Polenta with a Southwest Kick



Well, the cilantro looks good.


The latest culinary experiment? Polenta with a southwest kick.

Ah, polenta. I've eaten you. You're good,... but what the *&^% are you?

If you, like me, want/need to know more about polenta, check out this website. There is a lot of info! My favorite line on this site, for multiple reasons is, "You must guard against lumps but it is actually difficult to ruin polenta." This is awesome! It just means that it's hard to screw up...but if you do, you should be very, very ashamed.

Anyway, the recipe below is one adapted from "Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker" by Robin Robertson (awesome cookbook, by the way).
You can buy it right here! (...and for cheap...soooo worth it!)

To make this polenta-y dish, sautee a yellow onion (mince it first, obviously, or your "meal" will be whack).  Once done, put the onion, 1.5 cups of cornmeal, a few dashes of salt, .5 teaspoon of chili powder into a slow cooker (at least a 4 quart). After mixing ingredients together, mix in 4 cups of boiling water and thoroughly mix again. Set the slow cooker to low and cook the mixture together for about 6-7 hours.

At the end of those six-ish hours, add in 2.5 cups of pico de gallo, 1 can of pinto beans, a bag of frozen corn, a small can of green chilis, about 10 minced black olives (or less if you're not an olive freak like myself) and a tablespoon of chili powder. Add salt and pepper to your liking, and then cook on low for an additional half hour. 

When serving, add some cilantro, avocado or cheese. Very good!