Showing posts with label breakfast for dinner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label breakfast for dinner. Show all posts

Sunday, February 21, 2021

Baked Grits with Sausage Gravy

Melt-in-your-mouth cheesy baked grits with sausage gravy are a true southern comfort food I’m sure the whole world would enjoy. You need to try them if you haven't already! 

Food Lust People Love: Melt-in-your-mouth cheesy baked grits with sausage gravy are a true southern comfort food I’m sure the whole world would enjoy. You need to try them if you haven't already!

Grits are a down home, stick-to-your-ribs kind of breakfast. The kind of easy comfort food I crave on a brisk winter morning or when things haven’t been going my way. They can be eaten sprinkled with sugar, or enriched by cheese. But if you really want them to be special, make these baked grits with sausage gravy. They are special enough to serve up for dinner. 

Though we think of them as southern fare, grits were eaten by the indigenous people in what became the United States (even up north) long before it was visited by European explorers. The corn or maize is soaked in an alkali solution which removes the hard hull. The resulting product is called hominy which can be eaten as-is in dishes like pozole or dried and ground to become grits. 

Grits come in several varieties, but I usually buy the iron-fortified quick grits because, as long as you are making one serving, they can even be cooked in the microwave. Talk about a fast healthy breakfast! The instructions on the box say: Cook with water, but for creamier grits, use milk instead.

For my money, the milk version wins every time. Milk not only makes creamier grits but it adds nutritional value as well. Milk contains several important nutrients; a glass of milk will give you calcium, protein, iodine, potassium, phosphorus and vitamins B2 and B12. If you use water, you are missing out on all that.

Baked Grits with Sausage Gravy

Great as a make-ahead morning meal, baked grits with sausage gravy are also perfect as breakfast-for-dinner. This recipe uses milk to make creamier grits. If you are watching your calories, you can use water or half milk/half water. But they won’t be as creamy! If you don’t have ramekins, this can also be baked in one larger pan and spooned out to serve. 

Ingredients
For the baked grits:
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup or 155g uncooked quick grits
4¼ cups or 1L milk
4 oz or 113g cream cheese
2 large eggs, beaten
Butter for greasing 6 ramekins

For the sausage gravy:
1 (16 oz or 454g) package breakfast sausage (We prefer hot but you can use mild.)
¼ cup or 60ml drippings from cooked sausage
1 cup or 125g flour
3 cups or 709ml milk
Freshly ground black pepper
Cayenne
Optional for serving: minced green onion tops

Method
Bring the milk for the grits to a boil in a large pot. Add the salt and slowly pour the quick grits in stirring constantly with a whisk. 


Bring the milk back to a boil and then reduce the heat. Cook for another 8-11 minutes or until the grits have thickened, stirring constantly.


Pour the grits into a mixing bowl and leave to cool for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to speed the process. Add in the cold cream cheese and mix well until combined.


Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and butter 6 1-cup or 240ml ramekins. Set aside. Put a full kettle of water on to boil.

Whisk the two eggs in another bowl. Add small spoons of the warm grits to the eggs, whisking briskly, until you’ve added about ⅓ of the grits to the eggs and have a lovely homogeneous mixture.

Now add the egg/grits mixture to the cream cheese/grits bowl and stir well to combine. 


Divide the grits into the prepared ramekins. I had about 4½ cups total so each ramekin got about ¾ cup of grits. Place ramekins in a 13- x 9-inch pan, and add the hot water from your kettle to the pan halfway up the sides of ramekins. Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil.


Bake in your preheated oven for 15 minutes covered. Uncover and bake 20 minutes more or until tops begin to brown. I wanted just a little more color, so I put mine under the broiler for another few minutes but you can skip this step if you can't be bothered. 

Food Lust People Love: Melt-in-your-mouth cheesy baked grits with sausage gravy are a true southern comfort food I’m sure the whole world would enjoy. You need to try them if you haven't already!

While the baked grits are in the oven, we’ll make the sausage gravy. In a large skillet, brown the sausage meat and break it into crumbles with your spoon. Keep browning until the sausage is completely cooked and you have some lovely crunchy pieces that are quite dark.

Turn the heat off and tip the pan to one side. Push the sausage crumbles up to the high side of the pan so you can spoon most of the drippings off, leaving about ¼ cup or 4 tablespoons behind.

Sprinkling the flour into the pan a little at a time, stirring the sausage and flour around until all of the flour is incorporated. Cook over a medium heat for just a few minutes to get rid of the floury taste.

Pour in the cold milk and stir well until the flour has been dissolved.


Cook, stirring almost constantly, until the gravy thickens to your desired consistency. I like it pretty thick. You can add more milk to loosen it up if you prefer thinner gravy. Season with freshly ground black pepper and a little cayenne, if desired. 


Once the baked grits are out of the oven, you can serve them immediately in the ramekins with the sausage gravy on top, or leave the grits to cool for about 10 minutes before unmolding them to plates. Depends on how fancy you want them to look. For this dish, I broke out the rarely-seen wedding china because it has a matching gravy boat.

Sprinkle with minced green onion tops, if desired.

Food Lust People Love: Melt-in-your-mouth cheesy baked grits with sausage gravy are a true southern comfort food I’m sure the whole world would enjoy. You need to try them if you haven't already!

Enjoy! 

This week my Sunday FunDay friends are sharing some of their favorite breakfast for dinner recipes. Check them out below! Many thanks to our host, Sue of Palatable Pastime. 
We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

Pin these Baked Grits with Sausage Gravy!

Food Lust People Love: Melt-in-your-mouth cheesy baked grits with sausage gravy are a true southern comfort food I’m sure the whole world would enjoy. You need to try them if you haven't already!

 .

Sunday, January 17, 2021

Peanut Butter Banana Waffles

Peanut butter banana waffles are not only delicious, they are higher in protein and vitamins than normal waffles, making them great to start your busy day.

Food Lust People Love: Peanut butter banana waffles are not only delicious, they are higher in protein and vitamins than normal waffles, making them great to start your busy day.

When our girls were young their daddy took charge of breakfast on school mornings, which was a lifesaver for my sanity. To make his job easier, sometimes I made and froze waffles and pancakes. Just like store-bought, those are easily popped in the toaster and are ready to eat in minutes. 

Homemade buttermilk waffles are also one of our favorite breakfasts for dinner. In fact, over the last few years I’ve shared several waffle recipes you might like:

Also make sure to scroll down to see all the wonderful waffles my Sunday FunDay friends are sharing today.

Peanut Butter Banana Waffles

For this recipe, I used the little bananas that are called pisang mas or gold bananas in Malaysia, Oritos in Ecuador and Ouros in Brazil. They have thin skins and are quite small and super sweet. The reason for their name becomes obvious when you peel them. Check out the golden color! It took four of these little guys to make up a half cup or 120g. Of course, substitute your favorite variety of banana if you can't find these. In my waffle iron, this recipe makes 10 waffles.


Ingredients
1 cup or 125g all-purpose flour
1/4 cup or 30g whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 large egg 
1 cup or 240ml milk
1/2 cup or 120ml mashed banana
1/4 cup peanut butter
canola or other light oil for the waffle iron, as needed

To serve: butter and syrup (or honey)

Method
Mix the flours, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl. 


In a separate bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Whisk in the peanut butter, egg and milk. 


Preheat your waffle iron. 

Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture and fold till well combined.


If your waffle iron isn’t nonstick, brush the surface lightly with the oil. 

Use a ladle to fill the waffle iron with the appropriate amount of batter. Waffle irons can differ greatly in capacity so please consult your manual. 


Cook until the waffle is golden brown, approximately 5-6 minutes, depending on your waffle iron. Repeat until all of the waffles are cooked. 

Food Lust People Love: Peanut butter banana waffles are not only delicious, they are higher in protein and vitamins than normal waffles, making them great to start your busy day.

When I plan to freeze the waffles, I like to stack mine up like a house of cards when they are cooked so that they stay crisp on the outside as they cool. I find that when I stack them one on top of the other, the steam created softens them.

Food Lust People Love: Peanut butter banana waffles are not only delicious, they are higher in protein and vitamins than normal waffles, making them great to start your busy day.

Serve the waffles warm, with butter and syrup, if desired. 

Food Lust People Love: Peanut butter banana waffles are not only delicious, they are higher in protein and vitamins than normal waffles, making them great to start your busy day.

You could even add some extra sliced bananas.

Food Lust People Love: Peanut butter banana waffles are not only delicious, they are higher in protein and vitamins than normal waffles, making them great to start your busy day.

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay again and my friends are sharing a plethora of waffle recipes! Many thanks to our host, Sneha of Sneha’s Recipe

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.


Pin these Peanut Butter Banana Waffles!

Food Lust People Love: Peanut butter banana waffles are not only delicious, they are higher in protein and vitamins than normal waffles, making them great to start your busy day.
.

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Loaded Baked Potato Waffles #FoodieExtravaganza



Take all the lovely ingredients of a fully loaded baked potato, stir them into waffle batter and bake till golden in a Belgian waffle iron. Perfection squared. 

Last month my Foodie Extravanza group celebrated peaches and I missed the whole thing because of traveling. It made me a little sad, but with the choice of London or cooking peaches, I had to go with London! But it did make me doubly determined to participate this month, especially when I heard that we were celebrating waffles. Waffles can be sweet or savory so, if you know me at all, you know which way I was sure to go. And since my mother, well documented on this site as being a lover of all things potato, was visiting, a waffle with all the fixings of a loaded baked potato seemed perfect. And indeed it was. Serve them plain with extra sour cream, chives and cheese. Or pop a fried egg on top.

Make sure you scroll down to the bottom to see all the lovely waffles we are sharing. Many thanks to Summer from Summer Scraps who is hosting this month!

Ingredients for six or seven square Belgian waffles
5-6 slices streaky smoked bacon (just less than 4 1/2 oz or 125g)
1 cup or 125g flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
Fresh black pepper
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup or 120ml sour cream plus more to serve, if desired
3/4 cup or 180ml milk
1 egg
1 potato (about 7 1/2 oz or 210g)
1/2 oz or 15g green onions, plus more to serve, if desired
1/2 cup or 45g grated extra sharp cheddar cheese, plus more to serve, if desired

Method
Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry it until crispy. Remove it from the skillet with a slotted spoon and drain on some paper towels. Put a little of the bacon fat in a small bowl and set it aside. Yep, we are going to grease the waffle iron with it for extra flavor.

Combine the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and a few generous grinds of fresh black pepper in a large mixing bowl. Add in the grated cheese, crispy bacon and green onion tops and stir well.



Whisk the egg, sour cream and milk together in a smaller mixing bowl.  Peel and grate the potato and add it immediately to the egg bowl and stir to stop the potato from oxidizing and turning brown.

Looks like the grated cheese, doesn't it?


Preheat your waffle maker as per manufacturer’s instructions.

Now fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.



Using a pastry brush, grease your waffle maker with a little of the reserved bacon fat.



Pour the manufacturer’s recommended amount of  batter into the center of the lower half of the waffle maker, being careful to leave room for when the batter spreads out as you lower the lid and also for when the waffle starts to rise when baking.



Close the lid and watch for the signal that your waffle is cooking.  On my waffle maker, the light goes green when it is ready for batter, red when it is cooking and then green again when the waffle is ready.  I leave the waffle in just a little bit longer after the light turns green the second time so the waffles are nice and crispy.  But if you like them less crunchy, by all means take them out earlier.



Serve topped with a little extra sour cream, green onions and even grated cheese, if desired.



If you have any batter left over, go ahead and baked the waffles and store them, wrapped in cling film, in the refrigerator or freezer. They reheat beautifully in the toaster. A couple of days after making these, I toasted one and served it with a couple sunny-side up eggs on top, more bacon on the side. Sadly, I didn’t take a photo but it was wonderful. The runny egg yolk nicely filled many of the waffle holes. Soooo much better than plain toast!

Enjoy!

My helper is always right there, on clean up duty, just in case I drop something. Hope springs eternal.




We are a group of bloggers who love to blog about food! And each month we all incorporate one main ingredient into a recipe or choose to celebrate a certain dish and put our own twist on it. This month that dish is waffles! We hope you all enjoy our delicious waffles this and come see what next month's new ingredient or dish will be. If you would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our bloggers Facebook group Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you!

Check out all the fabulous waffles we've made this month!

Savory Waffles


Sweet Waffles


Ambidextrous Waffles




Thursday, November 1, 2012

Cheesy Ham Waffles



Grated extra sharp cheddar and sliced smoky ham make a great addition to buttermilk waffle batter!


Once upon a time, I saw a post on another blog for cheese and ham waffles.   And I bookmarked it to make on the weekend.  But I must confess that I didn’t read the whole post and when the weekend came, and when I DID read the whole post, I realized that the waffle was just topped with cheese and ham.  And that was certainly not what I had been dreaming about all week.  So I decided to make my own version, the one in my dreams.  And it was perfect.  And dreams can come true.

The End. 

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups or 220g flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda or bicarbonate of soda
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
2 cups or 475ml buttermilk or 2 tablespoons of white vinegar and milk up to the two-cup or 475ml measure.
1/3 cup or 78ml canola or other light oil plus extra for greasing the waffle maker
2 eggs
3.5 oz or 100g strong cheddar
3.5 oz or 100g smoked ham
Butter and syrup, if desired, to serve

Method
Preheat your waffle maker as per manufacturer’s instructions.

Grate your cheddar and finely chop your ham.



In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.


Add in the buttermilk (or milk/vinegar mixture which is an excellent substitute for buttermilk) and oil and the eggs.   Beat until thoroughly blended.


Add in the ham and cheese and mix well.


Using a pastry brush, grease your waffle maker with some canola or other light oil.

Pour batter into the center of the lower half of the waffle maker, being careful to leave room for when the batter spreads out as you lower the lid and also for when the waffle starts to rise when baking.



Close the lid and watch for the signal that your waffle is cooking.  On my waffle maker, the light goes green when it is ready for batter, red when it is cooking and then green again when the waffle is ready.  I leave the waffle in just a little bit longer after the light turns green the second time so the waffles are nice and crispy.  But if you like them less crunchy, by all means take them out earlier.

Cooking!

Ready!

Remove!

Serve smeared with butter and drizzled with syrup.  And your preferred beverages.   As you can see, this story has a very happy ending.




Enjoy!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Homemade Buttermilk Waffles

Traditional homemade buttermilk waffles make a great breakfast for dinner option! Glass of wine optional. But recommended.

Food Lust People Love: Traditional homemade buttermilk waffles make a great breakfast for dinner option! Glass of wine optional. But recommended.

I’ve got to start out by saying, I am not a breakfast person.  Now that doesn’t mean that I am not a morning person, because I absolutely am.  Cup of coffee and I am good to go.  I just think that Western breakfast foods like eggs and pancakes and waffles are mere convention and other cultures would rarely eat those things, even for breakfast.  

I was delighted when I first traveled to Asia in 1981 and the hotel breakfast buffet included fried rice, fried noodles, various curries and even bowls of chopped chilies to add on to all three. My favorite breakfast is dinner from the night before. Leftover whatever: pork chops, curry, spaghetti Bolognese.  All joy on my morning plate.  That said, occasionally we do have conventional breakfast for dinner!  Which complicates matters for my breakfast the next morning. But never you mind.

First fry up some bacon. Not too crispy.  You want to be able to chew on it.  Okay, that’s how I like it.  Make it crispy if you must.

Then make up some homemade buttermilk waffles.  Glass of wine optional.

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups or 220g flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda or bicarbonate of soda
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
2 cups or 475ml buttermilk or 2 tablespoons of white vinegar and milk up to the two-cup or 475ml measure.
1/3 cup or 78ml salad oil
2 eggs

Method
Preheat your waffle maker as per manufacturer’s instructions.  

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. 


Add in the buttermilk (or milk/vinegar mixture which is an excellent substitute for buttermilk) and salad oil and the eggs. Beat until thoroughly blended.


Pour batter into the center of the lower half of the waffle maker, being careful to leave room for when the batter spreads out as you lower the lid and also for when the waffle starts to bake when rising. 


Close the lid and watch for the signal that your waffle is cooking.  On my waffle maker, the light goes green when it is ready for batter, red when it is cooking and then green again when the waffle is ready. 




I leave the waffle in just a little bit longer after the light turns green so the waffles are nice and crispy.  Yes, I know, limp bacon, but crispy waffles.  I am a woman of contradictions.

Food Lust People Love: Traditional homemade buttermilk waffles make a great breakfast for dinner option! Glass of wine optional. But recommended.

Serve with butter and syrup with bacon on the side. And your preferred beverage.  Enjoy!  

Food Lust People Love: Traditional homemade buttermilk waffles make a great breakfast for dinner option! Glass of wine optional. But recommended.


Pin these homemade buttermilk waffles! 

Food Lust People Love: Traditional homemade buttermilk waffles make a great breakfast for dinner option! Glass of wine optional. But recommended.