Grits Pie

Continuing on my post of Cheesy Grits from earlier this month, this Grits Pie is inspired by our visit to Atlanta. Who knew grits could be so versatile? Grits pie is similar to the better known chess pie, which is often made using cornmeal rather than grits. The grits add a nice texture and flavor to the pie.

This Grits Pie is inspired by one of the many pies I sampled at Sway Pie Buffet while in Atlanta. Sway Restaurant is located in a nice downtown hotel. I am sure the regular food is good, but I only went for the pie buffet. On one hand, there should be more pie buffets, but on the other hand, I ate myself into such a food coma, it took me quite some time to recover from all the delicious pie. Maybe pie buffets should be a once in a lifetime experience. I have never seen grits pie anyplace else, so I had to try to make my own. This grits pie is a delicious custard pie. I highly recommend it.

Grits Pie 

• unbaked pie crust
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup quick cook grits
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup buttermilk or greek yogurt
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 325. In a small saucepan, bring water to boil. Add grits and cook for 4 minutes. Add butter and cook for another 2 minutes. Allow to cool. Meanwhile, mix together the flour, sugar, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla. Slowly blend in the cooled grits. Pour into unbaked pie crust. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until center is set. Serve warm or cold. Enjoy!

Succotash

I made this Succotash for Thanksgiving because I realized that I did not have any corn on the menu. While it is not a recipe from Mom's recipe box, I did use onions from Mom's garden. And Mom took home all the leftovers because she loved it.

Succotash is so easy to make. And if you make it ahead, it re-heats easily. Traditionally, succotash is made with lima beans. I used edamame instead. Some succotash recipes might add other items to suit your tastes, such as chili peppers or paprika, which could be a welcome addition. Frozen corn and edamame work well for this recipe, just thaw them well before cooking.

Succotash 

• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup shelled edamame
• 2 cups corn kernels 
• 1/4 cup chopped chives or green onion

Heat butter in pan over medium heat. Saute onions for 5 minutes. Add red bell pepper; saute for 5 to 10 minutes. Add edamame and corn; cook until heated. Toss with chives or green onion. Enjoy!

Cheesy Grits

At the start of each year, I start to plan for the annual trip for Super Bowl week and recall past trips and good meals. This recipe is inspired by the last restaurant stop in New Orleans in February 2025--Mother's Restaurant. I had the very filling breakfast special which included cheesy grits. Grits are a hot cereal made from ground corn. Grits are more common in the South. Grits can be made sweet or savory.

When I made these grits, I made a thicker style, similar to my Grandmother's creamy polenta. Making grits at home makes it easy to make them thinner or thicker, based on your preference. Cheddar cheese is the classic cheese used in cheesy grits, but other cheeses work well. In addition to cheese, I added garlic powder and ground black pepper. Although oatmeal will remain my preferred breakfast cereal, grits may make an occasional appearance. And grits could be a good non-breakfast side dish.

Cheesy Grits 

• Grits
• Cheese
• ground black pepper
• garlic powder

Make the grits according to the package instructions in the quantity needed. When the grits reach the desired thickness, add cheese, pepper, and garlic powder. Enjoy!

Gingerpersons

I made these cookies in advance for a Buckley Family cookie baking and decorating featuring Meems and the Littles, along with celebrating Tim's birthday. Baking cookies at Christmas was a long-running tradition when I was a kid. This year, we used cooking baking as a reason to get together and teach the tradition to the youngest--Lucas (7), Eva (4), and Andrew (2). A good time was had by all, such that getting together to bake and decorate cookies just might become a new annual tradition.

I made these cookies in advance. This recipe results in nicely chewy and spicy gingerbread cookies. I figured the gingerpersons would be easy and fun to decorate. I made some marshmallow fluff frosting that paired well with these cookies. We had an assortment of icings and sprinkles.  The decorating was quite creative. 

Gingerpersons 

• 4 cups flours
• 1 tbsp. ginger
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup firm brown sugar
• 1/2 cup light molasses

Stir together the dry ingredients. Beat butter and sugar with mixer until light and fluffy. Blend in molasses. Gradually add flour mixture by hand to form dough. Cover and chill until firm for 1-2 hours. Roll out dough to about 1/8-inch thick. Use person cookie cutter. Bake cookies at 375 for 7-8 minutes. Cool. Decorate as desired. Enjoy!

Peanut Blossoms

These cookies are a classic American cookie--peanut butter cookies topped with chocolate kisses. This recipe became popular as Hershey's kisses became readily available. There are other variations of this cookies with a different cookie base and different flavor kisses. This version is the well known version.

The ingredients in these cookies are basic. The chocolate candy kisses are the standard candy used, but any bite-sized chocolate candy would work fine. I think Rolo candy would be delicious too. When I made these cookies, the cookies did not puff up as much as they should have, so the cookies are flatter than they should be. But the cookies are still delicious.

Peanut Blossoms 

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup firm brown sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 egg
• sugar for coating
• Hershey chocolate kisses

Combine all the cookie ingredients until dough forms. Shape into balls, using a teaspoon for each. Roll the cookie balls in sugar to coat. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes. Top each cookie with a chocolate candy kiss, pressing down until the cookie cracks around the edge. Allow to cool. Enjoy!

Spicy Fruit Cocktail Cookies

December means that it is time to make cookies. Mom's recipe box has many cookie recipes. While I do not remember this cookie from childhood, I definitely remember having fruit cocktail often. All the fruits in fruit cocktail--pears, pineapple, grapes, peaches, and cherries--are delicious. The best fruit is always the cherry.

The spices in the name of these cookies are cinnamon and cloves, giving the cookies a very wintry flavor. I made these for Thanksgiving, but the cookies lost attention to the various pies and whipped creams. Nevertheless, these cookies are a tasty treat that are worth giving a try.

Spicy Fruit Cocktail Cookies 

•  3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. cloves
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. rum flavoring
• 1 cup fruit cocktail, thoroughly drained
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1 tsp. grated orange rind

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices together. Cream sugar and butter until light. Add eggs and flavoring; mix well. Stir in sifted dry ingredients. Blend in fruit cocktail, nuts, coconut, and orange rind. Drop by spoonfuls onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until done. Enjoy!

Fresh Green Bean Casserole

For Thanksgiving 2024, Laura made Fresh Green Bean Casserole. It was amazing. Don't get me wrong; I still like green bean casserole made with canned green beans. But the fresh version is so much better. The green beans are slightly crunchy and much more flavorful. So in 2025, I asked Laura to make Fresh Green Bean Casserole again.

This post is based on Laura's 2025 Thanksgiving casserole. The only difference is that blanched green beans replace the can of green beans. To blanch green beans, clean and cut the beans, then drop them into salted boiling water for about 2 to 4 minutes removing them to a bowl of ice water.

Fresh Green Bean Casserole

• 1 pound green beans, blanched
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounce) condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• dash of salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 cups french fried onions

Heat oven to 350. In a bowl, mix together soup, milk, salt, pepper, green beans, and 1 cup french fried onions. Pour into a 1.5 quart casserole baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes, until the mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the mixture. Then, top with the remaining french fried onions. Bake 5 more minutes. Enjoy!