Polenta & Sausage Casserole

Remember that "Johnny Cake" I made the other day?  Well, I came home with what was left and cooked it in the skillet.  Then, I had a bit of a quandry - what to do with what there was?  Nibbling on a bit with maple syrup for breakfast is all fine and good, but there was a bit of the sausage/beef mixture left from the pizza I made that night...so...I made up a dish!  Yes fans, I am getting creative in the kitchen!  It's a scary thing...

It was a bit, well, interesting to look at, but it got 3 rave reviews!  One from myself, one from my boss and the last one from the toughest person I cook for: my husband!  He also said the folks at work all wanted to know what it was because it smelled GREAT when he re-heated it!

Here's my recipe for Polenta (AKA Johnny Cake) & Sausage casserole - give it a try!

Polenta & Sausage Casserole

Ingredients

• 2 cups Cubed Polenta
• 1/3 pound Hamburger
• 1/4 pound Chorizo Sausage - casing removed
• 1/4 pound Pork Sausage - casing removed
• 1 1/2 cups Spaghetti Sauce
• 1 cup Shredded Cheese
• Olive Oil

Cooking Directions

1. Grill Polenta in a skillet with olive oil before cutting into cubes.
2. Remove from skillet and pour into a baking pan, coated with oil.
3. Cook hamburger and sausage in another skillet (or the same one, if you are saving on washing...) till cooked through.
4. Pour meat mixture over the Polenta.
5. Pour spaghetti sauce over the meat.
6. Sprinkle cheese over the sauce.
7. Cook in a 400 oven for 25 minutes. 

NOTES:

• You could definitely make a larger pan of this - say, a 9" x 13" and increase the Polenta and meat, accordingly.
• This visually resembles lasagna.
• The amounts listed filled the round pie pan you see above which was good for 3 servings for us.  
• I made my own sauce (watch for the next posting on our meat lovers pizza with it), but you can just use a jar of spaghetti sauce.
• I had cheddar in the 'frig, so that's what I used on it.  I think mozzarella would taste great...okay, just about ANY cheese!  

BTW: hubby, the picky eater, thought the cubes were bread crumbs....muahahahaha!!  He ate Polenta and LOVED it!!!

Okay, back to the kitchen for more goodies!
Have a GREAT day,
Carrie