TKS Recipe: Cheesy Polenta, Veggie Saute, Burgundy Tri-Tip

Cheesy Polenta, Veggie Saute, Burgundy Tri-Tip

Last night’s fridge inventory revealed that I had a tri-tip awaiting me. YAY! I was happy about this but I also discovered I had 3 plastic baggies of grated and open cheese wedges along with 5 wilting tomatoes of varying types, green beans and bell peppers (originally bought with the idea I would have time to make stuffed peppers). Time was not on my side this week. So here goes…

TRI TIP

Lucky me… it was already seasoned from the butcher. Easy peasy. Heat up the oven to 375 F. I put the tri tip in a heavy bottomed saute pan fat side down which was heated up super HOT to sear. I waited three minutes, picked it up to flip but WAIT.

*Before I put the meat down I let the meat hang above the pan for 20 seconds or so to let it heat back up a little. This also dries up some of the pan juices. I do this because the first searing has cooled the pan down A LOT and that means side number two doesn’t get the nice sear that side one got. 

Sear the second side for three minutes. Decision Time! If you have a pan that can go in the oven, go for it. No? Put it on a tray in a makeshift foil box to make clean up a cinch. Cook for about 20 minutes and check temp. You want to cook until internal temperature is 130 F for medium rare. Once this is done, pull it out, pour a glass of wine and start the veggies. The Meat MUST rest for 20 minutes to keep it moist.

VEGGIE SAUTE

Clean and chop all the veggies. I like mine rough cut and quick. Chopped up three cloves of garlic along with my fridge finds. Heated up the saute pan over medium-high heat, threw in the tomatoes to sear a little. Tossed the garlic in while the juices flowed out of the tomatoes and deepened in color.

The rest of those veggies went in and I seasoned with salt, pepper, and basil, thyme oregano from my herb bowl garden. If you have Italian seasoning in the cupboard, that will do just fine too. TASTE the food to make sure your food is seasoned to your liking. Turn heat to low, cover and check in five minutes. I like my veggies a little crunchy, so it doesn’t take long until this is done. You can cook these to your liking. Simple right?

CHEESY POLENTA

This is our favorite thing to do with cheese that MUST be used. Making cheesy polenta is so easy. Corn meal… Do you have a bag of corn meal in the cupboard that you meant to use a long time ago? I did.

6 cups water – Boil it and add a tsp. of salt (if you wanted, you could use broth)
1.75 cups corn meal – Turn heat to LOW and slowly stir it into water. It will thicken QUICKLY. Keep stirring.
1 cup grated cheeses – Add your left over cheese. I had gruyere and mozzarella in the fridge. You really can add how much you want here. It’s your choice.
1/2 cup milk – IF you like  your polenta super creamy, add milk until it’s the consistency your family prefers.
salt & pepper – To taste. This always depends on the type of cheese that goes in the pot. TASTE your food while cooking it.

The Kitchen Sink Recipe

The Kitchen Sink is a compilation of recipes that have ONE purpose… NOT to waste food. Each week with my busy schedule, I find that I have to get creative with HOW to use food in the fridge before it goes bad. These are what I call Kitchen Sink meals. Here is this week’s frantic meal proposal.

Marie Daniels ~ A gal & her fork