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Sheila and I usually stay in Bed & Breakfast places during our travels, but sometimes local diners are perfect when we get on the road early. In the South (USA) grits is a staple with eggs and bacon at breakfast, whether you order it or not. It is made from dried, ground corn, and cooked in water or milk to create a type of porridge. Lots of people eat it with red-eye gravy or butter to enhance the flavor, but if cooked properly, it can be creamy (akin to mashed potatoes) and flavorful all on its own. If it’s “like sand” and “tasteless” at your restaurant, trust me, they didn’t make it correctly. At all.
This recipe is a recreation of a dish we tried at a Southern diner combining grits, bacon, and eggs (and other yummy ingredients) into muffin form. It looks complicated, but you’re basically cooking creamy grits and adding the rest of the ingredients to the grits, then cooking it all together in muffin form. It has the texture of a creamy corn muffin. Wow, do they smell terrific!
Bacon & Egg Cheese Grits Muffins
Equipment
- Non-stick jumbo muffin pan
- 2-3 quart sauce pan
- shallow pan of water for oven
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup half & half
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup uncooked grits
- 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 4 extra large eggs
- 5 large bacon strips, well cooked
- 3 ounces cooked ham, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
- 2 Tablespoons green onion, sliced thin
- 2 Tablespoons red bell pepper, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
- 1 small tomato, sliced
- 1 pinch sea salt for garnish
- 1 Tablespoon (each) butter and flour for muffin tin prep
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Bring to boil water, milk, chicken broth, half & half, and sea salt in 2-3 quart pot.
- Add grits, reduce heat to low and stir frequently until thick and creamy, about 15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add cheese. Stir in until melted and mixed.
- Meanwhile, cook bacon to taste, drain and let cool. Chop into 1/4 inch bits and set aside.
- Dice cooked ham and set aside. Slice green onion, chop red bell pepper, and set aside.
- In large bowl lightly beat eggs with fork. Mix in bacon, ham, green onion, red bell pepper until well mixed. Add egg mixture to the grits and stir until evenly mixed.
- Prep the muffin tin by coating each cup with butter. Lightly dust the buttered cups evenly with flour. This helps release the otherwise sticky muffins easily after baking and cooling.
- Evenly divide the mixture among the 6 muffin spaces – they will be nearly full. Bake for 30 minutes on center shelf, until lightly browned.
- Remove the muffin tin from the oven and let sit on cooling rack for a few minutes, then remove the muffins from the tin and serve warm. Sliced tomatoes with sea salt sprinkled on top is a pleasant side to the muffins.
Notes
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