Cheap healthy meals:Mushroom and Sausage Ragù with Polenta

Mushroom and Sausage Ragù with Polenta

 

Cook the polenta while the ragù simmers so everything will be ready and hot at the same time. Use mild sausage, if you prefer.

Price: $2.49 per serving

Pantry Checklist:

• Olive oil

• Hot turkey Italian sausage

• Onion

• Cremini mushrooms

• 2 garlic cloves

• Kosher salt

• No-salt-added diced tomatoes (14.5-ounce can)

• Fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

• Water

• Uncooked polenta

• 1/3-less-fat cream cheese

• Butter

 

Mushroom and Sausage Ragù with Polenta

 

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided $


• 8 ounces hot turkey Italian sausage


• 1/2 cup chopped onion $


• 1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced


• 2 large garlic cloves, minced


• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided


• 1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained


• 2 1/2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth


• 1 1/2 cups water


• 1 cup uncooked polenta


• 4 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese


• 1 tablespoon butter

Instructions

1. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Remove sausage from casings. Add sausage to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Remove sausage from pan.


2. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in sausage, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and tomatoes; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium; simmer gently for 15 minutes.


3. Bring broth and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add polenta, stirring well. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer 20 minutes or until thick, stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt, cheese, and butter. Serve with sausage mixture.


4. Wine match: Tempranillo At $3.99, who wouldn’t jump for joy about the La Granja 360 Tempranillo (Carinena, Spain, 2008). Although a tad tight upon opening, this wine mellows to unveil a touch of licorice, tart cherry, and a dry spice rack concoction that echoes the mushrooms’ depth, stands up to the spice of the sausage, and complements the creamy polenta. –Alexander Spacher

 

Notes

Amount per serving[br]Calories: 428[br]Fat: 18.7g[br]Saturated fat: 8.4g[br]Monounsaturated fat: 8.5g[br]Polyunsaturated fat: 1.4g[br]Protein: 18.2g[br]Carbohydrate: 46g[br]Fiber: 4.6g[br]Cholesterol: 53mg[br]Iron: 3.3mg[br]Sodium: 821mg[br]Calcium: 74mg

3.2.1251

 

Cheap healthy meals:Mushroom and Sausage Ragù with Polenta