Cheese Grits and Cornbread Casserole

We have been out-of-town for a few days celebrating our anniversary. 
I did want to touch on a couple of comments from last week. 

I appreciate my friend, Wayne, sharing his thoughts on the Sausage Squares recipe. I usually use mild-flavored sausage, because that's what Larry and the kids like. I encourage you to experiment with using different varieties of sausage - mild, hot, sage or a combination.  If "hot" is too hot for your taste, but you want more of a kick than you get with "mild," use half mild and half hot. Freeze any leftover browned sausage for the next use.
Also, Wayne mentioned halving the recipe and baking it in an 8x8 pan. I, too, generally have great results halving a recipe designed for a 9x13 dish and using an 8x8 pan.  Thanks for the great tips, Wayne!

Also, there were a couple of questions about the Sausage Bread recipe, which is an all-time favorite of our Sunday school class.  
For clarification, I brown and drain the sausage really, really well. For our family to just eat it at home, I even put it in a colander and rinse it with very hot water. I read on another site of a lady who pours boiling water over hers. You'd be surprised how much fat this removes! If you have sensitive kitchen pipes, don't do this!

I do just use the regular Pillsbury pizza crust - not the thin variety. I have used the frozen pizza dough balls you can buy at Sam's. It's funny that some people prefer the Sam's dough, and others prefer the Pillsbury! They are fairly similar to me, but you can experiment with both to see which one your family likes best. You could try a loaf of frozen bread dough, too. I hope this helps. The next time I make this recipe, I will try to make step-by-step photos. 

I appreciate all your comments! I love hearing how you guys tweak the recipes for your families!  
God bless ~ Connie

I made this for Sunday school this morning. My friend Donna also brought a great grits and sausage casserole that I look forward to sharing the recipe for soon.  Bless her heart, she has given this recipe to me several times over the years, and I keep losing it.  She's graciously agreed to share it once more!

Cheese Grits and Cornbread Casserole

Cheese Grits and Cornbread Casserole

Grits and cornbread in one dish! It doesn’t get any more Southern than this! The Jiffy mix gives this a subtle sweetness that's a bit different, but nice! This dish would work well for supper, too!


4 cups water
1 cup quick grits
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter, cut into pats
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 pound sausage, browned and drained
1 box Jiffy cornbread Mix
2 cups shredded cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

Bring water to a boil.  Add grits and salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Add butter. Whisk until smooth.
Beat eggs with milk.
Stir together cooked grits, cooked sausage, egg mixture, Jiffy cornbread mix and 1 cup of the shredded cheese.
Spoon mixture into prepared pan and top with remaining cheese.
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.