The Night of 1000 Polenta

Since my move from the traditional, predictable, delicious Midwest I have become infatuated with trying new foods. I love it here in the Seattle area because of all the different cultures represented culinary.
Despite this love of new food, I get quite nervous to prepare it on my own without having it somewhere else first. Obviously, because of that, I don't do it very often.

Now, after seeing the delicious pictures of polenta posted by fellow blogger Mai Ling over at Ruining Mom's Recipes I knew I had to try this one personally undiscovered dish on my own. Her Cinco de Mayo spin on the dish looked easy and so so yummy I was sold. Definitely check out her version.

Anyway I made a quick stop at Trader Joes over a lunch break and found the super affordable tube (yes a tube... kinda like what hamburger comes in) of polenta. I planned to follow her recipe...sorta. I didn't plan on using beans because 1)I don't like them, 2) I don't see a reason to change that in the near future and 3) I am stubborn. (Sorry mom maybe one day I'll convert to a bean eater.)

Instead I had leftover chicken that I had cooked with taco seasoning to fill in for the protein. I knew I had everything else I needed in the fridge so I sliced up the polenta and started cooking it in a little oil in a frying pan.

Next step, get the remaining ingredients ready. That is when I found the badness. Turns out that I had a container of sour cream for her amazing sauce, what I lacked was anything edible inside that container.
This is when all plans went out the window and I informed my family that we were gonna have a Polenta Party!

Any leftovers or condiments that seemed polenta friendly were put on the counter. As they finished cooking we took turns creating and eating our masterpieces. Please excuse the messy plates, they were far too good to pause and re-plate for you people. I mean, you're worth it and all, but we were hungry.

Pico De Gallo, Chicken Mozzarella Polenta
Buffalo Chicken Polenta

Balsamic, Olive, Garlic, Tomato and Mozzarella Polenta
Olive, Garlic, Tomato Hot Sauce and Mozzarella Polenta

Hot Dog, Tomato and Cheese Polenta

The winner: Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Polenta

So it wasn't literally 1000 polenta... the name just sounded perfectly dramatic. Overall I think it turned out pretty good and could actually be a great party food when done on purpose. Maybe one night we'll host a Polenta Bar and have even more fun varieties to share.
Oh yeah, and the carb, protein, fat ratio was perfect for us on the exchange diet. Frank's Red Hot is considered a FREE EXCHANGE, which is great because I could drink that stuff. Throw in a bowl of steamed broccoli and a banana for a very well rounded hypoglycemic dinner.