This is a real end-of-the-month meal.
You oughta keep grits in your pantry anyway, of course -- they're cheap and they're filling. You need to find a store that sells in bulk. Health food stores will do this, usually, or if you live where there's a Costco or some other store where you can buy a big old sack (10 pound or 20 pound sack) of them. But even if you can buy the five pound box, it's a better deal than the little overpriced pounder.
Don't buy the insta-grits in the envelopes for the microwave. Or the "flavored" grits. That's just plain thievery. They're laughing at you if you buy that crap.
Anyway! Cook up about a cup of cooked grits per person eating (half a cup for kids under eight). Usually half a cup of dry grits cooks up to one adult serving, in my experience, and 1/4 a cup for a kid. You use four cups of water for every cup of dry grits -- sometimes a little more, if the grits get dry while you're cooking. (It depends on the humidity of the day. No, seriously. So be prepared to add water a little water while you're cooking if necessary.)
I like yellow grits, but if you like white that's okay too. Generally you're gonna want to add a little more water than the directions say, in my experience. Also, add a little bacon grease or a little butter in there too, and some pepper and salt. (How much pepper and salt? That's your bidness. I like lots of both. Maybe you don't like so much. Whatever. If you use bacon grease, don't forget it's a bit salty.)
You'll need a big enough pan -- if you're cooking for four or five people, it'll be about five quarter -- and a fairly heavy one too.
Cook until they're done -- with real grits, that's about 20 minutes. If you can only find the five minute kind, it'll be about three minutes. (Yeah, I know, but it's not my fault.) You want to stir almost constantly while these are cooking. I mean, not non-stop, you can do the dishes or study a little Latin or do some prep for tomorrow's classes, but don't wander off and get distracted. Burned grits are really hard to get off the bottom of a pan.
When they're cooked pretty good, break in two eggs for each adult eating and one egg for each child, and stir like crazy. Get the eggs mixed it good. Once they're good and mixed in, cover the pan, turn off the heat, and let it sit for a minute.
Then serve out. People can add more butter or bacon grease if they like, plus salt and pepper, and toast if you've got toast.
It's filling and cheap and fairly tasty too, unless you're one of those people who really hates grits. Also hot, which in the winter when you just have to have a hot meal is helpful. Plus, protein.
I ate like a ton of this in graduate school.
You oughta keep grits in your pantry anyway, of course -- they're cheap and they're filling. You need to find a store that sells in bulk. Health food stores will do this, usually, or if you live where there's a Costco or some other store where you can buy a big old sack (10 pound or 20 pound sack) of them. But even if you can buy the five pound box, it's a better deal than the little overpriced pounder.
Don't buy the insta-grits in the envelopes for the microwave. Or the "flavored" grits. That's just plain thievery. They're laughing at you if you buy that crap.
Anyway! Cook up about a cup of cooked grits per person eating (half a cup for kids under eight). Usually half a cup of dry grits cooks up to one adult serving, in my experience, and 1/4 a cup for a kid. You use four cups of water for every cup of dry grits -- sometimes a little more, if the grits get dry while you're cooking. (It depends on the humidity of the day. No, seriously. So be prepared to add water a little water while you're cooking if necessary.)
I like yellow grits, but if you like white that's okay too. Generally you're gonna want to add a little more water than the directions say, in my experience. Also, add a little bacon grease or a little butter in there too, and some pepper and salt. (How much pepper and salt? That's your bidness. I like lots of both. Maybe you don't like so much. Whatever. If you use bacon grease, don't forget it's a bit salty.)
You'll need a big enough pan -- if you're cooking for four or five people, it'll be about five quarter -- and a fairly heavy one too.
Cook until they're done -- with real grits, that's about 20 minutes. If you can only find the five minute kind, it'll be about three minutes. (Yeah, I know, but it's not my fault.) You want to stir almost constantly while these are cooking. I mean, not non-stop, you can do the dishes or study a little Latin or do some prep for tomorrow's classes, but don't wander off and get distracted. Burned grits are really hard to get off the bottom of a pan.
When they're cooked pretty good, break in two eggs for each adult eating and one egg for each child, and stir like crazy. Get the eggs mixed it good. Once they're good and mixed in, cover the pan, turn off the heat, and let it sit for a minute.
Then serve out. People can add more butter or bacon grease if they like, plus salt and pepper, and toast if you've got toast.
It's filling and cheap and fairly tasty too, unless you're one of those people who really hates grits. Also hot, which in the winter when you just have to have a hot meal is helpful. Plus, protein.
I ate like a ton of this in graduate school.
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