Polenta, Sausage and Egg Brunch – 165

Another Sunday with no Patriots game, what’s up with that? Well, since they are going to be playing the Jets on Monday night football tomorrow night, I guess I can stand it. I usually like to post a football type food for Sunday afternoon, but since there’s no game, why not a brunch? This recipe is really easy and delicious. If you’ve never tried Polenta before, this is your chance. It is really versatile. You can make it creamy (like in this recipe) which will remind you of mashed potatoes, or you can slice it into patties and saute it with some olive oil and then serve it with pasta sauce. I buy it precooked at Whole Foods. The meatless “sausage” crumbles also comes from Whole Foods. I think other supermarkets are starting to carry these items too. I hope you’ll give this a try and let me know what you think.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I have to admit that I did not cook the egg. In fact, I can’t cook an egg. I can cook recipes with eggs in them, I can also boil an egg. I cannot fry, scramble, poach or omlettize an egg. This is just one more reason that Eric  is truly the best prep cook in the world. Actually, I need to stop calling him a prep cook. I learned this week that the proper term for him would be Sous Chef.

sous-chef (sshf)

The chef who is second in authority in a restaurant or kitchen, ranking below the head chef (that would be me 🙂 ).

So here’s another big thank you to Eric, the world’s best Sous Chef!

Polenta, Sausage and Egg Brunch

1/3 of an 18 oz. sleeve of Food Merchants Organic Polenta with Garlic & Basil
1/3 of a 14 oz. sleeve Gimme Lean Ground Sausage Style crumbles
1/2 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken or veggie broth, divided
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 – 6 0z. can no salt tomato paste
2 eggs, cooked over medium

Break up Polenta into chucks and place into a microwave safe bowl with 1/4 cup of the chicken broth. Heat on high for approximately 2 – 1/2 minutes, mixing well after each minute.

Meanwhile, place sausage crumbles into pan with olive oil over medium-high heat and begin cooking and breaking up. After the sausage starts to lightly brown and “crumble”, add garlic and mushrooms and cook until everything is lightly browned. Add tomato paste and stir until fully incorporated. Mix in 1/4 cup chicken broth and cook until the broth is almost fully absorbed.

To serve place Polenta in a bowl, top with sausage mixture, and top that with the cooked egg.