Simple Creamy Polenta

I made my first attempt at polenta the other day, mainly in an attempt to find something thoroughly fattening that my toddler would eat, and that would go well with some roasted asparagus and schnitzel.

Let me just tell you, this recipe is a winner. Everyone loved it. And when I say everyone, for once, that includes the super picky non-eating toddler. He is a champ at not eating and this stuff he just kept coming back for more.

The secret ingredient in this creamy polenta though was the fact that it uses an entire package of cream cheese. Which, while that is great for an underweight baby, is not so great for his Mama. All I can say is, ration yourself accordingly because this recipe is totally worth it. The directions and ingredients were easy enough I really felt like I knew what I was doing.

One word of advice I will give you about this recipe though, which you can find over at Simply Recipes, was that my polenta looked like it was done cooking and super thick, about 6 minutes into cooking. The recipe calls for longer cooking than that though, so I just kept with it. I did test it when I was afraid I was overcooking and the grains weren't ready yet, so if it looks like it is done, just trust the recipe and keep your heat on low and stir well, and you should be fine!  Note: Alanna made an excellent point about just trusting the recipe and gave me a much clearer way to put what I was trying to tell you.  She said, "consult the recipe, trust your instincts, watch and taste, you will be fine".  So please, do that! ; )