What's for dinner? Grits and Greens

Meeting the requirement of fast, healthy and easy, this recipe also makes use of leftover meat if you have it. Now, before you say you don't like grits or you wrinkle your nose at the idea of trying grits, let me say this; unless you've had stone ground grits grown locally - you've never really HAD grits. If you like the consistency of mashed potatoes and the mild flavor of corn, you will like grits; especially if they are Castle Valley Mill grits. I do not get paid to say that or endorse CVM products. I just LOVE their products and I want you to try them. Once you do you'll love them as much as I do. I'm confident. If you don't like grits it is likely because you have not had good quality grits prepared correctly. Good quality grits DO NOT come from a blue box from the grocery store. If they are sitting on any kind of shelf, other than a refrigerator shelf, they're not the best you can get. If you've never had grits but like polenta, you'll love grits. If you don't like polenta, you'll still probably like grits. It's stone ground corn! Who couldn't love that? Do you eat tortilla chips? That's ground corn. You like that. Now imagine high quality stone ground corn cooked with some milk, a little salt, the tinyest amount of butter and, wait for it............ cheese! You are going to love THESE grits. You plop all the ingredients (except for the cheese) in a pot, give a stir, bring it to a boil, simmer for about 20, then add the cheese and bam! Grits.

So for the healthy component; saute some winter greens of your choice, add an apple if you have one, an onion, some garlic, any leftover meat you have and finally a little drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Spoon this on top of your grits and you are eating dinner! It's important to use a little vinegar when you're sauteeing greens. The vinegar cuts any bitterness from the greens so if you don't have balsamic, use the vinegar you like or if you have apple cider vinegar, that works too. A lemon - juice and the zest for flavor - will work as well.

For the grits:

1 cup Castle Valley Mill grits

1 cup Cold Killer Chicken Stock

2 cups whole milk, plus more if necessary

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, plus more to taste

Put all ingredients (except cheese) into a medium pot, stir, bring to a boil. Stir, reduce to simmer, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir, add more milk or chicken stock if necessary (grits will thicken as they cool), add the shredded cheese and stir to combine. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Cover and let rest, off the heat, for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

For the greens:

4 cups or 1 large bunch of your choice of greens

1 small onion, diced

1-2 cloves of garlic minced

olive or canola oil for sauteeing

salt and pepper to taste

2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 apple diced or sliced into wedges, optional, add with onion

any leftover meat

While the grits are resting, saute the onion in oil until golden brown. Add greens and cook until wilted. Add garlic and cook for one minute more. Turn off heat. Add salt and pepper to taste and the balsamic vinegar, stir to coat. Spoon over your grits. Enjoy!