Need Ideas for fixing polenta, using these ingredients?!
Any suggestions?
Answers: It's snowy and cold here, and I don't feel like getting out to go to the store. I have a package of ready made polenta, sausage patties, ground beef, spaghetti sauce, several kinds of cheese, frozen broccoli, canned tomatoes, lots of different spices, fresh tomatoes, along with milk, butter, flour, etc.
Any suggestions?
Is the polenta already in a roll like cookie dough?? Is it the slice and saute kind?? I was going to suggest a simple medium thick sliced polenta, pan fried in butter and olive oil, make a Bolognese Sauce from the ground beef and spaghetti sauce, serve the polenta topped with cheese (fresh Mozzarella, if you have it) then the Bolognese sauce and a Marinated Broccoli & Tomato Salad (a chopped salad, marinated in Italian dressing, marinate for about 2 hours, drain and serve with croutons and Parmesan cheese) Sounds like an easy dinner to me!!! Enjoy!!
Christopher
combine the ground beef and sausage along with spices to make a meat sauce, cook polenta according to package directions add cheese and brocolli to form a side dish.
It sounds like you have most of the makings of tamale pie. Or, I served a lunch party once where they put some kind of spaghetti sauce over the polenta and that was it. I'd just add some sausage or burger for a full entree.
Hmm...I love these challenges! it's like that old show, ready set cook!
You don't mention if you have any pasta. If you had Pasta i would brown the beef and sausage (patties broken up) into spaghetti sauce and serve over the pasta with grilled polenta slices sprinkled with cheese. But since you don't mention pasta i would make the following:
Take the sausage patties and break up the meat and combine with the ground beef. Add any "italian style" spices you might have like Oregano, Basil, Garlic, Onion, bread crumbs (if you have any, if you don't a slice or two of bread broken up will do) and milk to the mixture and make meatballs. You can either cook the meatballs in a frypan with Olive oil, or bake them in a 350 degree oven till done (45 minutes or so, depending on their size)
When the meatballs are done, add to a saucepan with the spaghetti sauce. If the sauce is bland, doctor it up with more spices. Let the meatballs simmer on stove for about 1/2 hour or more.
While the sauce is simmering on stove, slice the Polenta into 1" slices. If you have a grill pan, spray with a non stick spray and grill the polenta until it has nice grill marks on it. (don't move around alot or it will start to fall apart) cook about 5 minutes on each side. Medium heat. If you don't have a grill pan, cook in a non stick skillet till they are browned on each side. Brown them in butter.
Put 1 or two slices of the grilled polenta on a plate, top with a few meatballs and pour ladle of sauce over all. Sprinkle some mozzarella or Parmesan cheese on top.