I picked up some polenta today at the grocery store. This was my first experience with the bulk bins! It’s so weird, I’ve never really considered them before. It wasn’t until reading other blogs that I realized I was missing out on the fabulous bulking experience! So, I tried my hand at it today. I have to say once I started…I kind of wanted to keep going. Just fill bags of cashews, dried papaya, lentils, coffee beans…any and everything! But I finally displayed some sense of self control and just filled three bags:
- Polenta
- Brown Rice
- Almonds
I’m pretty excited about the almonds. They weren’t badly priced and I love how I control the amount that I take home. I definitely see another batch of almond butter in the near future :). As cute as the plastic bags are, any suggestions on good jars or bins to store bulk goods?
On to tonight’s dinner: Wild ground pork with a side of polenta and broccoli.
First, I started on the pork.
Once the pork (unseasoned) was thawed, I started to saute it until it was cooked through.
While it was cooking, I added italian seasoning. This consists of basil, sage, tarragon, marjoram, savory, rosemary, and thyme. I basically eyeballed it-probably like 4-5 pinches. I also added a little bit of maple syrup. I couldn’t resist-I love maple flavored sausage! I let the pork continue to cook on low heat.
While it was cooking, I started on the polenta. At first, I was going to cook it in the oven but decided the microwave was a much quicker route.
In a microwave safe bowl, I added 1 cup of polenta, 3 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of butter, and some salt.
I cooked the polenta in the microwave (covered) for 2 minutes at a time. The total cook time was 8 minutes. After each two minute segment, I stirred it up.
The polenta was finished! Next, I chopped up some fresh sage and mixed it with the pork. I also chopped up some broccoli and microwaved those babies. Anytime I “chop broccoli” I think of this SNL sketch….”She’s choppin’ broccoli….” I love how serious Sigourney Weaver looks!
Finally, dinner was ready! I pilled everything onto a plate and added some parmesan and marinara sauce to the polenta.
This turned out to be a really good, filling, Italian-style meal! I really like the texture of polenta..I’m definitely a “texture” person (love marshmallows too). I have some left over polenta so I’m kind of excited to think of other ways to use it. Breakfast maybe? (I know they’re the same as grits…..polenta just sounds much sexier doesn’t it?).
Hope you all have a great Monday back to work! Here’s a cell phone pic from Christmas vacation! Wish it was still vacation time…
Leave a Reply