The Inspired Cook

Submitted by Canton1 on
By Patty Kemp

Lately while formulating recipes, I’ve been thinking outside the box about things to cook inside a crock—a Crock-Pot®, that is. To be technically accurate, I should say slow cooker as Crock-Pot® is a trademarked name brand and not a common name. In other words, a Crock-Pot® is a slow cooker, but not every slow cooker is a Crock-Pot®.

                If you’re like me, then you probably own more than one slow cooker. In my arsenal of small kitchen appliances, I employ an army of these stalwart soldiers. In fact, six currently bunk every night in my cabinet. Incidentally, four of these have the name Crock-Pot® emblazoned on their chests.

                Here’s a slow cooker recipe I created for cheesy garlic grits. My desire to eliminate standing over a hot stove stirring and stirring inspired me to create it. Note: I prepared half of this recipe in a 2-quart slow cooker.

Slow-Cooker Cheesy Garlic Grits

Ingredients:

                1 1/2 c. Stone-ground grits

4 1/2 c. Water

1/4 c. Nonfat half and half milk

1 1/4 c. Fiesta-blend cheese, shredded

1 1/2 T. Butter

1 t. Finely ground sea salt

1/4 t. each Black pepper and onion powder

1/2 t. Garlic powder

Directions:

                Coat inside of a 4- to 5-quart-sized slow cooker’s crock with cooking spray or butter. Pour water into crock. Add the grits and stir. Let mixture set for 2-3 minutes so that grits can settle to bottom. Using a small fine-mesh strainer, skim unsettled solids from top while tilting crock slightly.

                Place crock into cooker, cover with lid, and soak grits for at least 8 hours. For your convenience, grits can be soaked overnight. After grits have soaked, cook them on High setting for about an hour. Then remove lid and stir. Replace lid and cook for another 60-90 minutes, checking after an hour. My grits cooked for a total of 2 hours. I would advise using a timer for accurate time measurements.

                When done, add in remaining ingredients, stirring to combine. Serve immediately.

Yield: 6-8 servings

For questions or comments, email Hattiekirkwoodkemp@gmail.com