Grits & Greens Casserole

People who have bought CSA shares before and joked about the kale weren't playing. My first CSA box arrived with a LOT of leafy greens, including a big bunch of kale. Fortunately, I had starred some recipes for using all of that kale, including this casserole.

Bacon has magical powers. Just a few slices really makes this dish and cuts some of the bitterness of the greens. The grits have just enough cheese in them to seem creamy. And you can prepare this casserole up to a day ahead of time. We ate this with some sliced andouille chicken sausage.

Grits & Greens Casserole
source: Eating Well via A Year in the Kitchen
Yields 6 servings

Ingredients

* 4 slices bacon, chopped (optional)
* 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 small onion, diced
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth, divided
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 16 cups chopped collard greens or kale, stems removed (about 1 large bunch, 1 1/2-2 pounds)
* 2 cups water, plus more as needed
* 1 cup grits (not instant)
* 3/4 cup shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
* 1/4 cup prepared salsa
* 1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat an 8-inch-square baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Place bacon (if using) in a large Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until crispy, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Pour off the bacon fat.
3. Return the pot to medium-low heat; add oil, onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until fragrant and starting to brown in spots, 2 to 8 minutes (cooking time will be quicker if you started with bacon). Add 1 cup broth and salt; bring to a boil over high heat. Add collards (or kale); stir until wilted down to about one-third the volume and bright green, 1 to 2 minutes. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until tender, 18 to 20 minutes. Adjust heat during cooking to maintain a simmer, and add water, 1/4 cup at a time, if the pan seems dry.
4. Meanwhile, bring 2 cups water and the remaining 1 cup broth to a boil in a large saucepan. Pour in grits in a steady stream, whisking constantly. Bring to a simmer, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, whisking often, until thick, about 5 minutes. Combine 1/2 cup cheese, salsa and egg in a small bowl. Remove the grits from the heat and quickly stir in the cheese mixture until combined.
5. Working quickly, spread about half the grits in the prepared baking dish. Top with greens, spreading evenly. Spread the remaining grits over the greens. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese and the reserved bacon (if using).
6. Bake the casserole until hot and bubbling, about 20 minutes. Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Info
Per serving: 226 calories; 8 g fat (3 g sat, 2 g mono); 50 mg cholesterol; 31 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 11 g protein; 4 g fiber; 473 mg sodium; 335 mg potassium.

Cream Biscuits

Somewhat shamefully, this was my first time making biscuits. While I was making them, I was thinking of the recently departed Carol Fay Ellison aka the Loveless Cafe biscuit lady. Some of you might recognize her name from Throwdown with Bobby Flay. Even though Bobby Flay won that episode, we all know that Ellison made the best biscuits.

I was really pleased with how easy these biscuits were to make. This recipe calls for a grand total of 6 ingredients. I decided to cut them small as a kind of homage to sliders, and they went perfectly with a dab of preserves alongside our quiche, country ham, fruit salad, and hash brown casserole for Mother's Day brunch.

Cream Biscuits

source: Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

3 tbsp melted butter

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar (optional)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt butter in a small pot or microwave dish, and set aside. Sift two cups flour, the baking powder, salt and (if using) sugar into a large bowl. Fold in 1 1/4 cups cream. If the dough is not soft or easily handled, fold in the remaining 1/4 cup cream, little by little.

Turn dough onto a floured surface, mound it into a ball and, using your hands, press it to a thickness of about 3/4 inch. Cut into rounds, 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Gather dough scraps and continue to make rounds. Dip the top of each round in melted butter and arrange on the baking sheet. Bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately, or flash freeze for future use. [Biscuits can be baked straight from the freezer, and additional few minutes baking time will be needed, usually around 3 to 5.]

Paula Deen's Hash Brown Potato Casserole

Hashbrown casserole was not something I had ever had until moving to Tennessee. But how to make potatoes even better than by adding butter, sour cream, and cheese? Now, I know that using condensed cream of ___ soups is considered pretty declasse in food circles, but sometimes you just have to own it. There were a lot of things that I had to turn a blind eye to in this casserole, like the two cups of sour cream, but let's not pretend like we all eat like this all the time. It's an indulgence, so treat it like such. It is also delicious - rich, creamy, and decadent. Just make sure you send the leftovers home with your guests.

Paula Deen's Hash Brown Potato Casserole

source: Paula Deen's Kitchen Classics
Serves 10-12

Ingredients

2 lbs frozen hash brown potatoes

4 cups grated Cheddar cheese (I reduced this to about 3 cups.)

1 10 1/2 oz can cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup

2 cups sour cream

1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tsps The Lady's House Seasoning (salt, black pepper, and garlic powder)

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, 2 cups of the cheddar cheese, the soup, sour cream, butter, onion, and House Seasoning. Place in a buttered 13X9 inch pan and bake for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the remaining cheese. Return to the oven and bake for 10 minutes longer.

Varation: Instead of topping the casserole with cheese, you may use 2 cups crushed Ritz crackers mixed with a 1/2 cup melted butter.

Black-Eyed Pea Jambalaya

One of the things that I love about our abode is that we live in close proximity to three grocery stores. Three full-service big-time grocery stores. Spoiled much? Sure, I have my preferences, but I visit all three at least occasionally. The one problem is that it is difficult to keep track of the aisles and where different things are. For instance, in one store, I can almost never find the raisins. So when I went looking for canned black-eyed peas (silly me!) in the bean section, all I could find were dried. Figuring that was cheaper and better than nothing, I continued on my way. And then I spotted the canned black-eyed peas...in the canned vegetable section. This thoroughly confused Joe who kept asking me whether black-eyed peas were legumes or vegetables and led to agreeing that "legume" was a pretty fun word.

Whether canned or dried, this was perfect for a cloudy, gray Monday after Daylight Savings Time went into effect. Add Cajun seasoning and Tabasco (which is aged in Bourbon barrels, score!) to your taste buds' liking. Joe threw in some chicken andouille sausage with his portion. With all the vegetables, whole grain rice, and beans, this is some real stick-to-your-ribs vegetarian cuisine.

Black-Eyed Pea "Jambalaya"
source: Beth Eats
Yields 4 servings

Ingredients

2 tsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup brown rice
2 (15 ounce) cans black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles with liquid
1 tsp Cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp Tabasco
1/2 tsp black pepper
Salt to taste

Preparation

Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and celery, cook about 5 minutes, or until tender. Add garlic and parsley and saute 2-3 more minutes. Pour in the broth, and mix in rice, black-eyed peas, and diced tomatoes with green chiles. Add Cajun seasoning, Tabasco, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until rice is tender.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 408.7
Total Fat: 2.8 g
Total Carbs: 77.1 g
Dietary Fiber: 14.5 g
Protein: 21.3 g

He Thinks My Cornbread's Sexy

When I asked Joe yesterday if he wanted rice or cornbread with dinner, he immediately sprung for the cornbread. As I was preparing the cornbread and my cast iron frying pan, Joe was on the phone on the other side of the house. Somehow I got the Kenny Chesney song "She thinks my tractor's sexy" stuck in my head, but I changed the words to be "He thinks my cast iron frying pan's sexy" which doesn't scan correctly at all. Sure enough, when I took this gorgeous cornbread out of the oven, Joe walked in the room and said, "Now that is some sexy cornbread."

This cornbread was perfectly moist with that brown crust on the bottom and sides from the frying pan and not too sweet. It was absolutely delicious, so much so that Joe and I ate half the pan between us. I couldn't stop going back for more! I may see if I can reduce the butter a bit next time, as the idea of eating that much of a stick of butter makes me a little nervous. There's also always the option of throwing some cheese, green chiles, or chopped up jalapenos in.

All-Purpose Cornbread
source: Cooks Illustrated via Reading, 'Riting, and Recipes

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal (this dish was tested using Quaker yellow cornmeal)

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon table salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

1 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 8-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Note: To make this in a cast iron skillet, place approx 1 Tbs of butter in the skillet and place it in the oven while preheating. Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl until combined; set aside.

2. In food processor or blender, process sugar, thawed corn kernels, and buttermilk until combined, about 5 seconds. Add eggs and process until well combined (corn lumps will remain), about 5 seconds longer.

3. Using rubber spatula, make well in center of dry ingredients; pour wet ingredients into well. Begin folding dry ingredients into wet, giving mixture only a few turns to barely combine; add melted butter and continue folding until dry ingredients are just moistened.

4. Pour batter into prepared baking dish; smooth surface with rubber spatula. Note: If using cast iron skillet, remove from oven and turn pan to coat all surfaces with the melted butter. Pour the batter into the hot pan. Bake until deep golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes. (I just kept an eye on it until it looked done.) Cool on wire rack in the pan for 10 minutes; invert cornbread onto wire rack, then turn right side up and continue to cool.

Dinner Divas: Hurry Up Chicken Pot Pie

Oh, Paula Deen. Sometimes I wonder what the world would be like if not for your Bisquick, butter, and Ritz cracker-loving self.

I think this might actually be my first Paula Deen recipe to actually make, but I've read one of her cookbooks and earmarked a few things to try. This has been on my list for months, so I'm really pleased that it was chosen as a Dinner Divas recipe for November.

I had a few problems with it. Someone mentioned that they found it a little watery, so I decreased the broth addition to the cream of chicken soup, but I think the problem might actually come from the Bisquick. Somehow, I did not get a pretty, even biscuit layer on top of my chicken pot pie. It was still good, but I might tinker around with it a little more and perhaps switch up the milk to Bisquick ratio. Other changes are notated below.



Paula Deen's Hurry Up Chicken Pot Pie
(source: Paula Deen)

Ingredients:

• 2 cup chopped cooked chicken breast (I used shredded chicken breasts)
  
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced (I omitted. That sounded gross to me.)
  
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
• 1/2 cup frozen green peas
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup
• Salt and pepper, optional
• 1 1/2 cup instant biscuit mix
• 1 cup milk
• 1 stick melted butter (I halved the butter and still had pools of it floating on top.)
  
• 1 cup chicken broth (I used maybe 1/4 cup.)
• I also added 1/2 cup frozen corn

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a greased 2-quart casserole, layer the chicken, eggs, carrots, and peas. Mix the soup, chicken broth, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Pour over the layers. Stir together the biscuit mix and milk, and pour this over the casserole. Drizzle butter over the topping. Bake until the topping is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes.

Yield: 4-6 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 30-45 minutes