Grits Muffins

When I was two years old I met my very best childhood friend, Lee Ann.  Her parents moved her and her brother to California from North Carolina. To me, her mom Julie was everything southern.  The thick accent and the odd food, like fried okra and grits was new and amazing to me.  And I loved it all!

I've continued to love grits and have found a few winning recipes over the years.  My absolute favorite, is Dreamy Creamy Baked Grits.  We discovered these years ago (too many to count) while celebrating my birthday at a B&B in Trinidad, CA.  But they take like two hours to make.  No joke.  I do it very seldom.  This morning I really considered spending the time to do it.  But decided to see if I could find a similar, less time consuming version.  And then I stumbled on this muffin recipe at Yesterfood. And I'm all about muffins recently.  A one stop, all ingredients in a small bite, easy to make, and less to clean up, type of meal.  I'll admit, they do not measure up to the insanely delicious, Dreamy Creamy version.  But at about 5 minutes of prep time, and 15 minutes baking...well the time savings alone made these dreamy!

The syrup blobs originally were cute, artisitc drizzle lines.  But then I thought it would be a good idea to add in my coffee cup and by the time that all happened....blobs.  Oh well!

Ingredients

• 1 & 1/3 cups flour
• 1/2 cup quick grits (dry, not cooked)
• 1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 & 1/2 cups sour cream (yes, it's a lot!)
• 6 Tbsp melted butter
• 2-4 Tbsp honey (use less for savory and more for sweet.  I used 2 Tbsp of Agave nectar)
• 3 large eggs

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Grease a muffin tin with cooking spray (I use butter and my handy baster brush)
3. In a large bowl-combine everything! (Ok, the real directions have you combine the dry in one bowl, the wet in another, and then stir until just mixed and moist.  Whatever, I stirred it all at once and it was fine.)
4. Don't over mix, just like Dutch Babies. I don't know why but it ruins it. 
5. Scoop roughly 1/4 cup into the each of the 12 muffin cups
6. Bake for 15 minutes
7. Let them cool slightly on a wire rack
8. Serve with butter, honey, syrup, or jam of your choice.

 

These were quick and super easy. Came out with a texture very much like cornbread muffins.  I topped with syrup to make them more "breakfast" appropriate, and because my original Dreamy Creamy Baked Grits are served that way.  We also brewed some yummy, strong, French Roast coffee in our french press.  Its always better than regular coffee maker results!

These muffins can easily work for breakfast, or as a hearty addition to soup or even chili!  The one mixing bowl and short bake time make these an easy go-to!

Taking care of Gma! Two recipes in one...sorta.

Grandma Sue (Josh's grandma) is an active and independent 86 years young!  Last week she fell down some stairs and broke her shoulder.  Ouch!  Jan stopped at our house on her way down to Morro Bay and I sent a little care basket down with her.  A little love in the form of muffin meals.

I've made many versions of this over the years.  Started with an awesome recipe that Miss Carrie sent to me for her "Queso Con Juevos" and has morphed with each time I've made it.  After my dad's stroke I turned this into a "muffin meal" recipe that I could make in batches and freeze for the oldie olds.  This made it quick and simple for my mom while she was exhausted from taking care of my dad at the beginning.  We've made it a million times and a million versions since.

The basic ingredients are eggs, Bisquik, & milk.  The measurements don't need to be precise or even CLOSE.  And the addition of whatever you like means you can personalize this to your hearts content.  Or just use what you have on hand.  For me this is a quick way to add a little protein to my day since my diet is seriously lacking!  And it's filling as a quick breakfast.  Perfect for traveling, for camping, for care packages, or for right now!

For Grandma Sue I made two versions- One for breakfast, and one for quick and easy dinners.  She can absolutely manage microwaving these with only one working arm and it will be one less thing for her to deal with.  Total easy "get well" food.  

The breakfast recipe has twice the amount of eggs so that it is...well...more eggy!  The dinner recipe uses a slightly different "technique" but seriously it's practically the same.  Each makes enough for roughly 12 muffins.

Breakfast Egg Muffins 

Ingredients

• 4 Eggs
• 1/2 cup Bisquick
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup frozen hash browns
• 1/3 cup shredded cheddar
• 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion
• 1/2 cup chopped arugula
• 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper  (I used red cause it shows up best!)
• 1/2 cup chopped ham (I used fancy deli slices)

Directions

1. Mix it all together in one big bowl
2. Grease a muffin tin (I use room temp butter and a tool I'm pretty sure is intended for putting BBQ sauce on meat...)
3. Pour about 1/4 to 1/3 cup into muffin cups
4. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes
5. That's it.  Seriously.

*** I also made this for me and Josh for breakfast the next day.  You can see in the pictures that I added the ham in AFTER the fact to only his muffins.  Just dropped on top and stirred them up a little before throwing them in the oven.  So it's one extra step if your family is like mine and only half of us are vegetarian ;)

Dinner Muffin Meals

Ingredients

• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 cup Bisquick
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup green onion
• 1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 tsp red Thai curry paste
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• 1/2 cup mozzarella
• 1 cup chopped, cooked chicken- Use any you have or buy those ready made strips you can get by the lunch meat (I use a Vietnamese flavored chicken breast that we buy in the prepared food section of our grocery store)

Directions

1. Mix the first three ingredients in a bowl to make your batter.
2. Mix all of the remaining items in a separate bowl.  I add the curry paste and lime juice together then mix it in so it coats better.  But you don't have to do that step at all.
3. Grease a muffin tin 
4. Pour 1 Tbsp into each of the muffin cups
5. Spoon in about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture to each muffin cup
6. Pour another 1 Tbsp on top 
7. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes
8. Serve with a side salad and call it a meal.
9. And again, that's it.  Seriously.

Since you won't eat all of these right away, put them in Ziploc bags (one or two in each bag) for easy reheating later.  I toss them in the freezer and take one in my lunch box for workdays.  By the time I'm ready for breakfast at about 9:00, it has defrosted and I microwave for 30 seconds.  Bon Appetite!