Overnight Crockpot Grits AND What to Do With Leftovers

Grits are pretty much a staple in my house. We LOVE a big, steamy bowl of cheesy, buttery grits at least once a week. And since I love to make my life easier, I found a recipe for Crockpot Grits on my favorite crockpot website, A Year of Slow Cooking. I have made slight adjustments since I make it so much and see what's missing or what's needed. It's super easy and super yummy.

Overnight Crockpot Grits
Ingredients: 

• 1 cup stone ground grits. {Do NOT get the quick grits...invest in the real stuff. You won't regret it}
• 1 cup milk
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
• 1 Tbsp kosher or sea salt [you could do a little more if you want, but it's always best to taste and then add at the end]
• 1/2 cup parmesean cheese [or some other hard cheese]
• OPTIONAL: cheddar cheese, bacon

Directions: 

1. Spray your crockpot with cooking spray. DO THIS, unless you really want to be scrubbing for hours the next day. 
2. Add the grits, milk, water, butter, salt, and parmesean cheese. Stir. 
3. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours. {I normally put this on around 10 or 11 the night before so it's ready when we are getting up at 6 the next morning} 
4. When you get up, the grits will be done, and the edges will be slightly crispy. Stir the pot, taste to see if it needs more salt, and then add the cheddar and bacon if you desire. 

So this makes a LOT of grits. It tends to feed my family of five and then I have some left over. I have found a few GREAT ways to use the leftover grits [besides letting your kids use it to mold]. 

Option 1: 

Fried Grits: 

Directions: 

1. Spread leftover grits onto a cookie sheet. Place in the freezer for 3-5 hours. 
2. Cut into squares and store into a freezer safe ziplock bag. 
3. When you are ready for a great side dish for dinner, pull out the amount of "grit squares" that you want. 
4. Pour about 2 Tbsp of Olive Oil into a skillet and place the grit square on it. Cook on each side until slightly brown. 

Fried Grits served with grilled shrimp and turnip greens 

Option 2: 

Muffin Pan Grits: 

Directions: 

1. Take the leftover grits and fill up a muffin tin. I had enough grits leftover to fill 6 cups in a muffin tin. 
2. Freeze for 3-5 hours. 
3. After frozen, gently warm the bottom of the muffin tin to loosen the grits muffins, and then place them in a freezer safe ziplock bag.
4. When you are ready to use, pull out what you want, pop it in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. 

They were eaten faster than I had a chance to take a picture of them. I snagged this cheese-filled "grits muffin" in time to take a pic. This went well with some mixed fruit a piece of bacon. 

So, don't waste those grits. Not only are they GREAT the first time, but you can always freeze and have smaller servings for another time, either as a great side dish or as a quick breakfast on those busy mornings.