Hey y'all,
Here's the deal about grits, rice and pasta: big sticky mess to clean up every time. I hate the mess, so the fewer times I have to clean up the better. I raised a kid by myself, I know a thing or two about sticky messes.
The secret to fast and easy rice and pasta:
COOK ONCE - FREEZE MANY
I do a big ol' pot of each of them. When the water's boiling, it's just as easy to cook a pound of pasta as a handful. Same with rice. Use the instructions on the package. For extra zest, creat a "boil" by adding dry ingredients to your boil water (see grits below).
I use sandwich-sized plastic bags and freeze what I don't use in 2-person size servings. This way there's enough for 2 if I have company, and enough for me by myself if I'm really hungry. When I need to reheat I'll pull a bag and dunk the contents in boiling water (washes off a lot of the starch), or I'll reheat in the microwave.
GRITS:
For those of you not from below the Bubba Belt, grits might seem foreign and tricky. But they're a great low-fat, hi fibre substitute for potatoes and they are as easy to make as instant potatoes. You can refrigerate leftovers and fry them up later with onions and garlic, just like leftover mashed potatoes. I don't like my grits too runny for this reason. Southerners would call this sacrilege, but I call it "European"
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INSTANT "CAJUN BOIL" GRITS for 2 hungry 3-4 not so hungry
Time to prepare: 10 mins
y'all will need:
2 quart pot
2 cups water
1/2 cup INSTANT yellow or white grits (I use organic, but it doesn't matter)
Dried onion flakes
Granulated garlic
2 chicken bouillon cubes OR 2 tsp chicken bouillon powder (Bovril, OXO, Knorr or whatever)
ground cayenne or red pepper
On high heat, put water in the pot, dump in bouillon, and sprinkle onion flakes enough to cover the surface. Dust surface with garlic and cayenne pepper. In the south, we call this dry seasoning combination a "boil" - a bunch of seasonings added to the boiling water to impart flavor to the thing that's being boiled.
When water is boiling, start to sprinkle the grits lightly over the surface just like the other ingredients. Continue to sprinkle until they're all added. If you do this you will have perfect, non-lumpy grits every time. Let me just say - NOTHING is grosser than lumpy grits - so a little patience here is a good thing.
Reduce heat immedaitely to low and cover with lid. Simmer for 5 - 7 minutes.
Serve RICE, PASTA or GRITS with CAJUN SHRIMP IN WINE REDUCTION
Enjoy!
FF