So you know those weekends where you just feel like cooking up a whole lot of something different but the other members of your family just screw up their noses and say “EWWW, I dont eat that S@#T!” Oh the people in your family dont say that too you? Well neither do mine, but my husband doesnt enjoy my experimentation on the nest of occasions and this weekend i just needed to make something different yet sorted out my husband at the same time…. Soooooo….

I made his favorite mince.  Sounds boring right? Well that part was, but the other parts, the ‘different’ or ‘yuck’ [as my husband says] parts were the fun bits, the bits that while might need ‘some’ improvement, are still worth a shot, especially if you are trying to be a little wheat free like me at the moment.

So what is it you say?! What could possibly make mince more exciting?! Well, well well [three holes in the ground] have i got two exciting things for you…

My polenta pastry & my polenta bread, both work magnificently with a good batch of what i call a mexican mince, i guess you could call it chilli con care mince, but im not sure it would classify as a classic chilli con carne!

So first things first

The Mince

Stuff you’ll need

• Mince
• Onion
• Garlic
• Canned Tomatoes
• Tomato sauce, barbeque sauce, chilli sauce
• Vinegar
• Basil / mixed herbs
• Kidney beans
• Refried beans (you can leave these out if you like, i just think it thickens the sauce a tad)

How i did it

So basically – make mince…. Fry off onion and garlic, brown mince, season & add herbs.  Add canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, bbq sauce, chilli sauce and a dash of vinegar (just add a splosh of each and add more or less depending on what flavors you like).  Then add the kidney beans and let the sauce simmer down for about 1/2 hour – 3/4 hour.  At the last minute add maybe a 1/4 can of refried beans, not too many or thats all the sauce will taste like [oh and you will probably fart - yes, yes i just said fart - your way to the moon the next day from all the beans!]

Donskies, you could also use this mince for tacos or burritios or whatever, i always just cook up a big batch and freeze it so that husband has something to eat when he doesnt feel like cooking!

So now that the mince is made lets get to making the FUN stuff!

Mexican Pie using Polenta Pastry

Stuff you’ll need

• 1 cup polenta
• 100grm cold chopped butter
• 1 egg yolk
• ice cold water
• dusting of flour

• Some of the mince you just made
• Mix of tasty and Parmesan cheeses

If you have ever made pastry, basically you are just making pastry with polenta instead.  You could either make the pastry in a food processor by crumbing the polenta and butter, then adding the yolk and water until it forms a dough, or by hand basically with the same technique.

Once you have formed a dough flour a bench (if you are completely wheat free, obviously use wheat free flour) and gently kneed the dough until some of the flour is through it and it has come together without being too dry.  Flatten to a disk and refrigerate for about 1/2 hour.

Remove from the fridge and roll to a thin sheet, now as you can see my technique needs much practice and i think next time using the same pie dish i would make more dough to make it easier.  So once rolled out place over a pie dish, it is obviously way better if your pastry doesnt rip like mine did, cause as you know patch jobs on pastry just dont work – dont believe me? Check out the images! (still tasted just as awesome though)

Ok so once you have been successful in putting the pastry in the dish, refrigerate for about 1/2 hour.  Pre heat the oven to about 180 deg cel.  Once chilled, blind bake the pastry for about 20 minutes then remove from the oven, place some of the mince inside, sprinkle some cheese on top and place back into the oven until the mince is warm, crust golden brown, and cheese nice a grilled…

CAREFULLY remove from the pie dish, the pastry is quite delicate… And Enjoy, maybe with a side salad or a side of salsa with tomatoes cucumber onion and avocado…

Want more?! More you say more?!

Well i have more, yes i do… What on earth are you going to do with all of that left over mince? Or the next day when you really dont feel like cooking, what do you do?  Well you have polenta in the cupboard, you have the mince, you have the cheese… So lets make…

Mexican Mince & Polenta Bread

Recipe taken directly from here

Stuff you’ll need

• 2 cups polenta
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons canola or other vegetable oil
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk

How i did it

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Oil a baking pan [i used two small round spring form pans, i guess you could use whatever you like, a loaf pan etc, just adjust the cooking time accordingly] and set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together 1/2 cup of the cornmeal and the boiling water. The cornmeal will become mushy and then stiff. Set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the remaining 1 1/2 cups of cornmeal, the sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.

Beat the egg into the cornmeal mush and stir in the oil. Whisk in the buttermilk to make a thin batter. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients, whisk just until the batter is smooth, and immediately pour it into the prepared pan.

Bake until the center of the cornbread is slightly rounded and firm and the edges are golden brown.

Once the bread was cooked i let cool slightly before removing from the pan, and then slicing using a bread knife.

To serve i heated a pan, melted some butter and fried the bread on both sides.  Serve with the mince and a little cheese… Nomnomnomnom NOMMY!

Yumm Yumm, bet you didnt think that you could make so much with so little did cha?!