Cooking up a Storm

I've been having so much fun cooking these days...feels great to be back in the kitchen. I made a positively abysmal pork chop casserole Monday night. J was nice enough to say it was good, but it was not. At all. Ptooey. I ended up having a peppermint chip hot fudge brownie sundae at Mitchell's to get the revulsion out of my psyche. However, I have been very pleased with the past two nights' efforts. Tuesday night, I made an amazing polenta casserole, an Emeril recipe from his terrific potluck cookbook, and served it with salad. Last night, it was a zucchini frittata with corn and tomato bread pudding, both Better Homes & Gardens recipes. The polenta casserole & bread pudding recipes below are my adaptations of the originals.

Polenta Casserole

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 lb. sweet Italian sausage (I used turkey sausage), removed from casings and crumbled
1 c. onion, chopped
1 c. green pepper, chopped
1/2 c. red pepper, chopped
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp. Italian-style Essence seasoning mix (I used 1/2 tsp. each basil, oregano & Italian seasoning)
2 c. crushed tomatoes
1/4 tsp. pepper
Salt
1 recipe creamy polenta (below)
2 tbsp. cold butter, cut into pieces
1/2 c. freshly-grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil on high temperature in skillet. Cook sausage in oil until browned. Drain & set aside. Cook onions & peppers in same skillet for 2 minutes. Add garlic & Essence. Cook another 2 minutes. Add sausage & cook another minute. Add tomatoes & cook until liquid is evaporated, about 7 minutes. Season with salt & pepper. Put into 13 by 9 baking pan. Spread polenta over sausage mixture. Top with butter & parmesan. Bake 1/2 hour. Serves 8-10. If serving 8, 16 WW Points with pork sausage, 11 with turkey, assuming 1% milk in either case.

Creamy Polenta

4 c. milk (1%)
2 c. chicken stock (I used canned, low sodium, fat-free)
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper (I used black)
1/8 tsp. + pinch of mace
1 3/4 c. polenta
1 c. freshly-grated parmesan
3 eggs
2 yolks

Mix milk, stock, seasonings. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Whisk in polenta. When it starts to thicken, reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring constantly, until tender, about 10 minutes. (Watch out! Hot flying polenta plops hurt!) Add parmesan. Remove from heat & stir, allowing to cool, about 3 minutes. Whisk eggs until frothy. Add 1/2 c. polenta to eggs and whisk. Gradually add the mixture back to the rest of the polenta, stirring. Stir vigorously 2 minutes.

Zucchini Frittata

1 small zucchini, thinly-sliced
1 leek, well-washed and thinly-sliced
1 tbsp. butter
6 eggs
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp. water
1/8 tsp. rosemary
Salt & pepper
2 tbsp. freshly-grated parmesan or 2 oz. sliced Camembert (I used both)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In 10" ovenproof skillet, cook zucchini & leek in hot butter just until tender. Beat eggs & seasonings together. Pour over veggies. Cook on medium-low like an omelet until almost set. Put in oven. Bake 4 minutes. Sprinkle with parmesan or top with Camembert. Let melt. Serve in wedges. ( I have a theory that this would be improved by putting the cheese in the egg mix rather than on top, but have not yet tested my theory)

Corn and Tomato Bread Pudding

7 sundried tomatoes in oil, snipped into bits
4 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 c. light cream (I used 1% milk)
1 tsp. basil
4 c. dry French bread or English muffins, torn into pieces (I used ciabatta)
1 1/2 c. corn
1 c. extra-sharp cheddar or pepper jack, shredded

Preheat to 375 degrees. Cover tomatoes with hot water and let stand 15 minutes. Drain. Beat eggs, cream and basil together. Toss the bread, corn, cheese and tomatoes together in a casserole dish. Pour the egg mixture over top. Bake 45-50 minutes. When a clean knife inserted in the center comes out clean, it is done. Cool slightly before serving.