Polenta Spinach Casserole and Happy Mother's Day!

Hey there lovelies,

It has been a while since my last post. I have been occupied with writing papers and catching up on sleep. Today I wanted to take some time to wish you all a happy Mother's Day. Sorry dudes! 

Aside from celebrating Mother's Day, I also wanted to share a new recipe with you - Polenta Spinach Casserole. Even a polenta-hater liked it and that is quite a victory. 

Cheers! 

Polenta Spinach Casserole

Polenta Spinach Casserole

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
5 cups fresh spinach, plus 2-3 tablespoons water
2 cups corn grits (also known as polenta)
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper (about 1/4 teaspoon)
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
5 cups water or vegetable broth

*Non-stick cooking spray for coating the baking pan.

Tastes great the next day pan fried with additional freshly ground black pepper. 

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large non-stick pan, sauté the onion in olive oil, over a medium heat, for about five minutes. Add garlic and continue sautéing for another minute. Stir often. Add spinach and 2 tablespoons of water and sauté until the spinach has wilted. This should take about 2 minutes or so. Add more water if needed for the spinach to wilt. Turn off the heat.

This is how the wilted spinach and onion mixture looks like when done. 

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of corn grits, salt, onion powder, smoked paprika, nutritional yeast flakes, turmeric, and 5 cups of water or vegetable broth. I used a whisk to combine all the ingredients.

Now add the spinach onion mixture to the bowl, and stir well.

Get thee to the oven! 

Coat a large casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the polenta mixture to the dish and place in the oven, uncovered. Bake for 1 hour. Be sure to stir the mixture once, fifteen minutes into the baking process.

Serve immediately when hot or wait until the casserole completely cools off, slice into desired size and pan fry. I like to eat it dipped in soy sauce or with mushroom gravy. The polenta hater enjoyed it with vegan parmesan cheese.

Store it in a closed container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Straight out of the oven!