Sausage and Spinach Ragout Over Parmesan Polenta – Spring Clean-Out Challenge Meal 1

Over dinner last week, Morgan and I were talking about how much food we have in our pantry, freezer, and fridge that we should eat. And so the Spring Clean-Out Challenge was born. Here are the parameters:
-cook 3 dinners (Morgan bar tends 2 nights this week and has a Preds game…these are our meals together)
-use at least 3 items from the pantry, freezer, or fridge
-supplement meals with $10 (total for the whole week) fresh ingredients, if needed
-make the meals well-rounded…can’t be all carbs 😉

Sausage and Spinach Ragout
3 links of Italian sausage
1 bag frozen spinach, defrosted
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup stock (I used a Cajun stock I had in the freezer)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
Any other seasonings you prefer – oregano, paprika, red pepper, basil would all be great…mine had good flavor from the Cajun stock, but you can add whatever you like

Cut the casing off the sausage and brown in a large skillet. Add the bag of defrosted spinach, drained tomatoes, and stock. Scrape the good brown bits off the bottom of the skillet. Bring to a soft bubble. Turn down to low. Add the seasonings. Let the flavors mingle for 15-30 minutes. Serve over Parmesan polenta.

Parmesan Polenta
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup instant polenta
4 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper

Bring the chicken broth to a rolling bubble. Stir in the polenta. Turn the burner down to low. Try to stir out the lumps. The polenta will be ready in about 3 minutes. If it seems a little thick, you can add a little more chicken broth or water to your liking. Stir in the butter, cheese, and seasoning. Enjoy!

Total spent on fresh ingredients = $0, all of these items were in the house