Meg Goes Nom Nom

It’s no secret I love a quick, homemade meal on a weeknight. Don’t we all?

Here’s another to add to my stash. And possibly to your stash, as well. I recommend it.

Hot Italian Turkey Sausage has to be one one of my favorite ingredients! It is healthy, lean, and super flavorful!

Super quick and easy sausage ragù:

Serve it over a quick and easy, creamy, instant polenta.

Making instant polenta is pretty satisfying! Within a couple minutes, it changes from the consistency of milk (because it’s mostly milk and water in the pan, duh), to being super thick and creamy.

Add an ounce of your favorite hard Italian cheese. Parmesan. Romano. Parm-Reg. Whatev works.

The recipe calls for pepper but no salt. Depending on the saltiness of the cheese you use, you may need to add an extra pinch of salt to the polenta.

Then spoon that ragù over the polenta.

Add parsley if you’re feeling fancy.

A crispy romaine salad is the perfect accompaniment.

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Sausage Ragù over Creamy Polenta

Lightly adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 3 (4-ounce) links hot (or sweet) turkey Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil $
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce or marinara sauce (reduced-sodium, if possible)
• 2 1/3 cups water, divided
• 1 cup milk
• 3/4 cup instant polenta
• 1 ounce fresh Romano cheese (or Parmesan, or Parm-Reg)
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• salt to taste
• chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preparation

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage; sauté for 6 minutes, stirring to crumble. Remove sausage from pan; drain. Wipe pan clean; return to medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl. Add onion, and sauté 4 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Stir in sausage, marinara, and 1/3 cup water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes.
2. Bring remaining 2 cups water and milk to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat; reduce heat to low. Gradually add polenta, and cook for 3 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in cheese and pepper. Serve with sausage mixture; top with parsley.

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My rating: 7/10

I’ve made this twice this month! I found the original recipe (with 4 cloves of garlic) too garlicky, so I reduced the amount to 3 cloves of garlic. The second time I made it, I also added more milk (~1/4-1/3 cup) to the polenta, for a smoother texture.

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