Tomato And Beef Casserole With Polenta Crust Food

TOMATO AND BEEF CASSEROLE WITH POLENTA CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Bring 3 cups of water and 1 tsp salt to a boil in a 2qt saucepan over medium heat.
• Whisk in cornmeal; reduce heat to low and simmer, whisking constantly, 3 minutes or until thickened.
• Remove from heat, and stir in steak seasoning and 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese.
• Spread cornmeal mixture into a lightly greased 11 x 7-inch baking dish.
• Brown ground chuck in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, 10 minutes or until meat crumbles and is no longer pink; drain and transfer to a bowl.
• Saute onion and zucchini in hot oil in skillet 5 minutes or until crisp tender.
• Stir in beef, tomatoes, and tomato paste; simmer, stirring often, 10 minutes.
• Pour beef mixture over cornmeal crust.
• Sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup of cheese.
• Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
• Sprinkle casserole with parsley just before serving.

TOMATO 'N' BEEF CASSEROLE WITH POLENTA CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Bring 3 cups water and 1 tsp. salt to a boil in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in cornmeal; reduce heat to low, and simmer, whisking constantly, 3 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat, and stir in steak seasoning and 1/4 cup Cheddar cheese. Spread cornmeal mixture into a lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish.
• Brown ground chuck in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, 10 minutes or until meat crumbles and is no longer pink; drain and transfer to a bowl.
• Sauté onion and zucchini in hot oil in skillet over medium heat 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Stir in beef, tomatoes, and tomato paste; simmer, stirring often, 10 minutes. Pour beef mixture over cornmeal crust. Sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese.
• Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle casserole with parsley just before serving.
• Italian Beef Casserole With Polenta Crust: Substitute Italian sausage for ground chuck and Italian six-cheese blend for Cheddar cheese. Prepare recipe as directed, sautéing 1 medium-size green bell pepper, chopped, with onion in Step

BAKED POLENTA WITH FRESH TOMATOES AND PARMESAN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish.
• Place the water, milk, and butter in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the polenta and stir with a wooden spoon until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup Parmesan cheese and 2 chopped basil leaves; season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the polenta to the prepared baking dish and arrange the remaining chilled pieces of butter over the top.
• Bake the polenta in the preheated oven until bubbly and beginning to brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven.
• Decoratively arrange the slices of tomato over the top of the polenta, spread the remaining basil leaves over the tomatoes, and sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
• Return to the oven and bake until the tomatoes are warm and the Parmesan cheese is bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes.

ITALIAN BEEF AND POLENTA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 11x7-inch (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.
• Cut zucchini in half lengthwise; cut diagonally crosswise into 1/4-inch slices. Set aside. Cut polenta crosswise into 8 slices; coat both sides of each slice with cooking spray.
• Heat 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add polenta slices; cook 6 minutes, turning once, until lightly browned. Arrange polenta slices in baking dish.
• In same skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked. Drain, if necessary. Set beef aside. Add zucchini to skillet; cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add beef, pasta sauce and pepper; cook 1 to 2 minutes until thoroughly heated. Spoon beef mixture over polenta; sprinkle with cheese.
• Bake uncovered 18 to 20 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.

ITALIAN POLENTA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• In 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven, cook sausage and ground beef on medium-high 5 to 6 minutes or until browned, stirring and breaking up meat with side of spoon. With slotted spoon, transfer meat mixture to medium bowl.
• To same Dutch oven, add onion; cook on medium 8 to 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in garlic; cook 30 seconds. Add tomatoes with their puree; heat to boiling on high, breaking up tomatoes with side of spoon. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Add eggplant and meat; cover and cook 5 minutes on medium. Uncover and cook 10 minutes longer or until eggplant is tender, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In microwave-safe 4-quart bowl, with wire whisk, combine water, broth, cornmeal, and salt. Microwave on High 15 to 20 minutes or until cornmeal mixture is very thick. After first 5 minutes of cooking, whisk vigorously until smooth (mixture will be lumpy at first); whisk 2 more times during remaining cooking time. Remove from microwave, whisk in Romano.
• Spoon 2 cups hot polenta into each of two 1 1/2-quart shallow casseroles. Spread polenta over bottom and up sides of casseroles. Spoon filling over polenta. Spread remaining polenta around casserole edge to form a rim. Sprinkle with a couple tablespoons additional grated Romano, Parmesan, or Asiago.
• Bake one casserole 30 minutes or until hot. Let stand 10 minutes for easier serving. (Freeze the other one for later.).
• Makes 8 servings (in 2 casserole dishes).
• Note: if you want to lower the fat content, use turkey Italian sausage. Make sure to use quality sausage - I've used my favorite, our freshly made Merguez, and good sausage really makes a difference.

BEEF AND POLENTA BAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.
• In 3-quart saucepan, heat milk, broth and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt to boiling over medium heat. Gradually stir in polenta with whisk. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened. Stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Spread polenta in baking dish.
• In 12-inch skillet, cook beef over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked; drain. Remove beef; set aside. Add onion and mushrooms to skillet; cook 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add spinach; cook 1 minute or until wilted. Stir in beef, pasta sauce and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Spoon mixture over polenta.
• Bake uncovered 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese. Bake 5 to 10 minutes longer or until cheese is golden brown. Sprinkle with basil.

OLE POLENTA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• For polenta, in a small bowl, whisk cornmeal, salt and 1 cup water until smooth. In a large saucepan, bring remaining water to a boil. Add cornmeal mixture, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, about 3 minutes. , Reduce heat to low; cover and cook for 15 minutes. Divide mixture between 2 greased 8-in. square baking dishes. Cover and refrigerate until firm, about 1-1/2 hours., In a large skillet, cook the beef, onion, green pepper and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, mushrooms, herbs and hot pepper sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until thickened., Loosen 1 polenta from sides and bottom of dish; invert onto a waxed paper-lined baking sheet and set aside. Spoon half of the meat mixture over the remaining polenta. Sprinkle with half the mozzarella and half the Parmesan cheese. Top with reserved polenta and remaining meat mixture., Cover and bake at 350° until heated through, 40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake until cheese is melted, 5 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.