We like eating out. But there are times when you just have to actually forego dinner out and make it yourself. I love to eat Italian inspired food at home because even if you aren’t following a real recipe if you can gather a protein, a starch, and a sauce you’re pretty much good to go.

We’ve worked angel hair noodles to the edge over the years so to mix it up a bit I decided to try polenta. I had it for the first time in June in a local restaurant and was determined to try it at home. I figured that since it was a type of grits that the protein should probably be rather chunky so we went with medium deveined shrimp (tails off) and, because I am a working mom and not a chef, a jar of rustic sauce. We tossed some fresh chopped onions and garlic in a pan with tomato paste and a can of fire roasted tomatoes. Then we added our jar sauce and seasonings. We let that simmer on low while we prepared the rest.

My son took on the shrimp while I tried my hand at the polenta. He put olive oil in the pan with some garlic and added the shrimp and liberal seasoning. Poured in a little white wine and the shrimp were good to go.

The polenta was fried in an olive oil and butter mixture until crisped edges were visible. We then plated our efforts and had a pretty hearty meal.