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grandma's cornmeal mush with cheese

karenella1 avatar
Recipe by
Martha Price
@karenella1
San Jose, CA

My grandparents ate cornmeal mush A LOT. Usually they ate it plain for breakfast, but if grandma had family over for dinner she would sometimes make it this way. It was a main dish, served with biscuits and garden vegetables. I didn't learn to cook until my twenties, and after a few successes, I was, perhaps, a bit full of myself. Once at grandma's, I saw this and said "Oh, you're making polenta". When she didn't reply, I glanced at her, and saw sweet grandma, with her face turned away and her mouth twisted, trying hard not to laugh at her'uppity' granddaughter! Grandma will be 102 March 5!

yield 6 serving(s)
prep time 10 Min
cook time 30 Min
method Stove Top

Ingredients For grandma's cornmeal mush with cheese

  • 1 1/2 qt
    water
  • 1 1/2 tsp
    salt
  • a few dashes of black pepper
  • 1 1/2 c
    fine yellow cornmeal
  • 4 Tbsp
    butter
  • 1 c
    sour cream
  • 1/2 c
    monterey jack cheese
  • 1/2 c
    cheddar cheese

How To Make grandma's cornmeal mush with cheese

  • 1
    Bring water to a boil in an oven-proof pan. When boiling, add salt and pepper and remove from heat.
  • 2
    Stirring constantly, slowly trickle cornmeal into water. Stir well, to eliminate lumps. Return to heat and bring back to a boil. Turn down the heat and cook slowly until the mush thickens, about 20 minutes, stirring often. It should be about the thickness of thick cake batter - if too thick, stir in a bit more water.
  • 3
    Melt butter, pre-heat oven to 350. Pour butter to cover bottom of baking dish. Spoon in half of the cornmeal mush to cover bottom of baking dish. Spread half of the sour cream over the mush,then sprinkle with half of each cheese. Repeat the layers - mush, sour cream, cheeses.
  • 4
    Place in the oven for a few minutes, just until the cheeses are melted and the top is lightly browned. Serve and enjoy!
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