Cheesy Grits Souffle by Christina's Mom-In-Law

I don't even know Christina's mom-in-law! But I love her for this recipe! I don't like grits but I LOVE it in this recipe. It's light, delicious, and a perfect breakfast or brunch dish. I made it for Easter dinner, and it was absolutely wonderful.

Don't be afraid of a souffle, this is the first one I have ever made and it came out perfect.

2 cups milk

1/2 cup instant grits

1/2 tsp salt (if you use cheese) if no cheese, use 1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 cup sharp cheddar or parmesan cheese

3 large eggs separated

Preheat oven to 375.

Grease a souffle dish, mine is 1.5 quart size and worked perfectly for this.

Scald milk (bring to just before a boil while stirring), add grits. Cook until thick, stirring constantly. Make sure the grits are well cooked.

Add salt, baking powder, sugar and butter, and mix well. Remove from heat. Beat yolks and add to that mix and add cheese (cheese optional).

In another bowl, whip egg whites to soft peaks. (when beaters are removed, soft peaks form and curl over like waves.) Fold egg whites into grits mixture in the saucepan.

Pour all into the greased souffle pan, bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

French Dips

I make a large roast sometimes on a Sunday, and I usually do at least a five pounder because I can squeak out two meals from it. Pot Roast on Sunday, and on Tuesday or Wednesday I do French Dips.

Leftover pot roast

2 packages au jus mix

Sandwich Buns

Margarine or butter

Garlic salt

Make the au jus according to package directions. Place the leftover roast (sliced) in the prepared au jus. Simmer until the roast is heated through.

Prepare the buns, butter each and sprinkle with garlic salt. Fry the buns buttered side down until golden brown.

Make the sandwiches on the fried buns and serve with the au jus for dipping. This is good with just a green salad or vegetable on the side.

Pot Roast

I used to do pot roasts mainly in the crock pot for convenience. I also did them in the bags for a while, but Trent remembers these great pot roasts that his family used to make on his grandpa's farm, so I tried it old school. They knew it best...

5 lb pot roast, pick a nicely marbled one

1/2 cup flour (or a little more)

3 tbsp powdered beef base, boullion powder, or au jus powder mix

2 tsp garlic powder

Mix flour, beef powder, and garlic on a paper plate. Dredge the roast in the mixture, coating well on all sides. Heat cooking oil either in a skillet or in the roasting pan you're using to roast in. Get the oil very hot, so when a bit of flour sizzles when it's dropped in the pan. Sear all sides of the roast until very well browned. Put 1-1/2 cups water in the bottom of the roasting pan. Place the seared roast in the pan and pour all the drippings from the skillet onto the roast. Add a quartered onion. Cover and roast at low temperature (275 to 300) for several hours. Check after 4, may take 5 hours. You can add potatoes and carrots for the last hour of roasting.

Potatoes Au Gratin (Mix)

This recipe probably only applies to me, because I got lucky and a friend who works at a potato packing plant scored a box of food service size au gratin potato mixes. I have had to figure out myself how to use them because they have no instructions. Finally figured it out last night. Dani, take some of these packets home, these are good when you have to feed a crowd. Would be good with pork chops, pulled pork, or fish.

5 cups dried scalloped potatoes from Winco bulk food

8 cups boiling water

1 cube margarine, melted

1 package au gratin sauce mix

Mix all together well in large, deep casserole dish or a foil disposable pan. Cook at least an hour at 350-400, depending on whatever else you are roasting or baking. Just bake the potatoes side by side with bread, meat, or whatever.

Will thicken upon standing, stir occasionally to release some of the moisture. This makes a lot. Enough for at least three meals, or a pot luck, or enough for us and to take some to the folks.

Southwest Pork Chops

Mix 4-5 tablespoons southwest seasoning mix (previous recipe) with three tablespoons olive oil, two teaspoons vinegar, about three to four tablespoons water in a ziploc bag. Place one to two pounds pork chops in the marinade and seal the bag. Marinate at least an hour, the longer the better.

Grill on the barbeque or fry.

To fry, heat cooking oil in a stainless steel pan (nonstick is ok too but you won't get the nice browning). Heat until pan is very hot and oil is slightly shimmering. Place chops in, they should sizzle. Cook 4-5 minutes on each side, checking to make sure they are browning and not burning, adjust heat down if necessary. There will be a lot of marinade sticking to the bottom of the pan, this is ok. Meat is done when the thickest part of the chop is not pink at all. Remove chops and keep warm by wrapping with foil. Use 3/4 cup of chicken stock to deglaze the pan and make a sauce to serve with the chops. With pan still hot and heat on, pour chicken stock into the pan all at once and scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Continue scraping and stirring until a reduction is made that is a thin sauce consistency. Place chops back in the pan with the sauce and mix them around in it.

Serve with a potato side dish, vegetable, or salad!

Southwest Marinade Seasoning

Trent's favorite marinade is McCormick Southwest Seasoning packets. Whenever we could find them, we would buy a whole box because sometimes they were there at the store and sometimes not. But now, we can't find it at all. So, I made one using Emeril's recipe on the Food Network site, but I added onion powder Used it on pork chops last night. Delicious!

Make seasoning mix and use 4-5 tablespoons of the seasoning, mixed with a few tablespoons of olive oil, two teaspoons of vinegar, and a little water for two to three pounds of meat. We like it on pork, beef, and chicken.

Southwest Seasoning for Marinade:

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 tablespoons paprika

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon dried oregano