Cheesy Turkey Sausage Grit Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 Roll of Turkey Breakfast Sausage
• 1/2 of a Large Onion or 1 Medium Onion
• 4 Oz. of Cream Cheese Softened
• 1 and 1/2 Cups of Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 3 Eggs
• 1 and a 1/4 Cups of Instant Grits
• 32 Ounces of Chicken Stock ( I like to use my own as it adds so much more flavor but store-bought can work also).
• 1/4 Teaspoon of Salt
• 1 Chicken Stock Boullion Cube or Packet (I used the gel chicken stock cubes)
• 1 Tablespoon of Red Pepper Flake
• 3/4 of a Teaspoon of Onion Powder
• 1 Teaspoon of Garlic Powder
• 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil

Instructions

For the Meat Mixture

1. In a frying pan sweat the onion in a bit of the olive oil, add as needed
2. Once the onion is translucent, pull it from the pan and set it aside
3. Turn the heat up to medium high and add the turkey sausage, breaking it up as it cooks down.
4. Drain any water the turkey releases and set it aside for flavor or to deglaze the pan later if necessary.
5. Add the red pepper flake, onion powder, and garlic powder to the meat.
6. Continue to break up the turkey meat into little tiny pieces and cook until you get some good crispy bits from the smallest pieces.
   Once done set them aside to cool

For the Grits

1. Boil  1/4 cup of water and the 32 ounces of chicken stock with the 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
2. Add the grits slowly as they will bubble up
3. Add the chicken stock cube
4. Stir them consistently at first and then turn the heat to its lowest setting and cover, just stirring occasionally until the grits are the proper consistency, then remove from heat.

For the Cheese Mixture

1. Mix the eggs, cream cheese and most of the shredded cheese together reserving some of the cheddar cheese for the topping.
2. Fold the sausage and onions into the cheese mixture and set aside
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
4. Generously spray a casserole dish or tin foil pan with non-stick cooking spray
5. Layer the pan with the meat and cheese mixture first and add the grits to the top
6. Sprinkle with the remainder of the cheddar cheese on top.

Optional: You can add a few pats of butter and or to make it look pretty you can sprinkle some paprika and or dried parsley on top.  You can also reverse the casserole by placing the grits on the bottom and the cheese on the top, either way, it is delish!

Watch How To Make It