Woke up this morning to an early barrage of leaf blowers. As much as I love this time of year there are some downsides. I decided to make breakfast.
I’m about halfway through a box of cheap grits I bought last week. When I’ve told folks that I like the Quaker Instant Grits I’ve gotten flack for not being a True Southerner™. I eat instant grits. I eat them from a bowl. I eat them with a spoon. That’s just wrong on so many levels.
While shopping last week I spotted these Dixie Lilly Quick Grits. At $1.85 for a one pound box they are a heck of a lot less expensive than the Quaker packets. I use two Quaker packets each time, so that’s six breakfasts for about five bucks. I’ve had these for about a week, eating grits every morning, and I’ve still got half the box left.
But, there’s been lots of trial and error. The instructions on the box never really work for me. I finally found that correct ratio of grits to water – 1:2.3 as opposed to the 1:3 on the box. This particular brand has no seasoning, so it took me awhile to find the right proportions of salt, pepper, and Tajin. I’ve even modified the cooking time. The box says microwave for five minutes. I microwave for 2, stir, then add in cheese, butter, either bacon bits or cooked Jimmy Dean Hot Sausage, and three spoonfuls of canned petite diced tomatoes, then cook for another minute or so.
I used to do just grits, butter and bacon bits. I started adding a bit of cheese into the mix. I’ve always liked sliced tomatoes with breakfast, so I started cutting up cherry tomatoes into my bowl. Those can get expensive and at the wrong time of year are tasteless. I’ve found that canned tomatoes give the same pop of freshness, especially if augmented with the Tajin powder.