Black Beans and Polenta

Black Beans and Polenta

Polenta is corn meal grits and is something I’ve been experimenting with as of late. You can find it in a roll or buy the bulk cornmeal in a bag. For this recipe, I made my own with the bagged kind and water. It was a bit harder to get it to stay in a round shape to fry afterward and didn’t really get brown, so I really prefer the roll.

We still have not eaten any meat for four plus weeks now and we don’t miss it a bit. It is a bit harder to find things to make, especially when you’re trying to incorporate protein into every meal that’s for sure, but I think we will continue on to see if we can do this.

This is a recipe I found on a can of black beans. It was tasty, full of protein and very filling. If you buy the roll of polenta, it’s super easy and quick.  You can pair it with a small side salad to round out your meal. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. – olive oil

1 medium onion- diced small. (I used onion flakes.)

4 cloves- garlic, minced

1/8 tsp.- cayenne pepper

1/8 tsp. – black pepper

1 tsp.- cumin

3/4 tsp. – coriander

1 tsp.- basil

1/4 tsp. – oregano

1- 14 ounce can- organic black beans

1- 14 ounce can- stewed tomatoes

Polenta (roll or bagged kind made according to package directions)

Directions:

If using an onion, add oil to skillet and saute onion for about 5 minutes, then add your tomatoes, beans and all the spices.

If using onion powder, add beans, tomatoes and all spices to a small pan and heat through.

If using bagged polenta, make according to package directions, allow to set, make round patties, then fry in oil.

If using the polenta in a roll, cut into thick slices, then fry in oil till heated through.

Plate the polenta slices and top with the bean and tomato mixture.