Southern cooking has always been about more than recipes. It’s about making people feel welcome, using what you have on hand, and gathering around the table without making life more complicated than it needs to be.

Those ideas are at the heart of Grits and Gouda, the popular recipe website created by Alabama cookbook author and recipe developer Kathleen Phillips. If you’ve enjoyed the Lemon Blueberry Yellow Squash Muffins and Shortcut Blackberry Lemonade she shared with Pretty, you’ve already experienced her signature style: approachable Southern recipes with clever shortcuts that never sacrifice homemade flavor.

We recently asked Kathleen to share the story behind Grits and Gouda, her years in the Southern Living test kitchens, and why helping home cooks succeed means more to her than creating complicated recipes.

From the Southern Living Cookbooks Test Kitchen to Grits and Gouda

Long before she launched her website, Kathleen spent more than a decade as Test Kitchen Director at Oxmoor House, the Birmingham-based cookbook publisher behind the beloved Southern Living cookbooks.

When her second child was born with special needs, Kathleen realized she needed a career with more flexibility. Then an unexpected opportunity changed everything.

“Running Press asked me if I would develop more than 30 flavor versions of magic cakes and write the cookbook,” Kathleen says. “When I discovered I needed a place to help promote that cookbook, my website GritsAndGouda.com was born.”

Today she develops, tests, photographs, and publishes Southern-inspired shortcut recipes while also sharing them on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest.

Learning to Cook Out of Necessity

Kathleen’s love of cooking began much earlier than her professional career.

“When I was in my early teens, my mom had to go back to work, so my job was to make dinner for the family and sweet treats for everyone’s lunchboxes,” she says.

Her greatest influence was her mother, a self-taught cook whose talents extended to beautifully decorated wedding cakes.

Growing up in the South also shaped Kathleen’s practical approach to cooking.

She remembers preparing venison, canning vegetables from the family garden, and making desserts with peaches, blackberries, and even wild strawberries. If an ingredient wasn’t available, she simply found another way.

“If we didn’t have a food processor, I’d use a pastry blender to create pea-sized nuggets of butter in the pie crust,” she says.

That spirit of resourcefulness still defines the way she cooks today.

Why “Grits and Gouda”?

The name perfectly captures Kathleen’s philosophy.

As she explains, “Grits represents all things Southern. Gouda represents ‘a little gourmet.'”

Most of her recipes include at least one shortcut because she knows her readers have busy lives.

“I’ve always had a busy schedule, and I know my readers do too,” she says. “Occasionally, you will find one of my recipes really ‘gilds the lily’ with a gourmet ingredient like Gouda cheese, but never something you wouldn’t be able to find readily at a Publix or Kroger store.”

It’s a philosophy that makes her recipes feel both familiar and just a little bit special.

The Art of the Helpful Shortcut

Kathleen believes a shortcut should actually make life easier—not require another trip to the grocery store.

“If there’s a product that contains three or four ingredients in it that saves me a trip to the store to buy just one, it’s a winner,” she says.

Apple pie spice is one example. Rather than asking readers to buy cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice individually, one bottle does the work.

A jar of Alfredo sauce is another favorite.

“I have lots of recipes that use it instead of making a homemade white sauce or gravy,” she says.

That doesn’t mean she avoids cooking from scratch.

Her famous two-ingredient biscuits, made with heavy whipping cream and self-rising flour, come together in less than ten minutes of prep.

Recipes That Help Home Cooks Succeed

Years in the test kitchen taught Kathleen that writing recipes is just as important as creating them.

“I’ve learned to be clear and concise in how I write the instructions, and I always give helpful tips and tricks to make the reader successful when making the recipe,” she says.

Sometimes success requires plenty of trial and error behind the scenes.

She recently tested her Baked Apple Fritters eight times before she was satisfied with the amount of applesauce, baking powder, baking soda, bake time, and oven temperature.

Every recipe is tested before it appears on Grits and Gouda.

“If it isn’t something I would serve my family with my busy schedule, it doesn’t go on the website,” she says.

The Summer Recipes She Shared with Pretty

Kathleen’s Lemon Blueberry Yellow Squash Muffins may surprise readers at first glance, but there’s a simple reason yellow squash belongs in a sweet muffin.

“I knew I loved how shredded zucchini makes zucchini bread so moist without adding extra fat, so I figured the yellow squash cousin would do the same for a light-colored muffin,” she says.

The squash creates a moist, tender crumb, and any tiny yellow flecks simply resemble bits of lemon zest.

It’s also a wonderful way to use up an abundance of summer squash from the garden.

Her Shortcut Blackberry Lemonade follows the same philosophy.

Starting with refrigerated prepared lemonade, Kathleen makes a quick blackberry syrup that transforms it into something that looks—and tastes—special.

“It’s a shortcut lemonade that starts with refrigerated prepared lemonade, but I make a quick blackberry syrup that really takes it over the top,” she says. “The gorgeous purple color is a showstopper. It looks fancy but takes just a few minutes to make.”

Beyond the Kitchen

When she’s not developing recipes, Kathleen can usually be found in her garden.

She regularly shares weekly garden update videos on Facebook and Instagram and treasures time with her two young granddaughters.

Now empty nesters, she and her husband—who both work from home—also enjoy taking road trips together.

Looking ahead, she’s preparing for her 9th Annual Holiday Cooking Show on November 2 in Gardendale, Alabama, a fundraiser benefiting the Outdoor Ability Foundation, the nonprofit founded by her husband and son.

A Recipe for Relief

When asked what she hopes readers experience after making one of her recipes, Kathleen’s answer is refreshingly simple.

She says she hopes readers feel “relieved that they were able to make something for their family or friends they are proud to share and that worked on the first try.”

That simple goal reflects everything behind Grits and Gouda: recipes that are approachable, dependable, and designed for real life. For Kathleen, great cooking isn’t about perfection or complicated techniques. It’s about giving busy home cooks the confidence to put something delicious on the table for the people they love.

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Lightning Round with Kathleen Phillips

Sweet tea or lemonade? Lemonade

Biscuits or cornbread? Biscuits

Cast iron or Dutch oven? Depends on the recipe.

Sunrise or sunset? Sunset

Favorite farmers’ market find? Something I’m not already growing in my garden.

A cookbook you’ll never part with? Better Homes and Gardens Red Plaid Cookbook—the cookbook I used as a teen to learn the basics and eventually develop my own recipes.

One ingredient you always keep stocked? A jar of Alfredo sauce.

The dessert that disappears first at family gatherings? Mississippi Mud Brownies.

What’s always playing in your kitchen while you cook? A Christian classics playlist.

Finish this sentence: “A meal is most memorable when…” “…it’s enjoyed with someone who loves you and loves good food.”

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Connect with Kathleen

Website: https://gritsandgouda.com/

Facebook: Grits and Gouda

Instagram: @GritsAndGouda

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🎉 Win Kathleen’s Cookbook!

To celebrate Kathleen’s visit to Pretty, we’re giving away three copies of one of her cookbooks!

The giveaway is live from Friday, July 31, 2026, through Friday, August 7, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. CST. We’ll announce three winners on Saturday, August 8, 2026.

To enter, visit Pretty magazine on Facebook and Instagram and follow the giveaway instructions on our official giveaway posts.

Good luck—and whether you win or not, we hope you’ll visit Grits and Gouda and discover a few new favorite recipes.