We were out of town for Christmas, so we had it a little late. :)

A lovely brunch of mimosas, hashbrown casserole and Brunch Egg Casserole.

(I forgot to snap a picture before I started serving!)

I also got Twain’s Feast for Christmas!

I hope everyone had wonderful holidays and a fantastic New Year.  In 2011, hopefully you’ll see more posts!

Even though it calls for 45 minutes at 350 degrees, you can make it up, put it in at 325 degrees then put together the Egg Casserole, pop that in the oven and let it all go for an hour with no problems.

Bacon:  I need to just give up mucking around with cooking it on the stovetop.  Microwave works just fine, is faster, and doesn’t burn.

And finally, champagne that has been in the fridge for 1+ year (unopened) will not turn to vinegar, but will lose some of it’s oomph.

I wish I had a photo – I took some quick shots, but when I pulled them off the memory card, they were blurry – and I’d already finished the grits by then.  (I’m quite certain I’ll be making this again, so there is hope that I can get a shot.)

Best Cheese Grits Ever:

1/4 c. old fashioned grits (NOT instant)
1 1/8 c. chicken stock or broth
2 ounces shredded chipotle cheddar cheese
salt & pepper

Bring the stock to a boil, add grits, stir well.  Set heat to LOW and cover.  After about 6 minutes I hit it with the salt & pepper.  Then at the 12 minute mark, I stir in the cheese.  I did notice that with the chicken stock, it was still a touch soupy at the 12 minute mark, so I let it go another minute or so.  (In the future I may just cut it back to 1 cup of stock.)

Once the cheese is stirred in, sit back and enjoy!

According to the grits package, 1/4 c of grits is 2 servings.  Maybe if you’re eating it with something else.  Otherwise, it’s one perfect serving on it’s own.

A very yummy little breakfast for one!

Here’s the recipe, thanks to the Virginia Hospitality cookbook (circa 1975…)  (Note: If you cut it down to a 1 egg serving, it takes approximately 35 minutes at 325 degrees.)

2 c. plain croutons (I use the cheese/garlic croutons)
4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese  (I really don’t know what this equates to in cups, I just kept shredding and weighing.)
4 eggs, beaten
2 c. milk
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. mustard
1/8 t. onion powder (optical communicationsI think 1/4 c. diced onions would work fine as well)
dash of ground black pepper
4 slices crumbled bacon

Put croutons & cheese in bottom of greased 10×6x2 casserole dish (my 8×8 worked fine)
Combine everything else, EXCEPT bacon.
Pour egg mix over croutons & cheese.
Top w/crumbled bacon

Bake 1 hour at 325 degrees.  Don’t worry if it’s “jiggly” when you take it out – let it sit for 5 minutes to cool enough to eat, and the eggs will finish setting. 8 servings.

Nutrition info:
Per Serving: 177 Calories; 11g Fat (56.5% calories from fat); 10g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 119mg Cholesterol; 386mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.