Pumpkin Polenta with Chorizo for a "Big Chill" kinda night

Music: Comfort food = comfort music. Jammed out to "The Big Chill" soundtrack while cooking up this meal.  We have the soundtrack on vinyl, ohhh yea. And for a simple and easy recipe like this...it makes dancing easy to do in the kitchen. If you can listen to The Big Chill and NOT dance...well...I don't think we should be friends anymore. 
Menu: One bowl meal. A dark beer would be an excellent addition.  Try 90 Shilling from O'Dells Brewery in Ft. Collins. 

 

There are many foods and ingredients that I'm a sucker for and I highlight them often in this blog.   Leeks, artichokes, risotto, Indian food, homemade pasta are on the top of my list.  Pumpkin is definitely on the short list.  The excitement of Fall/Winter is partially because I know there are many cans of pumpkin puree to come!  We always make pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin bread, and this recipe has been officially added to our repertoire.  

I've heard roasting and pureeing your own pumpkin ain't all it's cracked up to be.  However, a good friend of ours visited a while back who's a pastry chef back in Baltimore (what up Doug!) and he says I gotta give it a try. Maybe next year, I will tackle my very own pumpkin!

This is a simple, quick, and super delicious weeknight meal.  Hope you enjoy :)

Pumpkin Polenta with Chorizo 

Adapted from Rachel Ray

Ingredients:

• EVOO
• 1 lb. bulk chorizo (this is also good with Soyrizo if you're feeling a veggie night)
• 1 onion (red or yellow), chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup, black beans cooked (or 1 can, drained and rinsed)
• 1/2 tspn. ground cumin
• S & P
•  2 cups chicken or veg stock
• 2 cups milk
• 1 14 oz. can of pumpkin puree
• 2 cups quick cooking polenta
• Fresh or dried thyme, to taste (about 1 1/2 tspn. fresh, and 1/2 tspn. dried and crushed)
• 2/3 cup mild, creamy cheese (monterey jack, mild cheddar, etc.)
• 1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds and cilantro, for garnish and optional

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat EVOO and add chorizo.  Cook and crumble until almost cooked all the way through.Scoot to side of pan.
2. Add onion and bell pepper to open side.  Saute until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes on medium heat. 
3. Incorporate meat and onion mixture.  Add beans, S & P, and cumin.  Allow beans to heat through, set aside.  Taste mixture at the point and add seasonings, if needed.  I get my chorizo bulk and sometimes it comes a little bland, so naturally, I add a little cayenne here :)
4. While meat mixture cooks, heat stock and milk to a boil.  Add pumpkin puree.
5. When the liquid reaches a simmer again, gradually whisk in polenta.  Continue to stir until fully incorporated and cooked about 5 minutes.
6. Turn heat off polenta and add cheese and thyme.  Stir to incorporate.  
7. In a bowl, pile a heap of polenta.  Top with chorizo mixture.  Garnish with seeds and cilantro if desired. 
8. Devour.

Summer Breakfast - Squash with blossoms and eggs

Music: After breakfast, BJ got called for an impromtu show, so while we didn't technically listen to this while cooking, I dedicate this meal to the awesome show he and friends played and that night's killer rendition of "Whipping Post" by the one and only Allman Brothers. 
Menu: Baked eggs with squash and toasted bread rubbed with garlic

I realize this post is a bit out of date as far as in season goes, but we just loved this quick, simple,  summer breakfast. Since our garden was OVERRUN with yellow squash, we ate it at almost every meal.  And anyone who came over, left our house with a big yellow crookneck squash.  Funny? Yes. Helpful? Absolutely. 

 The original recipe called for zucchini, which would add a lot of color and visual variety, but for the above mentioned reasons, I used yellow squash.  I piled matchstick squash and chopped blossoms in these cute little ramekins we got a Pier 1 (thanks M/L!)

 I wish I could say these are eggs from our backyard too, but maybe next year :) 

After squash came a few shreds of Swiss cheese. 

 And then the cracking of eggs, sprinkle of chives and breadcrumbs, and a splash of milk.  I might crack two eggs if you have a larger ramekin. 

I threw into into the oven with the bread that was toasting for about 10 minutes.

Then we dunked the bread in the yolk and ate it all!  There may have been licking involved, but I guess you'll never know.



Yummy food in belly = Excellent impromtu show with friends.  Enjoy the pics from the last minute get together with BJ and friends at the Monkey Bar!

 Squash Blossoms and Baked Eggs

Recipe adapted from http://www.bitchincamero.com/2010/06/zucchini-blossom-mozzarella-baked-eggs/ via The Kitchn  

Ingredients:

• 2 - 4 large eggs*
• 1 small yellow crookneck squash, cut into matchsticks
• 2 - 4 squash blossoms, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup milk
• Large handful of shredded cheese
• Breadcrumbs (I toasted a small slice along with what I served alongside dish)
• Chives, minced
• Parmesan cheese, grated
• Bread slices, toasted
• 1 small whole garlic clove, peeled

Directions:  

1. Preheat the oven to 375° and grease ramekins. 
2. Fill each ramekin with equal amounts of squash, blossoms, milk, and cheese. 
3. Carefully crack an egg over each one, making sure the yolk remains intact. (It’s not the end of the world if it doesn’t – it will still taste great!).
4. Sprinkle the top of each egg with breadcrumbs, chives and Parmesan cheese.
5. Transfer to the oven (easiest by placing on baking sheet) and bake for 10 - 12 minutes, or until the whites are just set. 
6. Remove and promptly duck toast directly into runny yolk.  Enjoy :)

* Depends on hunger and size of ramekins.

Serves 2 healthy portions

The best veggie burgers

I'm just going to pretend like it hasn't been a really long time since I posted...

So, we are obsessed with these burgers.  Like in a big way.  I have been playing around with different variations and ingredients to try and nail down the perfect combination that will keep the burgers together when cooked.  Let's just say that one time we made these...well...it was a nice beet and black bean saute over greens for dinner.  Not too shabby, but when I want a burger, I want a burger.

Yummy beets!  My preferred method of cooking beets is to peel them whole first, chop into pieces, and then roast. You can read more about that here and here.

This way you only have minimal red stains. The pic shown here is a bit bigger than I would have liked.  I had to end up mashing the roasted beets after they cooked quite a bit.  So, if you remember, chop small and this reduces the cooking time too!

Salt, pepper, EVOO, maybe some garlic powder or herbs like thyme or basil.

While they are cooking mash up some black beans.  Normally, I don't like to use canned beans, but for these burgers, their extreme mushy consistency can be helpful when mashing and even a helpful aid to binding the burgers. 

Beautiful, roasted, red beauties.  Combine with the other ingredients and MASH!  You still want some good chunks, but remember this is a burger people!

Since all the ingredients are cooked, taste and adjust seasonings.  I really like parsley or cilantro and a lot of it.  Coriander is also a great spice in these burgers. 

I find chilling the mixture helps keep the burgers together in the pan.  I also think coconut oil adds some another layer of yumminess to these amazing burgers. 

Add some cheese, if you would like.  I really liked the blue cheese, but have done it with cheddar, Monterrey jack, and feta in the past with great results. 

Best-Ever Beet and Bean Burgers

Inspired by the veggie burgers at Northstar Cafe in Columbus, Ohio via thekitchn.com

makes about 4-6 burgers

• 1/2 cup brown rice (doubled if you like more rice), cooked
• 3 large red beets (about 1 pound), diced small 
• EVOO, S & P, other aromatic spices
• 1 onion, diced small
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 TB cider vinegar
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• 2 TB coconut oil
• 2 TB parsley/cilantro, minced
• 1 tspn coriander
• 1/2 tspn thyme
• 2 TB all-purpose flour
•  S & P
• cheese (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Toss beets with EVOO, S & P, and other spices. Cook in oven for 10 - 20 minutes, depending on how big pieces are.  They are done with fork tender. 
2. Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the onions are translucent and softened. Add the garlic and cook until it is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Deglaze the pan using the cider vinegar.
3. Empty the black beans into a large bowl and use a fork to mash them up a bit. Add the cooked rice, the beet, onion mixture, the lemon juice, coconut oil, and all the spices. Stir to combine (you might need to do a bit of mashing too) and then taste for seasonings. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once it tastes the way you like it, add the flour and stir until you see no more dry flour.
4. Refrigerate.  You can skip this step, but it seems to work best if you are able to chill for about an hour.
5. Heat a cast-iron skillet over the highest heat. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil (or coconut) - the oil should completely coat the bottom of the pan. When you see the oil shimmer and it flows easily, the pan is ready.
6. Using your hands, scoop up about a cup of the burger mixture and shape it into a patty between your palms. Set it in the pan, where it should begin to sizzle immediately. (If it doesn't sizzle, wait a minute or two before cooking the rest of the burgers.) Shape and add as many more patties as will fit in your pan. Once all the patties are in the pan, reduce the heat to medium-high.
7. Cook the patties for 2 minutes, then flip them to the other side. You should see a nice crust on the cooked side. If they break apart a little when you flipped them, just reshape them with the spatula - they'll hold together once the second side is cooked. If you're adding cheese, lay a slice over the burgers now. Cook the second side for another 2 minutes.
8. Serve the veggie burgers on soft burger buns or lightly toasted sandwich bread along with some fresh greens.
9.  Cooked burgers should be eaten that same day. You can also save leftover mix in the fridge for up to a week and cook just one or two burgers as you want them.

Saag Chole & Nina

Music: Nina Simone, Anthology
Menu: Saag Chole, yogurt, tortillas (I had some that needed eating, but splurge on naan or chapati if you can!)

I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!!!!  I've have been MIA, I know.  I have no good excuse, really.  So, I'll just leave it at that.

One of our recent culinary goals is to start cooking more Indian.  We LOVE Indian food.  And I have gotten the hang of making beginner style Indian meals.  In other words, I can make a mean curry, I have a basic stocked pantry, and an understanding of the flavors.  I have now entered phase two.  Phase two means advancing my pantry with whole spices, attempting ghee, and attempting to make homemade naan!  So, here is the first step to the addition of some yummy cumin seeds in this beautiful Saag Chole!

 

As you can see I have a bottle of cumin seeds.  I need to get whole coriander seeds, but the cumin seeds have made a HUGE difference already in flavor compared to using ground cumin!

 

This dish was quick, easy, and full of flavor and nutrition.   I used two packs of frozen spinach and two cans of chickpeas, too!  Next time I make it I will make a few changes...the first being coconut milk.  After I got everything in the pot, I added about 1/2 cup of water, I suggest replacing that with lite coconut milk.  The dish is pretty rich as is, so lite would be just fine.  I remember having Saag Chole at my fave Indian restaurant here in Denver and the dish being creamy and almost the consistency of a dip.  So, I did a bit of mashing towards the end to try to get this consistency, but I think coconut milk would go a long way.

A little bit about the music choice...in addition to loving Indian food, we also dig Nina Simone in a big way.  If you haven't listened to her, do it.  Seriously, do it.   Now.   She's known as a jazz standards singer, but she goes far, far, far beyond that (see Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter).  Her take on the standards are different (Feeling Good); her deep, melodic voice gives these songs an emotive quality unattainable by other singers (Black is the Color).  Beyond the familiar, the "High Priestess of Soul" was also an accomplished pianist, composer, and civil rights activist - a truly musical chameleon who embraced all styles and never shied from expressing her womanhood (I Put a Spell on You),  her beliefs (Let it All Out), and the undeniably passionate and soulful instrument which was her voice.

The Anthology album is a great compilation of both standards and originals and a perfect way to dip your toes into the wonderful world of Ms. Simone.  The only song that is missing, which I highly suggest you check out, is Baltimore.

Our wonderful friend Jillian is letting us hold her beautiful orchid hostage for a while and couldn't resist this photo showing it off :)

Saag Chole

Ingredients:

• 1 large (or 2 medium/small) baking potato
• EVOO or vegetable oil or ghee!
• 1/2 tspn. (heaping) of cumin seeds
• 2 inch piece of ginger, peeled
• 1 small serrano chile
• 5 - 6 garlic cloves
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 tspn. coriander, tumeric, cinnamon, garam masala
• 1/4 tspn. cayenne pepper
• S & P
• 2 (10 ounce) packages of frozen spinach
• 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• Cilantro, optional

Directions:

1. Cut potato into small pieces resembling size of chickpeas.  Boil potatoes until almost tender.  Turn heat off and let stand in water for 5 minutes, drain.  
2. Heat oil/ghee in large skillet.  Add cumin seeds and toast until fragrant and beginning to pop over medium-high heat.  
3. While cumin seeds toast, place ginger, chile, and garlic in a small food processor and blend until a paste is formed.  Alternatively, you can mince these ingredients.  Add to skillet with cumin and saute for a minute until fragrant.
4. Add onions.  Saute until deeply browned.  The browner, the more flavor!  Don't let them burn, but a nice deep brown will intensify the flavor and allow for a deep color for the dish.  Stir frequently.  
5. Add tomatoes and stir to incorporate. 
6. Add all spices and stir to evenly distribute.  
7. Add spinach and then chickpeas.  Drizzle with lemon juice.  Stir.
8. Let simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes allowing the flavors to combine and stirring every few minutes.  
9. Adjust seasonings as needed!  I needed a bit more lemon, cayenne and garam masala.
10. Add some chopped cilantro, turn off heat.
11. Serve with additional cilantro, yogurt, and a slice of lemon/lime.  Enjoy :)

Caesar Salad

Music: James Taylor, Sweet Baby James - The album that put him in the spotlight with the amazing song Fire and Rain.

Menu: I CANNOT have Caesar without garlic bread.  

Usually, I'm not an ingredient snob.  Like when it mentions, a high quality EVOO, psssht, I just use my regular stuff.  Or cheese...cheapest always wins my heart!  However, I will tell you I am a snob about my caesar salad.  I've had to make it with other ingredients before and still tastes good and everything, but the greatness of this recipe is unachievable without a quality anchovy paste and whole grain mustard.  These are my go to brands and they truly make the dressing (with lots of garlic, of course). 

This recipe was my mom's and most families have some variation of this recipe.  I truly thought it was my mom's super secret recipe for a long time.  I think I was in high school and told a friend that I wanted to make her my mom's super secret caesar salad and her response was, "you mean with worcestershire?" And I was like, "damn!".  But that's when I found out that my mom's recipe wasn't so secret. 

Over the years I have slightly changed the recipe.  Instead of a raw egg, I now use some plain non fat yogurt...yes, my stomach is a weak pathetic excuse of a stomach.  I have also added a good splash of tabasco, which I learned from a restaurant I used to work at.  Both are great additions to any caesar salad. 

So, as you can see from the pics above, one of the most important steps is smushing the mustard grains.  I use the back of a spoon and it works great.  Then I make a paste with the anchovy paste and garlic.  I usually crush the garlic too with the spoon.  The paste is then combined with all the other wet ingredients.  I always taste the dressing BEFORE adding parm.  There's a much better chance to reseasoning before the cheese goes in and it gets all cheesy, but remember light on the salt as parm is a pretty salty cheese. 

And the parm slices just add a nice touch!  Hope you enjoy this recipe, but let me know how you make your favorite caesar dressing!

Amanda's Caesar Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 large head of romaine lettuce, washed and torn into big pieces
  
• 2 tspn. whole grain, stone ground mustard
• 1/2 tspn. anchovy paste
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced 
• 2 tspn. worcestershire sauce
• 1 TB red wine vinegar
• S & P
• Dash of tabasco
• 1 TB plain, fat free yogurt
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• Parmesan shavings for garnish
  

Directions:

1. Using the back of a spoon, crush the mustard grains, so they pop (you can hear them).  
2. Add the anchovy paste and garlic.  If the garlic is not finely minced, you can use the same technique as the mustard and help crush the garlic even more.   Stir mustard, paste, and garlic to form a paste.  
3. Add worcestershire, vinegar,  S & P, tabasco, and yogurt to paste.  Stir until well combined.
4. TASTE - if the dressing is too sour, try adding a little more yogurt.  If it's too bland, try some more vinegar or worcestershire.  The more you make the dressing, the easier it is to identify what is off.  
5. Add cheese and stir to combine. 
6. Add dressing to lettuce and toss to combine.  Top with shaving and devour.
   

Beet Risotto

Music: Joni Mitchell, Ladies of the Canyon.  This album was released just after Joni won her first Grammy and contains the popular songs, Big Yellow Taxi and Woodstock.  Great album. 

If you haven't noticed yet, we love risotto (check out other recent risotto recipes here and here).  If you haven't ever made risotto or you are not yet convinced as to why you should venture to the dark side. let me sum it up for you:

• One pot meal with endless possibilities for meat and veggie combos.
  
• It's different: it's not pasta or a casserole.
  
• Face it, it's fancy...oh so fancy.
  
• It's cheap.  I get Arborio rice for $3.99/lb. in the bulk section and I use better than bouillon for the chicken stock, which combines with plain ol' tap water.  That means the only thing costing you much is whatever you put into the risotto. 
  
• As BJ puts it: "It's one meal where it's all about the journey AND the destination."  

That was deep, BJ, but true.  If you are feeling like you need to cook and just stand at the stove top for a while, risotto is what you need to make.  It's not high maintenance, but it requires a little love.
 

Another recent obsession has been finding a good beet recipe (a good one here and an okay one here).  I think I have finally found my favorite beet recipe, as well as the best way to prepare them.  A lot of recipe call for roasting the beets whole and peeling and dicing them after wards, which leaves your kitchen looking like a murder scene, really.  So, what's worked for me is peeling and dicing the beets prior to roasting.  First, it cuts the cooking time down by almost half; and second, it's a little easier clean up.  I got the idea from this article.

White risotto...

Pink risotto...

Red risotto.  Really red risotto.

Beet Risotto

Adapted from here and here.

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of beets, peeled and diced into 1/4 - 1/2 inch cubes
• EVOO
• S & P
• 4 large shallots, 2 halved and 2 chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tspn., dried thyme (if using fresh use 1 - 2 tspn.)
  
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• Glug of white wine
• 6 - 8 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan, plus extra for garnish
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400. 
   
2. On a foiled, greased baking sheet toss diced beets with EVOO and S & P.  Drizzle the four shallot halves with EVOO and lightly S & P.  Roast beets and shallot for 15 - 20 minutes, until shallots are lightly browned and beets are fork tender. Chop shallots and set aside. 
   
3. In a large skillet, heat more EVOO.  Saute onion and chopped shallots until translucent. 
4. Add roasted shallots, garlic and seasonings.  Saute another 1 - 2 minutes until combined.  
5. Add rice to pan and cook for a good 2 minutes.  The rice will become opaque and smell slightly nutty.  
6. Deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan.  Let the wine cook down until no liquid is left.  
7. Add about 1 - 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock and let the liquid cook down, stirring once in a while.  
8. Continue adding chicken stock after each previous addition cooks down.  
9. After the chicken stock is almost out and rice is almost done, add beets to pan.  Stir to combine and continue adding chicken stock until rice is tender and done.  
10. Turn off heat and add cheese.  Stir to combine and serve!
    

Seafood Spaghetti

Music: Jose Gonzalez, Veneer - His song Heartbeats is a popular one, but the rest of the album leaves you with the same feeling, a little tickle and the yearning to press "REPLAY".
Menu: Seafood spaghetti and garlic bread


First, I apologize if you got a little preview of the pics from this meal! I unfortunately have been couch ridden with some torn muscles is my back...yea, ouch. I have been sleeping about 4 hours each night, which means early mornings spent in front of the computer and I accidentally pressed the wrong button, whoops!


But my little back injury has not prevented me from cooking :) Quite the opposite, I have been in the kitchen non-stop with random yelling spurts to BJ when I can't reach something. Funny story: the doctor told me that in order to heal, I need to keep my arms within the "beach ball zone". So, picture that you are holding a beach ball just in front of your body...I'm not supposed to move my arms beyond this. This has lead BJ to his own yelling sprees! When he sees my reaching for something and my arms beyond the beach ball zone, he yells, "BEACH BALL!"


Anyways, this meal was great. There is definitely room for improvement and there will be a few changes next time we venture with a seafood spaghetti. But all in all it hit the spot. I crave seafood. The Florida girl stuck in the middle of the U.S...go figure. It's difficult to find quality seafood, but I thought this would be a safe bet with shrimp and clams. The clams were okay.


The first step of cooking was homemade oven dried tomatoes. Well worth the extra step instead of using the store bought oil packed sun dried tomatoes (I can't find the ones not packed in oil!). We had a bunch of romas and san marzanos from the garden and they were on the verge of going overboard, it was just meant to be. So, I drained the tomatoes well (salted and then pressed into paper towels for an hour or so) and threw them in a low heat oven for while. They burned a little on the edges, but had tons of flavor.

The clams and shrimp cooked in wine. This took a lot longer than I thought. The clams took over 10 minutes to open. The recipe I used said to put the shrimp and clams in at the same time, but this left the shrimp a little over cooked and me begging the clams to open...all but one did.

Tossed with whole wheat spaghetti, fresh spinach and topped with lots of parmesan and we felt like royalty eating this one...it was definitely the perfect meal for a romantic night with your honey.


On another note, I have recently been getting fresh batches of grown spinach as opposed to the baby spinach in the box from Costco and I must say we've been missing out. The spinach is usually pretty dirty, so washing and washing again in advance is a must. However, the final product is far better. The fresh spinach is more like thick hearty greens as opposed to the baby spinach, which is much more like lettuce.


I usually make a lot of dinner, so that we have leftovers for lunch for the week. But this time there were no leftovers...

Seafood Spaghetti
Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. whole wheat spaghetti
• 1/4 cup EVOO
• 3 shallots, chopped (not minced, you want pieces for texture in the sauce)
• 3 - 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup oven dried tomatoes
• S & P
• Crushed red pepper
  
• 1 1/2 cup dry white wine, we used a light Chardonnay
• 1 lb. shrimp, deveined and peeled with tails left on
• Clams - I thought 3/person was good, but whatever you feel is best.
• 2 cups of tightly packed spinach or arugala
• Parmesan cheese and basil strips for garnish

Directions:

1. In a large stock pot, heat water and salt generously. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 - 10 minutes. Drain pasta and set aside.
   
2. Heat EVOO in large pan. Add shallots and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, and seasonings. Cook for another minute.
   
3. Turn the heat to high and add wine. Place clams in the pan and scatter shrimp. Bring to a boil and turn heat down to simmer. Cover and let the seafood cook, until the shrimp are pick and clams open, 7 - 10 minutes.
   
4. Add spaghetti and spinach to pan and stir to combine.
   
5. Top with cheese and basil and serve!

PS - Garlic bread is great for soaking up the sauce :)

Breakfast at the Callahan house

Music: Weekend morning noise? Try ESPN, not music :)
Menu: Parmesan polenta squares with spinach and a fried egg


Breakfast? It's a meal that goes forgotten a lot. And we love breakfast, well BJ LOVES breakfast and I love grits. So here is a meal that we make a lot with many variations. I'll walk you thought it...

Start the grits or polenta (corn meal). If I'm making polenta, I like to use a little milk for creamier version. Grits and polenta should be cooked in a 4:1 ratio, with lots of salt. I usually start the water/stock/milk mixture over high heat and generously season with salt. Turn the heat down to simmer and stir grits.


While the grits cook, lightly saute a little garlic and toss a couple handfuls of spinach and wilt the greens.


Once the grits become fairly firm and no longer runny. Season with garlic powder, S & P, and parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup). Put grits into a baking sheet that's been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 400 for about 20 - 25 minutes, until lightly browned on top. Once the grits are out, cut into squares.


Top with spinach mixture.


A fried egg, more parmesan, and fresh herbs.


And that's how we do breakfast :)