Polenta Recipe

I had a polenta recipe on my previous blog. I erased the blog, but I made polenta again recently so I thought I would re-post the recipe.

Ingredients:
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Course-Ground Corn Meal (Grits) or Instant Polenta: 1-1/2 cups
Water: 4-1/2 cups
Green Onions: 3 to 4
Small Sweet Peppers: 3 (they are about 1/4 the size of a bell pepper)
Cilantro: 6 to 8 sprigs/sticks
Grated Cheese: 1 handful
(Medium) Salsa Verde: 1/2 cup
Ground Beef: 3/4 pound

Equipment:
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4 Qt. Pot
Stirring Spoon
[Optional] Whisk
Medium Mixing Bowl

Directions:
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Brown and drain the beef. Slice up the onions, including the greens. Chop the peppers into smallish pieces. Cut the long stems from the cilantro, and finely dice the remaining leaves and branches. Put the corn meal, vegetables, cilantro, beef, and cheese into the mixing bowl and mix it a little bit. Pour the salsa on top of the mixture. Bring the water to a rolling boil in the pot. Pour the mixing bowl into the boiling water, then immediately remove from heat and begin whisking. (Stirring is okay if you don't mind tiny lumps.) The mixture will begin thickening in 20 seconds or less. Stir with a spoon for a few minutes or until your arm is tired. Serve in a large plastic container, or a small casserole dish with a large spoon.

Makes a lot of servings.
Refrigerate leftovers.

Notes:
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* When scaling the ingredients, remember that a 3:1 ratio of water to corn meal makes soft polenta.
* Some may prefer to saute the vegetables first. The hot water will partially cook the raw vegetables, while leaving them just a bit crispy.
* Use whatever salsa you like, but I think that salsa verde goes well with the cilantro. Use hot salsa if this mix is too bland for you.
* After refrigerating, polenta will congeal completely. This makes it easy for you to slice it into servings, or fry it.