Easy Grits Recipes

Grits are a Southern food staple. They can make a meal on their own, or may be used with other ingredients to make tasty breakfast dishes.

Although many people prefer grits as a side, or as a simple, small meal in itself, there are many delicious dishes that use this ground corn as a main ingredient. Adding certain meats, and vegetables to grits can really spice up the dish, and cooking with grits to make delicious meals is quite simple. Following are a couple of easy grits recipes that utilize other delicious ingredients.

Easy Grits Recipe

Cooking with grits is very simple. To turn the dried, ground corn into the porridge that everyone wants, it must be placed into boiling water. For every cup of water, there should be about three tablespoons of dried grits, and once the water reaches a boil, the grits (and a little salt) should be stirred into the pot.

After a minute, the pot should be covered, and the heat reduced to medium-low. The grits should be stirred every couple of minutes,and after a little while, they will be noticeably softer. If they end up too dry, stir in a little water while the pot is still on the stove. After they have reached a desirable consistency, the grits may be removed from the pot, and eaten as they are, with a little butter. Or, other ingredients may be stirred into the grits when they are just about done, and still on the stove.

Easy Shrimp and Grits Recipe

Shrimp is a welcome addition to nearly any dish, and its inclusion in basic grits is a sure way to spice up breakfast. Following are the ingredients that should be added to the pot when the grits are nearly done, assuming that someone is making a large portion of grits with three or four cups of water.

Shrimp and Grits Ingredients

1 lb chopped fresh, peeled and deveined shrimp
l cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup shredded or grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup minced onion
1 tablespoon butter
salt, pepper, and garlic salt, to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil

Cooking Instructions

1. In a skillet, saute the shrimp in a little olive oil until they are cooked, along with the tomato, celery, and onion.
2. Once the grits are nearly cooked, stir the other ingredients, both from the frying pan, and those set aside into the grits. Allow them to cook in the pot for a few minutes. If the grits begin to dry up, stir a little more water in. Once the vegetables begin to tenderize, turn off the heat. A delicious meal of shrimp and grits is ready in the pot.

Easy Recipe for Cheesy Ham and Grits

As with the other recipe, the additional ingredients should be stirred into the grits when they are nearly finished. This recipe uses three or four cups of water, and twelve to sixteen tablespoons of grits.

Ingredients for Cheesy Ham and Grits

1 lb chopped, fully-cooked ham, or shredded ham slices
1 cup chopped tomato
1 cup shredded cheddar or American cheese
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup minced onion
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Cooking Instructions

1. Saute the vegetables and ham in a skillet with olive oil for a few minutes.
2. When the grits are nearly finished, stir the butter and cheese into the pot of grits, and then add the rest of the ingredients, from the skillet. After they have cooked for a few minutes, and the grits are soft, the heat may be cut off, and the meal, served.

There are many other delicious grits dishes that may be created by using other ingredients. Shrimp and grits is one of several seafood grits recipes that turns out to be delicious. Shrimp and grits is one of a few soupy shrimp recipes, that, along with shrimp bisque, results in a delicious seafood meal which only uses basic ingredients.

Cheesy ham and grits is an easy dish that combines several traditional breakfast ingredients to make a delicious collaboration of tastes. Grits recipes go well with other breakfast foods, such as eggs and biscuits. Cooking with grits can actually be a way to make delicious breakfast meals.