanut allergies are among the most torturous food allergies I can think of (except maybe allergies to milk, gluten, soy...ok so I guess I like food too much). Point being, if you're allergic to peanuts, I feel for you and you should probably not make these brownies. Or you could make them and just leave out the peanut butter filling. Still good and relatively healthy.


Or you could be like my best friend Kayla. See, she's allergic to a lot of things, nuts, soy, lactose, raw fruits and vegetables, grass and nature in general...get the picture? Basically everything. One of her favorite snacks is apples and peanut butter, and she couldn't eat it for a really long time because whenever she did she would have an allergic reaction. Kayla loves Jesus though, and believes that he loves his children and wants to give them good gifts. She had seen and heard testimonies of people being healed or all sorts of sicknesses just because of the Lord's love for them. So she prayed to be able to eat peanut butter, and you know what? Jesus healed her of her peanut allergy. She boldly tried peanut butter one day after years of he allergy, and no reaction! She's ben eating it ever since.


Woohoo! What a good, good father. He didn't have to do anything, but he did. She would have been fine, but he loves it when we rely on him and ask him for healing in ourselves. He just wanted to give her an awesome gift. MMM, how he loves his kids!


So Kayla, make these brownies girl, do it for all the peanut allergic out there. Oh, and you there reading this post should make them too! Hey, they're kind of healthy so you don't even have to feel bad!


What you need
1 1/2 c. dark chocolate chips
2 Tbsp. butter spread
4 eggs
1 c packed brown sugar
1/4 c. oil
1/4 c. low-fat yogurt vanilla yogurt
1/4 c. plus 2 Tbsp. fat-free sour cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 c. confectioner's sugar
1/2 c. milk (pull it out of the fridge as soon as you start the brownies and it should be a good temp by the time you need it)


What you do
Preheat the oven to 350F.


Melt the chocolate chips and butter in the microwave or a double broiler until melted together. (You want it almost completely smooth, but it's ok if there are a few lumps because those will become chocolate chips.) In a separate bowl, cream together eggs, brown sugar and oil with an electric mixer just until combined. Stir the yogurt, sour cream and vanilla into the chocolate mixture and then beat the egg/sugar/oil mixture into the chocolate mixture with the mixer just until combined. Stir in the two flours, salt and baking soda.


In a separate bowl, cream together peanut butter and confectioner's sugar with a mixer. As soon as it's combined beat in the milk and continue beating until fluffy.


In a greased 9x13 pan, pour half of the brownie batter and spread it out to the corners of the pan. It will be thin and that's ok. DON'T WORRY! Spoon the peanut butter mixture over it and spread to the edges of the pan. Then pour the rest of the brownie batter over that and spread out. Bake in a 350F oven for about 25 minutes or until the middle is no longer jiggly. (Very technical term)

Huevos Rancheros Casserole

Little know fact about me...or not...I LOVE Mexican food! And so does my incredible husband, which is why we're made for each other.


Seriously though, Mexican severely beats up every other type of food in a fight for my love. So tonight when Austin asked if we could do Mexican casserole for dinner I was all "umm...YES!"


We had a bag of tortilla chips in the pantry and some leftover rice in the fridge, but no meat, so I decided I would do something a little interesting for protein. Enter the eggs...


What you need
Half a bag of tortilla chips
8 eggs
1 (15.5 oz) can black beans
1 (15.5 oz) can kidney beans
1/2 c. salsa
1 handful of spinach, cooked or thawed
1 green pepper, diced
1 cup corn, cooked or thawed
1 (10 oz) can cream of chicken soup
1 cup salsa
2 cups already cooked rice
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 bag of shredded cheddar or mexican blend cheese


What you do
Preheat the oven to 350F.


Cook the eggs in a skilled however you like them. I fried our but you could scramble or cook them up however you like them. Keep in mind they're going into the oven  so don't overcook them. If they're a little runny that's perfectly fine.


Grease the bottom of a 9x13 casserole. Crush the tortilla chips in your hands and sprinkle them onto the bottom of the dish so they cover the bottom.


Drain the kidney and black beans into a colander and rinse with water to remove some of the sodium. Mix the beans and 1/2 c. salsa in a bowl and pour over the chips. Sprinkle the spinach, corn and diced red pepper over the beans. In a bowl stir together the soup, 1 c. salsa, rice, cumin, cayenne and 1/2 c. cheese.


Spread this mixture over the veggies in the dish. Put the eggs on top of the rice mixture and then sprinkle cheese in a thin layer over the top of the casserole. Bake for about 40 minutes at 350.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies and Does Anyone Want to Buy Me a New Camera?

I'm not a big splurger.


Ok, understatement of the century. I never buy anything unless it is on sale. I mean I bought Brie cheese at Wal-mart the other day for $3.50 and have felt semi-guilty since I checked out. That being said, it's a pretty big deal for me to admit this, but I need a new camera. I really, really do. Allow me to justify:


-My camera is junky. The flash is either on (and on HIGH so it washes everything out) or off (so everything is blurry). If the lighting isn't perfect, the pics look janky. You can tell from the photos on my previous posts. I mean I'm not claiming to be a profesh photographer or anything, but I'm not not as super sucky as these food photos it seem.
-I got my camera like 4 years ago. It was free with my warranty from my even older camera when that one broke if that gives you a better idea of how junky it is.
-I want to be able to take cool shots like other (more legit) food bloggers do. Austin says that means I need a 55 mm lens.
-I lost my camera to computer cord so since I can't even upload my pictures anyway, I just decided it's time for a new one!


So if you know of anywhere I can get a really good, nice camera for cheap (besides "in my dreams"), please let me know.


I felt I needed something to cheer me up after all that whining about my camera, so I made these cookies. They are amazingly chewy and delicious. For all your cheering-up needs.


What you need
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 c white sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 egg
1 Tbsp. milk
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. chopped nuts (I used pecans, but walnuts or almonds would be good too!)
1 1/2 c. chocolate chips (I used half white chocolate and half dark chocolate, but use whatever kinds you like)
1 tsp. vanilla


What you do
Preheat oven to 350F.


Beat together the sugars, pumpkin, oil, egg, and milk with a hand mixer until combined. Stir in all ingredients baking soda through chili powder then stir in vanilla. Fold in nuts and chocolate chips.


Drop the batter by the tablespoon-full onto a greased cookie sheet and cook until just golden brown (about 11 minutes).