Polenta with Pumpkin and Kale

Water 4 c Loosely packed chopped kale

(or spinach) 1 c Chopped onion

1 T Minced fresh jalapeno

3/4 t Ground cumin

3/4 t Ground cinnamon

6 Cloves garlic, minced

1 c Sliced mushrooms

1 14 5 oz can (no salt added)

Tomatoes, undrained and Chopped 1/2 t Salt

1/2 t Pepper

1 16 oz can mashed cooked

Pumpkin Basic polenta (see below) Cooking spray 1 c (4 oz) shredded no-fat swiss

Cheese (totally optional) Heat a large Dutch oven, non-stick or sprayed with Pam. Add onions and push around to brown a little. Add a few Tbsp water and stir to unstick from bottom. Add Chopped Kale or spinach and stir about 5 minutes until all is wilted and onions are translucent. Add more water as needed to prevent burning. Add jalapeno, cumin, cinnamon and garlic, saute 3 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, cover and cook 5 minutes, Stir in tomatoes, cover and cook 5 minutes, Add salt, pepper and mashed pumpkin and stir well. Cook uncovered 3 minutes, stirring well. Remove from heat.

Prepare basic Polenta, spread half in 11x7x2 inch baking dish coated with non-stick spray. Spread pumpkin mixture evenly over polenta. Sprinkle with Swiss cheese (optional) Spread remaining polenta evenly over. Bake at 375 F for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Yeild 6 servings. Basic Polenta: 1 1/4 cups cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 cups water

1. Place cornmeal and salt in large saucepan. Gradually add water, stirring

constantly with a wire wisk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cook uncovered 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Yeild 4 cups. 2. Microwave method: Place cornmeal and salt in a 3 quart microwave

cassarole. Gradually add water, stirring until blended. Cover, microwave on HIGH 12 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes. Let stand covered 5 minutes. I made this two times, the first time I couldn`t find kale in the particular grocery store that I went to so I used spinach. I used the microwave method for polenta since I tend to scorch things and it worked great. The first 2 times I stirred I wasn`t sure it was going to thicken by the time it finished it was perfect and it sure is easy to just set the timer for 3 minutes and stir when it beeps. The non-fat cheese is totally optional, in fact I shredded it then forgot to put it in the first time . In is fine without cheese, but the cheese tasted good on the microwaved leftovers too. (The only edible non-fat cheese I`ve found is called Lifetime brand and they don`t sell it in every store here). The effect is rather like lasagna but different. From: [email protected] (Maureen O`Halloran) Fatfree Digest [Volume 1 Issue 1] June 22, 1994 Formatted by Sue Smith, S.Smith34, [email protected] using MMCONV : From Cooking Light magazine (Jan/Feb 1994):