Recipe: Easy Autumn Polenta Bake

Easy Autumn Polenta Bake

This post originally appeared as a guest post on The Crafty Side of Sarcasm.

I was telling my mom about this recipe, and she was like polenta-what? It’s an ingredient that isn’t super widely known unless you’re Italian, but is becoming more popular. Polenta is a cornmeal based substitute for pasta, rice or potatoes. It’s got a mild corn flavor, and is much more palatable than grits. This recipe is one of the most fail-proof ways to ease yourself in to using polenta in your cooking. It’s a simple chop-toss-and-bake, but is super tasty. The sausage and apples make it perfect for autumn, too.

Easy Autumn Polenta Bake

ingredients
Ingredients

  • 1 large honeycrisp apple
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 1 package chicken apple sausage
  • 1 18oz. tube of prepared polenta (original or flavored – we used sundried tomato garlic)
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Cut up everything into bite size chunks.
  2. Toss together in an ungreased 13 x 9 inch baking pan.
  3. Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees.
  4. Enjoy!

polenta-cooking

If you want to mix it up, add your own preferred herbs/spices over top. If you want something a little more moist, add just a dash of white wine to the bottom of the baking dish, and cover top with foil before cooking.
 

What’s your favorite throw-together autumn meal? Have you ever cooked with polenta before?

Continue Reading

Recipe: Cranberry Sausage Breakfast Rice

Cranberry Sausage Breakfast Rice

Here’s something quick and easy to throw together. This meal was born from one of those evenings where my spirit of kitchen adventure outweighed the voice telling me to just go to the grocery story. We had some breakfast sausage left over from a brunch, and I always have brown rice and Craisins in my pantry, so I threw them all together. It took me a 2nd time to get the seasoning right (the first time it turned out kind of bland). I call it breakfast rice since the sausage I use most often for this is breakfast sausage, but […]

Continue Reading

Recipe: White Wine Marinara Tortellini

White Wine Marinara Tortellini

I know it’s been awhile since I did a recipe post, but the wait was worth it. Because I’m back with a bang – this white wine marinara with sausage over tortellini is tasty. It’s a recipe I learned from my older sister and her boyfriend over Christmas. Though, I didn’t write it down, so it was thrown together from memory and might not be exactly like they make it, but it turned out delicious anyway. Really, the sauce is the star of this entree, and can be served over any sort of pasta, we’re just partial to tortellini. And […]

Continue Reading

Recipe: Chicken Sausage with Harvest Rice

Chicken Sausage with Harvest Rice Recipe

Today I have an easy and tasty recipe for you. It’s only got 5 ingredients, but packs a pretty tasty punch. And it might get you addicted to Craisins if, like me, you munch on some out of the bag while making dinner. Seriously, I’d never had them before, and now I can’t get enough. WAY better than regular old raisins. Also, I feel like you could easily substitute in something other than squash here, if squash is not your thing. Or another kind of sausage, for that matter. Flexible recipe win!   Chicken Sausage with Harvest Rice   Ingredients […]

Continue Reading

Recipe: Smoked Sausage Rotini

This is a simple, tasty recipe the boy & I have been enjoying lately. I found it in one of my cooking magazines (yes, I get those – two, in fact) and decided to try it out. It doesn’t take long, and it’s yummy even when re-heated as leftovers – two of my criteria for favorite meals. Smoked Sausage Rotini   Ingredients 1 package rotini or other short spiral pasta (16 oz.) 10 oz. fresh spinach* 1 lb. smoked turkey sausage, sliced 8 Tbsp. grated Romano cheese, plus extra for topping if desired 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided […]

Continue Reading

Recipe: Sweet & Savory Mini Breakfast Pastries

This past weekend, the boy and I tried our hand at mini breakfast pastries – specifically, mini sausage rolls and fruit danishes. It was, without doubt, a rousing success. These things are YUMMY. So I thought I’d share the recipes for each today on the blog. 🙂 They seem pretty easily adaptable: you can use any kind of fruit jam you like for the danishes, and I imagine substituting a different meat in place of the pork sausage in the rolls would also work. I hope you enjoy! The Savory – Mini Sausage Rolls Ingredients 1 tube (8oz.) crescent roll […]

Continue Reading