I have posted a couple other recipes involving eggs, so it is probably pretty obvious that we eat a lot of eggs and we love them in our house. I have been digging poached eggs lately, and when I saw this budget friendly recipe for Salsa Poached Eggs on Budget Bytes, I was so excited to try it. But……then I noticed the side she used in the original recipe were grits. I am not a huge fan of grits, although they have grown on me a little bit since living in the south. I actually really didn’t like them until I had the most amazing tomato basil cheese grits at Buckhead Diner. They were to die for, and I have been wanting to find a mock recipe for those since (stay tuned for that…). So, I figured that maybe with the sauce and egg that the grits would come together nicely….and my husband loves them, so I knew he would enjoy it regardless.
You might be wondering if this is a breakfast recipe….but I made it for dinner. I think that it could be breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner! It’s good for any meal! Also, if you don’t like a runny egg then you can definitely cook longer to harden the yolk…probably 12-14 minutes simmering (you can poke it to test).
I modified the recipe a tiny bit, so I will adjust the recipe I post below as well. This turned out really delicious and I will definitely be making it again. Also, the total cost for this recipe was around $4.50, which is crazy cheap. Per serving only $1.13!! It is pretty healthy, and with the grits it is extremely filling. Score!
Ingredients (cheese not shown)
Combining ingredients in skillet
Cracking eggs into sauce
Eggs poaching!
Quick Grits
Salsa Poached Eggs & Cheese Grits
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium vidalia onion chopped
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 14 oz. can fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 4 oz. can diced green chilies
- 3 oz. tomato paste
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- pepper to taste
- 4-5 large eggs
- 3-4 sliced green onions
- 3 cups water
- 3/4 cup quick cooking grits
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup reduced fat extra sharp cheddar cheese shredded
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1: Heat a large skillet over medium heat with 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Dice the onion and add it to the skillet along with the minced garlic. Cook over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent (5-10 minutes).
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2: Once the onions are translucent, add the roasted tomatoes, tomato paste, and diced green chilies. Also stir in 1/2 cup of water, 3/4 tsp of salt, and 1/2 tsp of cumin. Stir everything together and allow it to come up to a simmer over medium heat.
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3: Make four or five indentations in the sauce with the back of a large spoon. Crack an egg into each. Reduce the heat to low, place a lid on top of the skillet and allow the mixture to simmer while you make the grits. It should take about 10 minutes of simmering on low with a lid for the eggs to poach.
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4: In a medium pot with a lid, bring 3 cups of water to a boil over high heat. Once it reaches a rolling boil, stir in the 3/4 cup of quick cooking grits and 3/4 tsp salt. Reduce the heat to low, place a lid on the pot, and allow it to cook on the lowest heat setting for 5 minutes. After five minutes it should be thick. Turn off the heat and stir in the butter and then the cheese. Place the lid back on the pot to keep them warm until you're ready to serve.
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5: Once the eggs are done cooking, spoon some grits into a bowl and top with an egg and a spoonful or two of the tomato sauce. Add sliced fresh green onions on top.
This recipe makes 4 servings and each serving has 7 WW points. Enjoy!
Salsa Poached Eggs & Cheese Grits
dogsmum says
I live in the UK & really have no idea what Grits are…help!
arzea says
Ohhh, lol! Grits are typically served at breakfast. They are a ground corn/cornmeal. Very similar to Polenta, have you had that? It could easily be substituted for the grits. Or if you really have nothing like that, you could do rice. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grits
frugalfeeding says
That looks really, really wonderful! I live in the UK too, I thought grits were exactly the same as polenta? Perhaps I’m wrong though, since I’ve cooked with neither 😀
arzea says
I’m not sure they are exactly the same, but they are definitely very similar
dogsmum says
Right, well I’ve found this, http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/groceries/index.jsp and this, http://groceries.asda.com/asda-estore/search/searchcontainer.jsp?trailSize=1&searchString=Polenta&domainName=Products&headerVersion=v1&_requestid=46669. I’m guessing the Sainsburys one would work best?
arzea says
I can’t see what you posted from Sainsbury, but i did a quick search and this polenta looks like it would be good: Merchant Gourmet One Minute Polenta 500g (from Sainsbury). I think it should be okay.
I also looked on amazon UK, and found this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=sr_nr_scat_340834031_ln?rh=n%3A340834031%2Ck%3Agrits&keywords=grits&ie=UTF8&qid=1338318833&scn=340834031&h=dcdc713ef1bebb7de28f2e86c892d900409cd1e1 I use the quaker oats brand, BUT it looks like it would be very expensive (it’s usually under $5 here).
dogsmum says
quote:Merchant Gourmet One Minute Polenta 500g (from Sainsbury).:quote
Yes that’s the one I found! I shall go & hunt it down next week as I’m a bit busy baking now with the Jubilee Weekend coming up. Thanks arzea xx
arzea says
Let me know how you like it when you make it!!
soididitmyself says
I’ve never had grits before but now I want them…badly!
arzea says
For me, it took a while for them to grow on me. But if you add enough cheese, salt, and butter anything can be good 🙂
Denise says
I’m going to try to make this tommorrow! It looks soooo good and I LOVE grits! Thanks for the recipe. ;D
arzea says
Let me know how it turns out!