Mexican Polenta Recipes

MEXICAN POLENTA PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Grease pie plate, 9x1 1/4 inches. Mix cornmeal, water and salt in 2-quart saucepan. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly; reduce heat to medium. Cook about 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until mixture is very thick; remove from heat. Quickly stir in egg. Let stand 5 minutes.
• Spread cornmeal mixture in pie plate. Bake uncovered 15 minutes. Spread beans over cornmeal mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and corn chips.
• Bake uncovered about 20 minutes or until center is set. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

MEXICAN POLENTA PIE

Steps:

• preheat oven to 375°F.
• In a skillet cook onion, sweet pepper,and garlic in 1 tablespoon hot oil until tender.
• Add turkey, chili powder, cumin and cayenne.
• Cook until turkey is no longer pink, stirring to break up meat.
• Add beans, undrained tomatoes and salsa.
• Bring to boiling; reduce heat.
• Simmer gently 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, grease a 3-quart rectangular baking dish with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil.
• Cut 1 tube polenta into 1/2-inch cubes; press evenly into prepared baking dish.
• Halve remaining polenta lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch thick slices; set aside.
• Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese over polenta in dish.
• Top with meat mixture.
• Arrange sliced polenta over meat; sprinkle with remaining cheese and fresh tomato.
• Bake, uncovered, for 35 minutes or until bubbly.
• Sprinkle with cilantro.
• Let stand 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
• Makes 12 servings.

MEXICAN CHICKEN AND POLENTA

Steps:

• Place chicken in a large skillet and cover with water; add chopped cilantro, oregano, onion and peeled clove of garlic.
• Cook chicken breasts over medium heat about 10 to 15 minutes; chicken should no longer be pink in center; remove chicken from pan and let cool; reserve liquid.
• Add ancho peppers to the reserved liquid in pan; cover and soak about 10 minutes (no heat on pan); drain liquid into a bowl.
• (Sometimes, I add the whole ancho to the pand and seed after they are softened.) Shred cooled chicken and set aside.
• Place peppers, garlic, tomato sauce and cumin in blender and blend on high until smooth, about 2 minutes; if you have an immersion blender you can add everything to the pan and blend.
• Pour mixture into a saucepan, add chicken and heat through about 3 or 4 minutes; use drained poaching liquid to thin a bit if it seems too dry.
• To make polenta, bring water to a boil; add salt.
• Add about 1/2 cup of the water to the cornmeal to make a paste or slurry; Slowly add cornmeal slurry to the boiling water, stirring until smooth; after 10 minutes add Splenda and corn kernels; cook another 3 to 5 minutes.
• Spoon 1/4 of the cooked polenta onto the serving plate; top with 1/4 of chicken and chili mixture; garnish with additional cilantro (optional) or chopped scallions (optional).
• OR If you prefer polenta wedges, coat a 9 x 9-inch pan with cooking spray and pour polenta into pan; smooth with a spatula; let polenta to firm up, about 3 minutes; cut into quarters and remove from pan.
• Place polenta slices in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray; cook on both sides until crispy, about 2 to 4 minutes per side.
• Place polenta wedge onto the serving plate; top with 1/4 of chicken and chili mixture; garnish with additional cilantro (optional) or chopped scallions (optional).

MEXICAN POLENTA MEATLOAF

Steps:

• In large bowl, thoroughly mix together the hamburger, onions, pepper, tortilla chips, polenta and egg.
• In a separate bowl combine 1/2 can Ro-Tel, 1/2 can tomato sauce, tomato paste, onion flakes, chili powder, cumin, basil, oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper and brown sugar.
• Add the seasoned sauce to the hamburger mix and combine well.
• Place 1/2 of the meat mixture into an oven proof baking pan (I use a muffin tin)
• Make a layer of cheese over the meat stopping 1/2 inch away from the outer edge.
• Place the remaining hamburger mix over the cheese, pressing lightly around the edges to keep the cheese from dripping out.
• Mix together the remaining Ro-Tel and tomato sauce and spread evenly over the top of the meatloaf.
• Bake at 350 for 1 hour.
• Remove from oven and place a layer of cheese over the top and dot with jalepeno slices if desired.
• Return to oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
• Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes.

MEXICAN POLENTA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Cook onions in nonstick pan until they start to soften, then add shredded chicken, spices, and tomato sauce. Simmer about 10 minutes.
• Spread polenta in bottom of 13 x 9 pan.
• Spread refried beans over polenta.
• Spread meat mixture over beans.
• Top with shredded cheese.
• Bake for 30-45 minutes. (Until all hot and bubbly and cheese is melted to your liking).