Dinner 2: Big Cozy Beef Pot with Sautéed Veggie Polenta

**Please see DISCLAIMERS on the post for Dinner #1.

For Aubrey, who had typical pantry goods and the following Foods To Use Up: carrots, celery, asparagus, ground beef, quinoa polenta. Gluten free and dairy free!

Main Dish:  Big Cozy Beef Pot 

Ingredients:

--1 big onion (yellow or white)
--celery, chopped
--mushrooms (optional, if you have them and like them)
--carrot, chopped
--Better Than Bullion or broth of some kind
--1 can tomato sauce
--1 can diced tomatoes
--1 can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
--Approx. ½ tsp. garlic powder, or more to taste
--1-2 Tsp. Rosemary, or more to taste
--1 bay leaf
--pepper (lots!)
--frozen green beans or peas (optional, I recommend using if NOT using mushroom)
--fresh parsley if you have it (optional, I recommend using if NOT using peas)

In your big pot, sauté the onion and celery (approximately similar amounts of each veggie) in olive oil for a few minutes, until soft and translucent, adding tablespoon of water if necessary to keep them from getting too brown. Add mushrooms if you like, and sauté a few minutes more.

Add carrot and along with it about 1-2 inches of water and a little "Better Than Bullion" (or just use the broth of your choice) in your pot. Crank up your heat and cover. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until carrots are mostly done.

In the meantime, (or before, depending on how well you multi-task, or don’t) cook your ground beef in a separate skillet however you like. (You can use the same pot as the veggies, if you like, just cook the meat first, then remove and set it aside until you need it again.)

When carrots are almost done, uncover and add the cooked ground beef, the tomato sauce and canned chopped tomatoes, the kidney beans, the garlic powder and herbs. Stir well and re-cover. When the ingredients reach a simmer, add the frozen green beans if you want them. Stir well and cover and cook at a low simmer for about 5-15 minutes, however long seems right, stirring as necessary.

When ready, remove bay leaf and stir in pepper. If adding frozen peas, add them here at the end and stir well—they will get cooked just enough by the heat of the other foods. If you did not use peas and have fresh parsley, snip some into the pot and stir in.  Pepper (and salt) to taste.

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Side Dish: Sautéed Veggie Polenta

Ingredients:

--chopped onion (any will do, even green)
--diced garlic
--asparagus, snapped into approx. 1 inch segments
--sweet red pepper (if you have it), cut into one-inch long strips
--mushrooms (if you have them and if you like them), sliced thinly
--1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (if you have them and like them)
--a little broth
--dried basil, pepper, salt if you like

In skillet, sauté chopped onion and garlic in olive oil for a few minutes, adding a tablespoon of water if necessary to keep from sticking. Add red pepper and mushroom if you have them, and sauté for a few more minutes. Add asparagus and sauté for just a few minutes—no longer than 3 minutes!

Meanwhile, crumble the quinoa polenta in a bowl—use a fork or potato masher if necessary. If you like the consistency as is, then great. If you think it is too dry, add a little warm broth (can use some from main dish) and mash together. (The goal is a grainy texture, but not too dry—if it ends up mush that will not be as nice on the tongue but should still taste great!)

When veggies are ready, add polenta to skillet along with just a little broth and stir well.

Add garbanzo beans. Add a sprinkle of dried basil and pepper (salt if desired), put the lid on the pot and set heat to low. Let asparagus and veggies steam for a few minutes, and the quinoa get warm throughout. But do NOT let the asparagus get overdone! This will be the trickiest part of the meal to time, because overcooked asparagus is just no good. So if you are worried about the timing, don’t sauté the asparagus with the other veggies, but just add it to the pot with the quinoa polenta and add a bit more broth so they can steam fully. Remember the asparagus will continue to cook after you turn off the heat as long as the lid is on the pot, and time things accordingly.

(I apologize, Aubrey, if you know all about cooking asparagus—some of the people who read this may not!)

If you have fresh basil, use it instead of the dry, but just snip it into the dish at the very end and mix it in before you serve. Or you can snip green onion or fresh parsley on top too! OR chop some fresh diced tomato on top before you serve. . . a little fresh taste with a hot grainy dish does amazing things!

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There you are, Aubrey! I think these two dishes would taste good served together, but you could omit the beans from one of the dishes if you do. (They should be really good with this dish if the polenta turns out more grainy than mushy—if the polenta is mushy, omit the beans and leave them in the entrée.) A green salad would be perfect on the side, but you already have so many beautiful veggies represented that if you are tired of chopping after you have made these dishes, they will be fine on their own.

Please let us know if you actually make either of these! : )