Grits pie and collard greens

My husband is a Southern' Boy and so I've had the pleasure of trying lots of yummy Southern staples, including grits and collard greens. I'd had them both before I met my husband but now I've had them many, many times in lots of variations. There seems to be an endless number of ways you can cook grits, this is an old staple that can be added to, subtracted from, and modified to suit anyone's tastes. It's a great way to make an inexpensive meal that goes a long way and tastes even better as leftovers. The recipe is pretty basic, I included potential add-ins afterward.

First the grits - you can cook the collards while the grits are in the oven.

Grits pie:
Makes 4-6 servings

12 ounces of breakfast sausage or bacon (I use turkey or chicken for both)
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 ounces of grated cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp. of salt
4 large eggs beaten
1 1/2 cups of cooked grits

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9 inch pie dish. Cook the sausage or bacon in a large skillet until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. I usually cook the onion with the sausage or bacon, and sautee until just cooked and translucent, you don't really want to brown them.


Remove the sausage/bacon and onion from heat. Mix the cheddar cheese, salt, and egg into the cooked grits until cheese is melted. Mix sausage/bacon and onion into the cooked grits. Pour the entire mixture into the pie dish.



Bake for about 40-45 minutes, until the top is puffy and browned on the edges.





Possible add-ins: shrimp, chopped jalapeno, chopped red and green bell peppers, green beans, chopped frozen okra, there are lots of options.

Collard greens:
Makes 4-6 servings

1/2 lb. of collards with stems that aren't too thick, washed and roughly chopped
1 14.5 oz. can of chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups of water
3 tsp. of sugar
1 tsp. of salt
pepper to taste
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Bring the broth and water to boil, add the collards, sugar and salt, cover and let simmer on medium-low heat for 30-35 minutes.



Once the stems are tender and can be easily pierced with a fork, drain the collards and move to a serving bowl. Toss with salt and pepper to taste, and red wine vinegar.

You can also toss with apple cider vinegar which I think is more common in Southern dishes.