“I need to eat some breakfast.”

“Want me to scramble you some eggs?”

“We’re out of eggs.”

“Oh, yeah. We have some of that berry cereal left! Wait. We’re out of milk, too, aren’t we?”

And so it goes. My sweet daughter was trying to feed me because I’ve been sick for the past few days. Unfortunately, we have very few perishable groceries in the house… because I’ve been sick for the past few days.

As a result, we’ve spent a quiet weekend at home to celebrate the holidays.

Zack grilled burgers for Christmas lunch. Julia baked a cake on Christmas Eve. Zayley cleaned the kitchen. It was all hands on deck.

And we played games – a Harry Potter trivia game, the perfect endcap to our December Potter marathon. We tried Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, a card game that required me to learn a whole string of words and a series of actions, virtually guaranteeing that I’ll never be able to play it again.

It wasn’t the Christmas we had planned, but it’s the Christmas we got.

And it was nice.

But I didn’t learn to make any new, fancy meals or desserts. I didn’t try a new recipe to share or elevate any dishes I already knew.

The closest I came to making dessert was making a couple trays of pretzel Rolos – you know, the kind where you melt a Rolo on top of one pretzel before squishing it with another pretzel. If you’re not familiar with those, just ask Pfeiffer about them. She had three for breakfast this morning.

While I didn’t make anything fancy or new, I did make something easy and old: grits. I wanted old-fashioned grits, not instant. (But does anyone want instant grits? Really, why do those exist?)

I didn’t have much energy, so I also knew I wanted to do it the easy way: in the pressure pot. I found a recipe online I thought would work and tried it with my own twists. I don’t think I’ll make grits any other way from now on.

Easy Cheesy Grits

Ingredients

1 cup grits (preferably stone-ground, but any kind other than instant should work)

3 cups water

2 teaspoons salt

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup milk

1 cup shredded cheese (try to use at least two types; I used half cheddar and half Gouda)

Optional: garlic powder and cayenne pepper to taste

Directions

■ Pour water and grits into pressure cooker pot. Stir thoroughly and allow grits to settle into water. Add butter. Twist lid onto pot. Set lever to “sealing” position. Set pot to pressure cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. (It will take between 10 and 15 minutes to achieve pressure, then another 10 minutes to cook.) When cook time ends, allow pressure to release naturally for 10-15 minutes. After pressure releases naturally for at least 10 minutes, move the lever to venting position to release the remaining pressure.

■ Remove the lid and whisk madly for a few moments. Add the cup of milk and whisk to incorporate. Add the shredded cheese. Keep whisking. Allow cheese to melt. If you want garlic grits, add about a teaspoon of garlic powder and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Taste carefully and add seasonings as desired.

Amelia Plair is a mom and high school teacher in Starkville. Email reaches her at [email protected].

Amelia Plair is a Starkville resident who writes occasional food columns.