peas at a party

I have no idea how cheese grits became a required part of our family’s Easter lunch/brunch. We could skip the Easter bunny part, but neh-VER the cheese grits. Probably they were added to the menu when we migrated to a more brunch type meal, but none of us remembers for sure. And maybe they are so sacrosanct because as we’ve all started eating more healthfully, we think of them as a Sometime Food, even in their slimmed down version. Actually, they weigh in at only 120 calories per serving with 28% calories from fat. The trick here is to stop at one serving!

Once again our Easter brunch menu will be ham, Jezebel sauce, cheese grits, mixed fruits with poppy seed dressing, fresh green beans (slightly over-cooked, of course), rolls, and Eagle Brand(tm) lemon pie.

Heh. I’d never realized until I typed that out just how Southern our traditional menu is. I’ll pass on the Peeps, but don’t mess with my grits! Have a lovely Easter.

Cheese Grits

16 servings; hands on time, 20 minutes; ready in 75 minutes

• 6 cups* water
• 1 1/2 cups* quick grits (six servings according to the package)
• 6 Tbsp light butter
• 1 lb low-fat processed cheese (such as Velveeta, 2%), cubed
• 2 tsp seasoned salt (such as Lawry’s)
• dash of hot sauce (such as Tabasco)
• dash of Worcestershire sauce
• 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
• 1/4 cup fat-free egg substitute

Preheat the oven to 300* degrees. Spray a 13×9″ baking dish (glass preferred) with cooking spray. Set aside.

While the oven preheats, bring the water to a boil and cook the grits according to package directions, probably 5-7 minutes. Stir in the butter, cheese, salt, hot sauce, and Worcestershire, stirring until the cheese melts. Stir in the egg and egg substitute.

Transfer to the prepared baking dish and bake for 50-55* minutes, until slightly firm. Let the dish sit 5-10 minutes before serving.

*Notes . . . cook six servings of quick grits with a bit more water than the package calls for, according to package directions. Also, you can bake the grits in a hotter oven (325 or 350 degrees) and reduce the cooking time for convenience. Just be careful that the bottom of the pan doesn’t scorch before the middle is set.

Per serving, approximately 120 calories; 3.8 g. fat; 15.0 g. carbs; .8 g. fiber; 451 mg. sodium; 7.3 g. protein