Fresh Homegrown Grits For Nearly Any Diet (Gluten Free, Organic, Vegan)

Call it what you will - cornmeal mush, polenta, or good old Southern grits - this humble little meal deserves its props.

Last summer, I chanced upon a bag of home-grown, non-GMO, home-ground, heritage cornmeal for an insanely good price sitting next to the register at a local greenhouse. I bought one bag. Of course, had I know how yummy it would be, I'd have bought a lot more.

Good coarsely ground heritage corn has a complex, nutty flavor you'll never find in a box of instant Quaker grits. They are truly two different foods; it's starkly obvious how blank processed food becomes when you compare real corn vs. fake agribusiness corn.

Last night, I cooked up a simple meal of fresh grits, Trader Joe's no-nitrate apple chicken sausage links, and french-style green beans, served with homemade yogurt and chunks of mango. The grits made the meal, and we've been enjoying them for breakfast again today.

I know home-grown local corn can be harder to find outside a rural area, particularly in the winter when Farmer's Markets are quiet, but there are a couple brands on Amazon I'd recommend. Bob's Red Mill organic cornmeal is a larger, well-known producer with low prices and large availability. Palmetto Farms is a smaller producer whose corn can offer a more unique flavor than the larger producers can.

Here's our recipe for grits.

Ingredients

8 cups water
2 cups cornmeal
salt to taste

Dinner is Upon Me and I'm Unprepared Directions (takes about 20-25 minutes until ready to eat)

Combine cold water and the cornmeal in a pan on the stove top; stir until smooth.
Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently until the mixture begins to boil.
Add a little salt. Cool a spoonful and taste. Repeat until it's salted how you like it.
Turn the heat to low and allow it to simmer until it thickens to the consistency you want. It will get thicker the longer it cooks.

I'm Actually Thinking Ahead This Morning Directions (Slow Cooker - 5 minutes of hands-on time, but takes 6-8 hours until ready to eat)

Combine warm water and the cornmeal in the slow cooker crock; stir until smooth.
Turn slow cooker on high for 1 hour, then stir. Add a little salt. Taste and repeat until it's salted how you like it.
Turn the slow cooker to low and cook for another 6-8 hours or until it's the consistency you want. It will get thicker the longer it cooks.

Some people like their grits salty (that's us!) but others swear by sweet (maybe with real maple syrup if you're into that sweet grits thing). We added a big old fat pat of butter on each bowl of grits and a little extra salt at the table. Yum!

And because this dinner was so affordable, I'm going to lay out my prices for a change. These were my prices for my family of four.

Grits - 1/10th of the $5 bag of cornmeal so 50 cents.
Butter - 1/8th of a $3 pound so 48 cents. (Homemade from skimmed cream was about the same price for me.)
Chicken sausages - all of a $5 pack, so $5.00
Green beans - all of a 80 cent scratch & dent can, so 80 cents.
Yogurt - 1/10 of a $5 gallon of milk plus a $1 yogurt starter pack, so 70 cents.
Maple syrup to sweeten the yogurt - 1/20 of a $7 bottle so 35 cents.
Two mangoes - 50 cents each at produce discount so $1.

Total meal cost for family of four (with grits left over for breakfast): $8.83 or $2.21 per person.

Not too shabby, although as you can see, the chicken sausages comprised the bulk of the cost. We had bought them as a treat a few nights ago, but normally we would have had eggs with this dinner. Our eggs are free right now - I haven't bought feed in months but we're still getting eggs daily from our free rangers (with a little feed added in that a neighbor gifted us).

Free eggs would have brought my cost down to $3.83 for the family or 96 cents per person! It's hard to believe we can have an enjoyable, filling, well-rounded dinner for under $1.00 each, especially with all my exacting food requirements. But there it is - the humble grits. A good choice for local foodies, organic connoisseurs, frugalites, and gluten-free folks alike. Or anyone who likes to eat good real food.

**Let's talk affiliate links. The only affiliate links I have on this blog are Amazon Associates links. Amazon Associates allows me easily link to the products I want to share with you since Amazon has  nearly everything. If you happen to follow one of those links and buy the product, they give me a few cents to help me feel like my blogging is time well spent. I only suggest products I like and would recommend to you in person. Always.**

amish leftover oatmeal coffee cake

While I can't attest to whether or not this recipe is actually Amish in origin, I can attest that is darn good and darn useful! My children always leave some of their oatmeal in their bowls when I make it, so I love having a recipe to use up the extra.

Ingredients

2 cups leftover breakfast oatmeal
2/3 cup fruit (apples, raisins, blueberries, blackberries)
3/4 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup brown sugar (or use my usual trick - 1 cup white sugar + 1 Tbls. molasses)
1/2 cup oil or melted butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla 

Directions

After water has boiled, add the fruit to the water. If using dried fruit, let the fruit sit for 10 minutes. Add the oatmeal to the water and stir until smooth.

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Make a small well in the center. Pour in the brown sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla and oatmeal/fruit mixture. Mix just until combined.

Pour into a greased and floured 9" x 13" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

tomato gravy

Last week, when we were visiting Karla, my Amish friend, she mentioned that they often have tomato gravy over eggs for breakfast. This was the second time she had talked about "tomato gravy" and it sounded so interesting, I had to try it.

From what I gather, it's an Amish thing. It makes a regular appearance at meals at all times of the day, and it's quite versatile. You can serve it over eggs (which I did last Wednesday and let me just say - YUM. It's no wonder her family eats eggs every morning if she's serving tomato gravy over them!), you can serve it over rice (did that tonight), you can put it over toast, over noodles, over biscuits, over roasted chicken....and many more, I'm sure.

I'm going to give you my ingredient list, which is different from hers. Hers calls for a can of diced tomatoes (roughly 14 oz.). For mine, I used tomato juice.

Ingredients

3 Tbls. butter
3 Tbls. white flour
tomato juice (about a cup)
whole milk or cream (about a half cup)
3 Tbls. sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Melt the butter over medium heat.

Whisk in the flour until it begins to brown.

Pour in the tomato juice and milk all at once.

Whisk until smooth and thickened. If it is too thick for your liking, add more tomato juice.

Stir in the sugar and salt and pepper.

Serve with a variety of side dishes or meats, but especially with eggs.

granola bars

I have found it hard to make a tasty but easy granola bar. I think I've finally found a recipe I like, and wanted to share, since so many of my taste testers liked it too. :-)

Ingredients

4 cups rolled oats
3 cups almond flour (we get ours at Trader Joe's under the name "Almond Meal")
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins, chocolate chips, or chopped walnuts (optional)
1 cup honey
1 cup coconut oil
2 egg yolks
4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease (2) 9 x 13 inch baking pans
2. Melt the coconut oil if needed. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, almond flour, cinnamon, salt & optional ingredients (raisins, choc chips or walnuts). Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg yolks, oil & vanilla. Mix well with your hands or use a stand mixer for the whole process.
3. Pat the mixture evenly into your two prepared pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Do not overbake! Cool thoroughly before cutting into bars.

A note to my taste testers this weekend: I was able to cut the sugar entirely & just go with the honey and still have sweet results. It's not too sweet anymore, so I really wouldn't suggest cutting down the honey at all, unless you're super sensitive to sweets. If you want the granola bar sweeter, add 1/2 cup of sugar to achieve a more store-bought kind of taste, like what I brought with me.

A note about gluten-free oats: I tagged this post with the GF label because oats are one of those controversial GF items - are they or aren't they? I've heard that they are usually contaminated during processing & I've heard an alternate theory that if they are grown too close to wheat, they will be contaminated with gluten from the wheat (cross-pollination I guess?). At any rate, there are GF oats widely available, so as far as I'm concerned, this recipe still fits the label.

And finally, a note about the eggs: my recipe contains only the egg yolks because my youngest daughter can't have egg whites. The original recipe I worked off of called for 2 whole eggs, so there's no reason for non-sensitive people to waste their egg whites. In fact, your bars will probably hold together even better than mine. :-)

no grain granola

My pregnant protein needs combined with my youngest daughter's recent gluten sensitivity diagnosis led me to creating this recipe tonight. It makes a nice alternative to puffed cereals and sugary granolas, which seem to be about the only things that consistently sound good all throughout every pregnancy. It has a very high protein content for a "cereal" and it's 100% gluten free.

Ingredients
1 lb. almonds
1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 Tbls. vanilla extract

Directions
Add everything to a large capacity food processor (we use and love this one).

Pulse several times until the nuts and seeds are minced into tiny pieces and the mixture starts to cling together. If it never clings together, add more maple syrup or honey until it becomes a little sticky. It should not cling together like a dough. You should be able to form a little test ball with your fingers and have it hold together.

Press the mixture into a 9" x 13" baking pan and bake for 2 hours at 225 degrees.

Gently break apart the mixture until it resembles granola and divide it equally onto two baking sheets. Bake another 1-2 hours at 225 degrees until it just starts to turn brown. Let sit uncovered for at least 6 hours. It will be soft when it first comes out of the oven, but will be crispy by the end of the 6 hours sitting time.

Add craisins, raisins, or any other favorite dried fruit to the mix.

We did not have any dried fruit to add tonight, but it was still good. Dried fruit would have made it excellent. It stayed crispy for over 10 minutes in a bowl of milk. I didn't test past that because I was hungry!

High-Protein Pancakes

This recipe is great for those of us who know we should be eating something higher in protein first thing in the morning, but can't get past the carb cravings when we wake up.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup flour, any kind, gluten-free also works well
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup cottage cheese
2-4 eggs (I use 2 because I don't like too strong an egg taste, but you can use up to 4)
1/2 cup milk or water
1/4 cup oil or melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 ripe banana (optional)
1/2 cup ground nuts (optional)

oil for frying

DIRECTIONS

Combine all ingredients except frying oil in a food processor, blender or mixing bowl. Blend at high speed. (6 minutes hands-on)

Heat frying oil on a griddle until medium-hot, fry pancakes until brown on each side. (4 minutes hands-on for about 4 pancakes)

Top with honey, fruit or maple syrup if you want a sweeter pancake as these won't be sweet by themselves.

wraps!

Wraps are so versatile, it's amazingly easy to whip up a breakfast, lunch or dinner that will look luxurious to your friends, but takes less than 10 minutes to make.

Ingredients
Whole wheat or white flour tortillas (1-2 per person)
Fillings (see below)

Filling Suggestions
avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, bleu cheese dressing
sharp cheddar cheese, tomatillos, lettuce, onion, honey mustard dressing
provolone cheese, chopped turkey, gravy, onion, hot sauce
chicken salad, dried cranberries, chopped grapes, yogurt
tuna salad, pineapple, drizzle of honey
cream cheese and sliced peaches, kiwi, or mangoes
colby cheese, eggs & meat or meat substitute
peanut butter, banana, granola & drizzle of honey

Directions
If any ingredients are spreadable, spread evenly across each tortilla. (4 minutes hands-on prep)
Add remaining ingredients and roll tightly. (3 minutes hands-on prep)
Stick toothpick in center of each wrap. (1 minute hands-on prep)

Serving suggestions
Serve with side of chips, veggies, salad, or soup. Try serving bento-style for a fun variation. If using toothpicks in the center to hold together, teach kids to eat toward the toothpick from one side, turn around & eat from the other side & finish with the bite between the toothpick.

Peanut Butter Bananas

Here's another breakfast or late-night snack idea. It couldn't be simpler -- so simple, in fact, that you might overlook it in search of something more exotic. Don't! No whole-foods, sugar-free snack will so successfully tame a sweets craving as this one. Definitely try it before you toss it aside.

Ingredients
Bananas*
Natural peanut butter, no sugar added
Unsweetened shredded coconut

*Bananas should be firm, not over-ripe, and preferably yellow but still green on the edges. If you have them, use bananas that have been chilled in the refrigerator for this recipe.

Directions
Cut bananas into three even sections. Then, cut each section in half and place each half section on a plate. (3 minutes hands-on prep)
Spread each piece with peanut butter. (3 minutes hands-on prep)
Top each piece with shredded coconut. (1 minute hands-on prep)

Sweet & Salty Apple Salad

I've decided to expand the original scope of Supper In Seconds to include breakfast foods, late-night snacks & desserts, that can all be prepared in 10 minutes of less.

The Sweet & Salty Apple Salad actually can be served for any of those purposes. It is especially great as a late-night snack when you're looking for something sweet and crunchy. It also fits the bill for a breakfast when you want something that will stick with you longer than a bagel. And although it might not be everyone's idea of "dessert," it's nice to have options for sweet after dinner treats that do not have sugar as an ingredient.

Ingredients
1 apple, roughly chopped
1 oz. sharp cheese (cheddar, parmesan, swiss, asiago), shredded or diced
1 handful nuts

Directions
Combine in a bowl. Enjoy. (2 minutes hands-on prep)