Polenta with Kale & Beans

Confession: I have been a little slack on the blogging. Reality: I have still been cooking up a storm. I have six dishes waiting, longing, yearning to be blogged. But as a result of having some sort of cold and or flu the last few days cooking the food is about all the energy I have. Mustering up some energy for a little photo shoot this afternoon, revolving around yes, food! I'm very excited to do this!! Okay, so hopefully there will be a steady roll out of posts this week because I have a lot to post. 

This dish was something I was eagerly waiting to make. Not really sure why. Probably the balsamic reduction!! And yes, I mean the reduction that almost killed us. I've never made a balsamic reduction before so I'm not sure if this is true for everyone else...but the "burn off" was potent! Al refused to go into the kitchen, and I knew I had to cause I already started the process. Which took about an hour, FYI so I was invested and committed to it. Turned out great, but yeah, painful. Ha! And my polenta turned out a bit funky too. I didn't have much coarse polenta was the thing, and I didn't want to mix it with fine ground cornmeal. I don't know. I was experimenting to say the least. But it turned out great. The kale and beans with the balsamic...pretty sure I could eat that daily. So good. It'll probably become a nice little side for us in the future. 

Also, yes, for those of you on pinterest, that is the infamous pinterest potato. Thought I'd try it, worked great. Go figure.

INGREDIENTS:

polenta, sliced

olive oil

crushed red pepper flakes(optional)

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 bunch of kale, chopped

1 can of white beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup of vegetable broth

salt and pepper

balsamic vinegar

*Heat a splash of olive oil and flakes in a skillet on medium-high, brown the polenta slices and set aside.

*In a stock pot, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat and the garlic until the garlic is nice and aromatic. Toss in the kale and cook until wilted, about 6 minutes. Add in the broth and beans. Heat through and make sure the kale is nice and tender. Stir in s&p and balsamic to taste. (I used only a splash of balsamic at this point.)

*Plate up the polenta, top with kale and beans, drizzle with more balsamic. Enjoy!

Turkey Tamale Pie

Yesterday I mentioned how I enjoy spending time searching for edible inspiration...err, inspiration for edibles. Either way, its fun! There is so much out there! Another one of my sources is, dun dun dun...the Rachel Ray Show. Most of my days are currently spent home bound, and a giant portion in front of the computer. Doing photo edits, developing my website, searching for recipes, watching last nights episode of the biggest loser that I missed...you get the idea. In being home, during what some would call "daytime" I have also tuned into to daytime programming from time to time. And I love watching the Rachel Ray Show for the recipes! Most of which I alter, but that's another story. Cause this recipe I followed (almost) to a T. Any excuse to use my cast-iron skillet is also something I jump at. Plus, one word: polenta! We loved it, Al of course went back for seconds. Leftovers...tons! One of the changes I made was I didn't have any beer, so deglazing the pan didn't exactly happen. And I didn't have tomato sauce I only had diced. So...anyways, we enjoyed it. Here is the way I did it, you can check out the link for what was on the show.

INGREDIENTS:
2 tbls olive oil
2 lbs ground turkey
2 hot chili peppers, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt & pepper
1 tbls ground cumin
1 tbls ground coriander
2 ancho chili peppers in adobo sauce, chopped fine
2 tbls cider vinegar
2 tbls brown sugar
2 tbls worcestershire sauce
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 14 oz can chicken stock
1 cup almond breeze
1 cup polenta
1 tbls honey
1 cup shredded mozzarella

*Heat oil in a cast-iron or large skillet. Brown the turkey and then add in peppers, more peppers, onion, garlic, s&p, cumin, coriander, and chilies. Stir occasionally and cook for 10 min, until the peppers and onions are soft.
*Stir in vinegar, sugar, worcestershire sauce, and tomatoes. Simmer to thicken, 5 to 10 min.
*Preheat broiler and then in a sauce pot, bring the chicken stock and "milk" to a boil. Add in the polenta and stir in constantly for 2 or 3 mins, until it has thickened up. Add honey and mix well.
*Spread polenta over the turkey to about an inch from the edge. Top with cheese and throw under a pre-heated broiler until golden brown.