Baked Grits and Eggs with Cheese

I've been eating grits since I was very young - perhaps shortly after birth - I'd have to ask mom. My family is not from The South - Midwest actually - but there's such a strong Southern influence in and around where my mom grew up that I have a fairly good grasp of Southern food. That's a good thing because some of the finest food in the world was born in the rural south here in the U.S. and it's something I think every good cook needs to have in their repertoire.

Not only is Southern food hearty and full of flavor, it's also economical - which is also a good thing. When we were young my mom would often make grits, eggs and bacon for breakfast on weekends and there is nothing quite like those flavors blended together.

I like to change things up a little and add cheese or green onion to my grits, but the kids don't always like that, so I usually cook up grits with cheese or even just lots of butter for them. This dish is a couple of my favorites all in one.

Please don't use instant grits for this. If it's all you can get then I suppose it's OK, but the taste and texture of instant is so very different from the real deal that you'll be doing yourself a favor by buying long-cooking grits. Add crumbled bacon and green onion to the grits before baking if you like.

Baked Eggs and Grits with Cheese
Serves 4

4 servings grits
4 Tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
4 whole eggs - room temperature
1/2 cup shredded or julienne cheese
oil or cooking spray

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Make 4 servings of grits according to package directions leaving out any cooking salt or butter. Once grits are done, add butter and salt and stir. Let stand for 5 minutes to thicken.
Coat an 8 inch diameter cast iron skillet or other heavy pan with oil or cooking spray and put pan into heated oven for 5 minutes.
Remove pan from oven and pour grits into pan. Make 4 indentations in grits and drop one egg into each indentation.
Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 20 minutes or until egg whites are set and yolks are still loose.
Serve hot.

Finished grits in a cast iron pan

Eggs set on the grits

Cheese topped grits and eggs