You see, of course there is a story behind it. During my years at RHUMC my dear friend would make these grits for me whenever there was a special occasion--but especially for the special occasions in my life--from birthdays to wedding shower--she always had a way of making me smile! I never asked for the recipe as I always just referred to them as Lisa Lyle's yummy grits. Well, then the Lord moves us and I lasted about 2 weeks before I was emailing her asking her for the recipe...I even asked if they had a bet going on how long it would take for me to ask for them! Well once I saw what was in these grits, I almost died--but I promise they are well worth the calories! :)
Well at our brunch, I had many requests for the recipe, so I thought I would share it with all of you out there! Here we go...with her notes that she passed on to me--I now pass on to you...(even if you aren't going to make them now--scroll down and read my oops rendition on the bottom!)
Lisa Lyle's Yummy Grits (I don't know if they ever had a name, but this is what I call them).
1-1/4 cups water
2 cups half & half
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick cooking grits
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup diced green onions - I rarely put these in
4 ounces processed cheddar cheese, cubed (suggested: Velveeta)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chilies (suggested: Ro-Tel)Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a saucepan, bring the water and 1/2 & 1/2 to a boil. Add the salt and slowly add the grits and return to a boil, stirring constantly for 1 minute. While stirring the grits add the 1/2 cup of butter and stir until butter is melted. Reduce the heat, cover and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the grits are thick and creamy. Remove from heat and set aside. Using a skillet, saute the onions in the remaining tablespoon of butter for 1 minute. (only if you want to add onions) Add the processed cheese, garlic powder, 1 1/2 cups cheddar, and onions to grits, and stir until the cheese is melted. Add the tomatoes and mix well. Pour the grits into a greased 9" x 11" glass casserole pan and bake for 40 minutes. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup cheese over the casserole for the last 5 minutes of cooking time.
**My oops rendition this morning: So my most wonderful hubby made the comment that I always make this dish when I'm going somewhere and I never make it for him. Well this recipe makes a pretty big dish--way too much for the two of us...so while I was making one for the brunch this morning I was trying to do the math in my head of cutting everything in half and making him a smaller dish of the grits. All went well until the cheddar cheese came in and I didn't read the part that said put in 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese--saving the other cup for later...so all 2 1/2 cups went in---ooppsss!!!! So....I added an extra 1/2 can of rotel tomatoes (left over from the batch I was making hubby) and dumped it in to my big pot to try to counteract how cheesy my grits just got (I'm letting you see how my brain works--I'm sure there are many other ways to fix this and I just don't know them!) and didn't put any cheese on the top...I was told at the brunch today that you can never put in too much cheese---so I guess they turned out okay! :)
Okay, enjoy and by the way--I don't put in the green onions either! :)