it's not vegan OR vegetarian, but it is easy and it IS delicious

ever since visiting karen, i've been looking for my own polenta dish to savor. sausage is something that i still enjoy every once in a while and i try to take advantage of mushroom dishes on the weeks that matt and i aren't together (since he doesn't know yet that he likes them ;) i found this wonderfully delicious recipe in a book that my sister dy gave me for Christmas a couple of years ago (Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats. A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners). i had marked to give it a try, so i finally did! it was delicious and big enough that the leftovers fed me lunch for about a week!

thank you, rachael ray for putting pesto, polenta, and italian sausage into one recipe. it was amazing. and thank you, also, for employing the oxford comma. i'm a fan. i made a few changes based on what i had in my fridge and my desire to be thrifty at the grocery store :)

Sausage, Mushroom, and Pesto Polenta "Lasagna"
2 tbsp EVOO
2 tbsp soy butter
1/2 lb italian sausage
16 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1 small yellow onion, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
2 cups low-fat ricotta cheese
1 egg
4 tbsp store-bought pesto
1 1/2 - 2 cups of mozzarella
1/2 cup wheat bread crumbs
one 24 oz tube prepared plain polenta, cut into 21 disks about 1/4" thick

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

not terribly pretty, but wonderfully delish!

2. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat with the EVOO and butter. Once butter has melted, add sausage, breaking it up once you've added it. Once sausage has started to brown, add mushrooms along with onions and garlic. Season with red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Once everything is in the pan, sausage is brown, and mushrooms and onions have wilted, add chicken stock. Cook over high heat until the liquids have evaporated.

3. While sausage and mushrooms are cooking down in the liquid, combine ricotta cheese, pesto, egg, 1/2 c. of the mozzarella, and bread crumbs.

4. Coat 8x8" baking pan (or in my case, a pie pan) with nonstick spray or a brushing of EVOO and place disks along the bottom (for a square pan, you'll use about 7 disks; for a pie pan, you'll use more - it's fine if they overlap). Divide the sausage and mushroom mixtures into 3 even portions each (for a square dish; in half if you're using a pie pan).

5. Using the back of a spoon (or your fingers, which seem to work infinitely better), spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture on top of the polenta. This doesn't have to be neat at all, because I think it tastes best if you mush everything together once it's on your plate anyway :) Top the ricotta with 1/3 of the sausage/mushroom mix (or half if you're using a pie pan). Repeat layers, starting with polenta and ending with sausage/mushroom layer. You'll make 3 layers for an 8x8 baking pan, 2 layers for a pie pan. Sprinkle top with 1/2 - 1 c. mozzarella.

6. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15-18 minutes (or. . . in my oven, 25 minutes). I just kept it cooking until the cheese on top was starting to brown. You can make sure everything is cooked by inserting a knife into the center of the dish, removing it, and making sure that it is hot to the touch. Remove from oven and serve. Enjoy leftovers for the rest of the week :)