Stewed Beef With Creamy Cheese Grits

And I'm so excited for you to show me your beef stew recipe

Can I be chopping any of this for you? Please, yes. Chop all that up. Some celery, some green onion, and a whole red pepper

Okay. And chop it into, you know, nice bite sizes. Okay. And what kind of meat are you using, Layla

I'm gonna use beef. And that's just a chuck roast, y'all. And I'm gonna chop this yellow onion, this pepper, and six cloves of garlic

Okay. And put it all in. And I'll help you with that if you need some help

Okay. Thank you. We've got our pot getting hot. Yes. Okay, I'm just going to put a little bit of oil in here about a tablespoon

Okay, I'm going to... Layla, you want me to do the poblano or something? Yeah, go ahead

Yeah, because I'm going to go ahead and get this garlic started. So this is going to have a wee little bit of spice to it, right

It is. And speaking of spicy Layla, I used to love watching you spice things up on Dancing with the Stars

What was your favorite dance that you did, Layla? Um, the rumba. Can you teach me the rumba

Well, I could teach you some basic steps. So the first thing you just need to learn is just how to move your hips

Look at those hips. You can do it. Look at you. No, mine don't look good doing it, though

No, you do look good. Your hips just naturally swivel. Mine don't naturally swivel

You're doing a good job. All right, this meat is looking and smelling good

Now, when are you ready to throw all this in? We can go ahead and throw it in now

Yeah go ahead and give that a stir Oh my gosh We going to just let that go as vegetables I don mean to take over your pot No it OK You can take over my pot any time It just so pretty Isn it I love your choice of veggies in there The colors are just beautiful

I'm going to put in four cups of beef broth. OK. Then I'm going to put in some cumin

I'm going to put in some chili powder and some red pepper. OK. Well, let's do it, girl. OK

You know, Layla, I can tell, honey, you and I have a lot in common. You know, I love feeding people

I love it. I love that immediate gratification that you give me after I've pleased you

I'm going to go ahead. With your grits. Okay, I'm going to make these grits. Now, I love these grits to go with that stew

And I try to make them as tasty, but a lighter version. You know, I'm going to use some fat-free half and half

Okay. You know, I'm not going to use too much butter. Yeah, I mean, you know, how do you lighten up a grit

Well, I think it's what we add to it. My thing is keep the flavor, but cut out as much fat as possible

Why not save a little fat and calories if you can? And you know what, Layla

I have found that if you make enough small changes, they can make big differences

I've been trying to say that for a long time, and I'm glad that you're doing that

Ooh, you're putting onions in your grits. I am putting onions in the grits just to add a little extra flavor

I don't know that I've ever put an onion in a grit. You know, you never get too old to learn, and every day I get up, I learn something new

So, Layla, I'm going to kind of let you catch up with your grits. All right, I'm going to add a tablespoon of oil

So you're going to saute those off first. I am going to saute them just a little bit

Okay, so now I'm going to add the chicken broth. Can you just turn that heat down or stir it or something

I'm going to make yourself useful, girl. Listen if you don watch me I will smack on you All you have to do is like bop me upside the head once and I so behave I need you around I don want to bop you now

How much water did you put in? We put in three cups of water

OK. Six cups of chicken broth. I want them to be nice and tender. Yes

Now I'm going to go ahead and, you know, you can wait for the water to boil, or you could just go ahead and add these grits

It doesn't really matter. If you want a creamier grits, you put it in kind of cold water

Oh, really? Okay, well then let's cook. You know, not boiling water. Because it breaks down more? Is that why

Yeah, I guess. I don't know. That happens with oatmeal as well. Right

Yeah. Right. So I'm going to add four cups. We're going to have enough grits for you and me

We are. We're going to feed a whole army with this recipe right here, okay? Kind of like your brothers and sisters

Yeah. How many is there of y'all? There are nine of us

And I'm the youngest girl. I'm going to put a little salt in here, Paula. Yes

Yes, these require lots of salt. A little pepper. Yes. You know, the secret to good grits, Layla

Tell me the secrets, girl. The secret is salt and stirring. Mm-hmm

If you don't salt grits right off, it would take that whole box of salt to get them salty enough

Is that what it is? Yeah, why? I don't know. And I love you putting those onions in there

Oh, it's going to be good. Now, I'm so going to do that. It's going to be good. Now, you got some other stuff over there, too. Yes

Well, this is actually light butter. Okay. Yes, honey, light butter, Paula, and it's going to be good

I know you probably like light butter. Like, what's the point? Let me taste light butter. What's the point? So I'm going to go ahead and add a little in here just so we..

So you can have twice as much. Yes, I guess so, Paula

I mean, you're going to defeat the purpose. Come on baby You going to have twice I going to put two Don don don Don you do that to me

All right, now I'm going to cut down those grits, okay? Okay. Because they are starting to boil

So what do we have to do to finish up your grits? I am going to add

Oh, they get really, really thick, aren't they? I'm going to add two cups of my fat-free half and half

Okay. I'm just going to eyeball it. I'm going to let them cook for about 20 more minutes

As long as you can, right? Yep. Honey, I think you need some more cream

You think so? Okay. Well, I'm going to put it in. I'm going to put it in. Yeah

Of course you think I need some more cream. See, look at that

See, I was trying to take it easy. You got me in the trap

But I will give you more cream, Paula, whatever you want. I have two cups of cheddar and a cup of jack

Okay. And, you know, you can use any type of cheese you want. I have to like cheddar

Yeah, yeah, okay. Put a little jack in there. And you're just going to mix that in there. Yeah, I'm just going to go ahead and put it in

This is a final touch. You want me to stir it in? Yes, please do. Okay. Is that enough cheese for you, honey

Nope. Well, too bad. That's all I get. You were supposed to say yes, Paula

Layla, that looks so good. This is my cheat day because I have a cheat day once a week where I can eat what I want

You know what? So. I have a cheat day, too. I tell everybody, if you try to eat healthy every day of your life, you will lose your mind

Yes, you will. Let's go ahead and put some grits in this bowl

Okay. And we'll put some beef on top. You know how to do it. Go on. Put some beef on top of your grits

Cheers. Cheers, Miss Paula. Thank you for being with me