Smoky Blue Cheese Grits

Confession: Food bloggers get stumped about what to make for dinner sometimes, too.

Don't get me wrong, I usually have a multitude of recipe ideas swimming around in my head. But most days when I get home from the office or finish a long day of working or recipes, the last thing I want to do is think about what to make for dinner. Those are usually the nights when I say, "Honey, you're on your own." Then I chop up some tomatoes and avocado, throw them in a bowl with a sprinkle of sea salt, and call it a day. {For the record, this a delicious, albeit lazy, thing to eat.}

Ruts happen; Pork chops with a side of rice. Pork chops with a side of quinoa. Pork chops with a side of sweet potato mash. Lather, rinse, repeat.

I am lucky that my sweet husband has taste buds that almost never tire of eating whatever is set in front of him. He's one of those people that can happily eat the same items for breakfast every day for a year without blinking an eye. Meaning, he's not much help when I'm trying to be creative and ask "What should we have as a side?"

His request is usually some form of greens -- a salad, sauteed spinach or kale, etc., etc., -- along with some form of starch. But the starchy element of dinner {which, honestly, I could most times do without} is usually the same response over and over again. A girl can only make so any versions of rice, quinoa and sweet potatoes before she loses her ever-loving mind.

A few weeks ago, after a long day and a firm refusal to eat the same.darn.thing again on a day when pork chops were {once again} up to bat, I decided to get a little creative.

Grits.

Smoky blue cheese grits. Because most of the time, my creativity is fueled by a constant desire to use up the tiny bits of things that end up rolling around the pantry and the fridge without a purpose. I happened to have half a box of grits sitting abandoned on one side of the pantry and a small chunk of blue cheese left over from my wine & chocolate tasting party that didn't look particularly inspiring. And so, smoky blue cheese grits came to pass.

If I said that the quick cooking time of grits didn't have something to do with my decision, I'd be lying. But the twist on a food that 1. Is usually thought of at breakfast time, and 2. Can be sort of bland if not properly seasoned or condimented {that's a legitimate word today, ok?} made for a thrilling new side dish.

Even though the husband wasn't so sure about the thought of pork chops over grits, he sure seemed to get on board quickly after a bite.

Smoky Blue Cheese Grits 

The Kitchen Prep

These grits are creamy and pungent with the blue cheese, and finish with a smoky richness from a few dashes of liquid smoke {an ingredient that I often tend to forget exists}. It's an unexpected taste of something familiar; a "rut-breaker." And if nothing else, really yummy stuff.

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Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 5 mins

Total Time 10 mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

• 1 ½ cups water
• ½ cup half and half
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup grits
• ½ cup blue cheese crumbled -- extra for garnish if desired
• 1 ¼ teaspoons liquid smoke
• 1 tablespoon butter

Instructions

 

• In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring water and half and half to a boil {watch it carefully as dairy has a tendency to bubble over when boiled.} Add salt.
• Slowly whisk in grits. Reduce heat to medium low and continue to whisk continuously until substantially thickened, about 3-4 minutes.
• Add blue cheese, liquid smoke and butter and continue to whisk until smooth and thickened to desired consistency. {I like my grits on the thicker side, but if you prefer a runnier texture you can add more liquid to achieve that.}
• Serve hot with crumbled blue cheese over top.