*Recipe* Bacon & Cheddar Grits Quiche

For Christmas this year, for just Josh and I, I decided to try something different for my Christmas morning breakfast.  Breakfast after opening presents is pretty much my favorite thing ever, so it always has to be something epic.  Normally I do Wivesaver Breakfast, but I thought I would switch it up.  I am a huge Quiche fan, I have tried Quiche in different countries, homemade, different fillings, crust, no crust and when I saw this one with baked grits as the crust, I HAD to try it.  Grits are one of both me and Josh's favorite breakfast foods (funny probably 7 years ago neither of us had tried them) so it was a no brainer.  Doing all the steps correctly takes a little time, and it is NOT light on the calories,  but so worth it... If I do say so myself, the best Quiche I've ever had.

Ingredients

• 6 thick slices of bacon
• 2 1/4 cups milk
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup uncooked stone ground grits
• 2 tsp salt, divided
• 1 tsp black pepper, divided
• 2 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
• 6 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups half and half
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup sliced green onion

Directions

Step 1

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Heat bacon in a skillet or in the oven until crispy. Drain and crumble. 
• Transfer 2 tsp of bacon drippings to a saucepan.

Step 2

• Bring drippings, milk and butter to a boil over medium heat.
• Gradually stir in grits, 1tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper; whisking constantly, 15 minutes or until very thick.
• Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes.
• Stir in 1 cup of cheese, let stand 10 minutes. 
• Stir in 1 egg, spread into a 9 inch springform pan coated in cooking spray (I just used a ceramic pie plate).

Step 3

• Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until set and browned.
• Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cup cheese over warm grits. spreading to edges.
• Let stand 15 minutes. 

Step 4

• Reduce oven temp to 325.
• Combine half and half, cream, onions and remaining 5 eggs, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper.
• Pour over grits and sprinkle with crumbled bacon.
• Place pan on foil lined baking sheet.

Step 5

• Bake at 325 for 1 hour 15 mins or until lightly browned and just set. 
• Let stand 20 minutes.
• Run a sharp knife around the edges of of Quiche and remove sides of pan or if using pie plate, just cut into pieces).
• enjoy!

I forgot to mention that I only made half the recipe.  Half is enough for 3 people.  I also did all but step 4 and 5 Christmas Eve and the rest in the morning to save time.