Mexi-bean Polenta Surprise

Okay -- occasionally I'll just throw something together and hope it works - and sometimes it actually does! That's what happened a couple of weeks ago when I threw this recipe together and sweet hubby declared it to be a keeper. :) I called it "surprise" because I was kind of surprised it was as good as it was. LOL.

Since it only takes a few minutes to start and just a little more time to heat up, it's a super fast dinner and was perfect for a night when I didn't really want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. (Hooray for my little Vidalia Chop Wizard that makes it so easy to dice up onions and bell peppers and then have them on hand, ready to go!) Had to chop up an onion tonight - look how awesome that is:



I just love that thing. :)

Here's the recipe - I doubt I'll make it exactly the same way twice but this is what I did the first time:

Mexi-Bean Polenta Surprise

1 can Rotel tomatoes
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
1 can corn drained
½ package polenta, sliced and cubed
½ medium red onion, diced
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
¼ cup fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 ½ teaspoons cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced

Cook onions, bell peppers and garlic with Rotel tomatoes in large pot until soft – about 2-3 minutes. Add black beans, chick peas and corn, stirring well. Once thoroughly heated, add polenta cubes and continue to heat. As polenta warms up it will thicken the sauce. You may want to add ¼ cup or so of vegetable broth to keep beans moist. Once heated well, add cilantro and stir together. Serve over brown rice with avocado slices on top.

This is when I first put the polenta in. Once it heats up, the polenta softens and dissolves a bit into the juices and thickens it up.



Then it looks more like this:



And then, when you serve it with the avocado (and I usually sprinkle a little more cilantro on, too - it looks like this. :)




You can't see the brown rice underneath but it's there! Yummo! Add a little srircha hot sauce to spice it up and it's de-lish! :) Plus, you can easily wrap this in a whole wheat tortilla to make a really awesome burrito. That's what I like to do with any leftovers. Enjoy!

- Posted by Jennifer

Location:Home, sweet home