Picture Perfect Polenta
I hate to admit it, but polenta is a new food to me. While out at an Italian restaurant for a friend’s birthday, I picked a polenta entree for something different. It was delicious! When a spotted chubs of polenta on sale this week, I had to have some. Since I had no idea what polenta entailed, I showed some restraint and selected just one flavor, the Garlic and Basil from Food Merchants. As you all probably know, but was new to me, this stuff is precooked, ready to go … my kind of all natural food! Okay, I do prefer food made from scratch, but as a polenta intro, this was pretty close to homemade.
I sliced, heated in a fry pan, and topped with a chuunky marinara (meat sauce for the husband). A side salad rounded out the color profile for an amazingly professional look (if I do say so myself). I have been working on my presentation a bit…
… and it seems to be working thus far, as my husband came in and proclaimed that he felt like he was eating in a fine Italian restaurant. Even better, he loved it! Polenta really isn’t something I expected him to like, but he gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up. Is there anything better than adding another 10-minute meal to your repertoire, really? Did I mention that this stuff is organic – that’s right, corn without the GMO’s, yeah!
The chub lasted us for two meals, one dinner, one lunch. My favorite store-bought marinara is the Tuscano (in a can) at Trader Joe’s. It has no added sugars, but uses a bit of carrot puree for a light sweetness. It is simple, and well worth the low price tag for the over-sized can. I added sliced mushrooms, onions, and some ground turkey (with splash of worcestershire sauce for the “beefy” taste) for the meat-lover in our house. I kept mine vegan, just because. Not quite homemade, but it sure tasted like it!
6 thoughts on “Picture Perfect Polenta”
I just bought polenta the other day for the first time. I have never actually tried it, but I always thought it looked so good! Mine is the kind you have to cook though, so it will be interesting to try!You and your husband sound like my husband and I! I would have eaten it vegetarian style and he always wants to know where the meat is! That is a great shot you got!
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Jeena xx
Sarena: You are much braver than I! I can’t wait to hear how it goes. It is probably one of those super-easy things that just sounds foreign!
that polenta certainly IS picture-perfect!! and hey, it may not be homemade, but as long as it looks good and tastes good, then that’s what counts :0)
I have always wanted a recipe to try out store bought polenta…thanks…Di
I wish I could get my hubby to like polenta. I love it. We haven’t tried the pre-made kind, though, only the instant, which makes sort of a puree. The pre-made seems close to mush, which he loves…maybe I’ll sneak it on him at some point!
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