Grits, Apple Fritters and Potluck Supper

It's been a busy day here. I began by cooking my first batch of grits, moved on to apple fritters and will finish with a dish for tonight's potluck supper (swim team). I took a brief nap in the middle of it all... after sampling the apple fritters.

Grits have the texture of coarse sand before they are cooked. They are simple to cook. Most grits fans tout the excellence of old-fashioned stone ground grits over the instant, quick variety. The bag in my freezer was the instant, quick variety. But not from Quaker, from a mill in Oklahoma. So, I don't know about that, mine turned out pretty good!

If you are sure to slowly whisk the grits into the boiling water you won't have lumpy grits.

When my grits were finished I poured them into a buttered loaf pan, reserving a bowl for myself. To this I added chopped ham and shredded cheddar cheese, mixing them thoroughly with the grits. Then, I covered them and placed them in the fridge to cool for several hours, to firmly set.

To my bowl I added butter, brown sugar, a drizzle of molasses and a handful of leftover chopped ham. It was delicious. As I enjoyed this interesting, somewhat nutty texture with a hint of corn flavor from my bowl, I pondered the origins of such dishes.

Proverbs, Biblical scriptures, Buddha and the Tao all suggest that the gleanings from the field be left for the workers. That's exactly what grits are; the hard bits of corn left after grinding cornmeal. After boiling up a big pot of stone ground grits, the cook would take leftovers and make something else rather than throw them out. Grits don't re-heat well for hot cereal. From that frugal mindset came many different recipes for grits. Including the fried grits I will prepare.

Fried Grits

Prepare grits according to directions
Pour into buttered loaf pan
Add 1 cup chopped ham and 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Mix well
Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours
Slice "grit loaf" into 1/2 inch slices.
Dip first in 2 eggs beaten, then dredge in flour (approx 1 cup)
Pan fry or deep fry until golden brown, turning to cook both sides evenly

Fried grits can be served for breakfast, brunch, snack or side dish.

Fried grits update: I made the fried grits for breakfast the following morning and wow, they were fantastic! I will chop my ham a little more fine in the future and maybe add a bit more cheese. These were very filling. A "stick to your ribs" kind of breakfast. The fried rectangles are handy to grab and eat on the run as well.


This afternoon I decided to try another apple fritter recipe. So far, this one is our favorite, but I have a couple more to try. They are all very quick and simple. I'm able to have a fresh batch fried up in 30 min or less.

Apple Fritters

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons oil
4 large apples, peeled and cored
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar for dusting

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs and milk. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture until smooth.
Heat oil to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) in a deep fryer or heavy bottomed deep pot or skillet.
Slice apples into 1/2 inch rings. Dip apple slices in batter and fry, a few at a time, turning once, until golden. Drain on paper towels and dust with confectioners' sugar.

The recipe says to dip the apples, I found the batter a little thick for that. I had to dunk them pretty good and use a spoon to help coat them evenly. I don't have enough experience with it to know if the batter should be thinner. But, I do know they were very, very good. The recipe above is modified somewhat from a recipe I found online that was even a bit thicker. I refrigerated the batter to make some more fresh fritters later. I'm not sure how it will do, but I thought it worth a try. The fritters are not so good cold.

Apple Fritter Update: I used the batter the following afternoon without any problem. In fact, the spices had infused into the batter and it tasted even better. With the last bit of batter in the bowl, I chopped up my remaining apple and stirred it in. The result was fantastic! I think this is how I'll make them in the future... small, hushpuppy sized apple fritters.


The swim team is having a potluck supper tonight. I told you potlucks were popular in my community! It's the last get together before their district finals meet and the top swimmers are selected to swim representing the team at the state meet. I altered the sign up sheet a bit. Because these athletes are still in training and the meet is tomorrow, we needed very few sweets and mostly healthy proteins and carbs. For some reason everyone wants to bring a dessert to a potluck dinner. So, I placed necessary items in slots on the sign up sheet (paper plates, napkins, etc) and designated the number of main dishes, side dishes and desserts. Then, the kids just had to sign up by an item. They didn't even have to get specific and nail mom to preparing a certain item. This went over very well.

My family signed up to bring a main dish. So, tonight it's Chicken Enchilada Casserole. I love this recipe. It's one I make when I make the crockpot chicken and freeze to bake later. You follow the recipe as below, but you freeze it instead of putting it in the oven. Then, when you're ready for it, you just pop it in the oven and it's ready in about 30 - 40 minutes.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

3-4 chicken breasts (or 6 Halves) (approx 4 cups shredded or chopped chicken)
1 (10 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (10 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 (8 ounce) can diced green chilies (hot or mild, or a small can of each)
1 (10 ounce) package cheddar cheese, grated
1 small onion, diced
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
12 corn tortillas
16 ounces sour cream

Place Chicken in large saucepan and cover with water. Sprinkle in ground cumin,add garlic powder and salt. Boil about 20 minutes and shred from bones. Save broth.
Mix soups, sour cream & chiles in large pan. Add only enough broth to slightly thin.
Re-season as needed. Simmer on low 15 minutes. Add chicken and diced onion.
In large (9x13) casserole dish, arrange 6 Tortillas flat across bottom, spoon in 1/2 the sauce, sprinkle 1/2 the cheese. Repeat- Tortillas, sauce and cheese. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. I use two smaller Pyrex covered casserole dishes when I freeze it, because this makes more than enough for our family.

This very filling entree goes a long way to feed a crowd!