Jalapeno Cheddar Polenta Bites

I have a couple of things that I’m particularly excited about.

THING #1:  The Olympic trials are making me crazy-excited about the actual Olympic games.  I love pretty much every sport and fully plan on having the TV on nonstop while the games are going.  My faves are beach volleyball, gymnastics, track & field, and indoor volleyball, but when it comes down to it I enjoy watching all of the sports.

 

It’s funny – I always thought it was weird how my parents could recall things from Olympic games through the 60s, 70s and 80s because those games seemed just SO ancient.  Like who could remember these things?  And now that the trials are on and they’re showing footage from the 90s I’m realizing that HOLY CRAP I’m growing up and Wes will totally think I’m ancient when I talk about things like Michael Phelps winning 8 gold medals or Kerri Strug landing on a broken ankle to win the gold in the 1996 (!!!) games.

 

One thing that won’t change that Wes will always recognize?  Bob Costas.  Homeboy will be the same FOR-E-VER.

THING #2:  Football season will start shortly after the Olympics are over.  COLLEGE & PRO.  I need to start listening to Mike & Mike in the Morning again soon so I can talk about what’s going on ATALLTIMES.  Yep, it’s true.  I will shamelessly be that mom/wife who does her sports research just so I can have some idea of what my guys are talking about at the dinner table.  And so that I can freak Wes out with my totally in-depth football knowledge and solidify my place as the Coolest Mom Ever.

 

THING #3:  These polenta bites are so reminiscent of my Mimi’s insanely flavorful garlic cheese grits that it makes me tear up whenever I eat them.  Every time we would drive down to the Hill Country in Texas Mimi would make garlic cheese grits for us for breakfast.  Despite the fact that I was kind of freaked out over the texture, I just couldn’t stop eating them and have since BEEEEEEEEEEEEGGED my mom for the recipe.  Well, I have the recipe and suffice to say they’re not exactly…um…health food.  Delicious, yes.  Healthy, no.

 

So I made these polenta bites that help me with portion control and that don’t contain heavy cream or Velveeta – although I don’t see anything wrong with those things.  It just means that I can have the flavor of Mimi’s grits more than once a year.

JALAPENO CHEDDAR POLENTA BITES

Inspired by Mimi’s cheese grits, bite-form inspired by (never home)maker

• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1 cup quick-cooking polenta corn grits
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 chopped onion
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, pasted with the back of a knife or on a microplane
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, divided

Heat the olive oil in a small saute pan over medium heat.  Saute the onion and jalapeno together until softened, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly.  In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat bring the stock and salt to a boil.  Whisking constantly, gradually pour in the grits – you’ll want to keep whisking to keep the grits from getting lumpy.  After all of the grits have been poured in remove the pan from the heat and keep whisking for another minute to make sure everything is incorporated.  Fold in the pepper, onion, garlic and 2/3 of the cheese.  Spray a mini muffin pan with nonstick spray and fill the cups up with the polenta mixture.  Top each bite with a little bit of the remaining 1/3 cup of cheese.  Let refrigerate for about 20 minutes to solidify, then broil the bites until the tops are bubbly and brown.  Serve hot!

 

If you’re wanting to reheat, just put them in a 400 degree oven for about 4-5 minutes – this way they’ll stay crisp and hot!

So there you have it – three exciting things in my life which is clearly THE MOST.  All I’m saying is that you need to make these bites…and maybe eat them while watching some sports.  The end 🙂