Sausage and Pepper Chili with Baked Polenta

I love a good one dish dinner, especially when it helps you clean out your cupboards and fridge.  This dish is super easy, filling and has the right amount of spice.  It is sort of a cross between a really thick chili and chowder and the polenta adds an additional interesting texture.  Think of your favorite side to chili = Cornbread!

Servings:  4
Size:  ¼ of pan, size will vary depending on how many peppers you add
Points Plus: 6 pp
Level of Difficulty:  Easy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time:  20 minutes
Rating: 3 stars – Good

Ingredient List:

1 t. olive oil

Peppers! (I used about 6 small sweet peppers in varying colors, you could also use one red and one yellow pepper)

½ cup white onion

2 jalapeno turkey sausage links from Trader Joes

1 can diced tomatoes with chilies

1 cup sliced polenta (1/2 log, sliced in circles)

1 can pinto beans

Salt and pepper to taste

Hot sauce!

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°.  Dice peppers and onion into small pieces. Heat olive oil in a skillet until hot, then add peppers and onion and sauté for about 8 minutes until cooked. Cut up sausage links in ¼ inch round pieces.  Add sausage to veggies and cook until warmed through.  These sausages are pre-cooked, so if you are using different raw sausage sauté until cooked through.  Rinse and drain pinto beans, and add them to the mix along with the canned tomatoes.  Bring to a boil, season with salt and pepper to taste.  Move mixture to an oven safe dish.  Slice polenta into ¼ inch round slices and later on top of chowder mixture.  Loosely top with a piece of tin foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove, add a little hot sauce and enjoy hot!

Tip:

If you are lucky enough to own a Le Creuset (or any stove to oven safe dish with a lid), use that dish instead to save some dishes! 

XOXO Katie