Polenta Bolognese

I just finished up a three week cleanse and I have been feeling great. Don't get me wrong, days 3-5 in week 1 were rough. It was a LOT of vegetables which was great, but the fiber led to bloating and what a termed "squash belly" from an excess of butternut squash soup. I intended the cleanse to be a precursor to testing a few potentially problematic foods (dairy, gluten, peanuts, eggs, bananas, and possibly others) and truth be told, I'm just not ready to start testing them yet. So I'm still cleansing. But I added in meat.

This dinner was cleanse-worthy but also made me feel cleanse-free, while still being gluten and dairy free.

Polenta Bolognese

1 cup polenta (I used Bob's red mill)
3 cups non-dairy milk
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp each of basil, rosemary, oregano. Fresh if you have it.
1-2 TBSP olive oil

3/4 to 1 lbs ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
6 ounces mushrooms
1/2 of a 32 oz jar of tomato sauce
2 TBSP olive oil
1 basil leaf

Saute garlic in oil in medium saucepan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add milk. Bring milk to a boil. Add polenta and stir continuously. Keep it on the heat and stir until it thickens. The polenta should thicken to the consistency that it can be spread into a pan. Add in herbs. Then, pour and spread into a 9x13 in, oiled pan. Allow to cool and set for 1 hour. At this point, you can bake the polenta in the oven at 425 degrees Farenheit for 30 minutes, OR you can put it in the fridge for another day. The choice, dear reader, is yours.

While the polenta is baking away, saute the ground beef in olive oil over medium heat. Don't move it around too much. Or do. I just prefer not to. After 5-7 minutes, Add in onion, garlic, and mushrooms and saute until the beef's pink is gone. Then add in the tomato sauce. Simmer on low-medium until the polenta is done.

Cut the polenta into squares. Like giant brownies. Top with sauce. And basil. Or cheese, if you prefer.

We have leftovers for lunch tomorrow and I even managed to save some polenta to make polenta fries later this week. Now, if I could just run more than 5 minutes without residual pain, it'd be the start of something...