Polenta Casserole

We had an informative and in-depth discussion about sponsored blog posts at our most recent meeting of Food Bloggers Los Angeles, with a guest speaker from a corporate position.  The brunch theme for the meeting was broadly chosen as "fall."  The brunches are a highlight of meeting with this group!  I love seeing everyone else's potluck ideas and baking inspirations.  This time we had about ten attendees, and there was plenty of food. 

Having just recently suffered a huge loss, I needed something easy to make and take.  I had a roll of basil polenta in my refrigerator, so I sliced it into a casserole with some roasted bell peppers, mushrooms, and diced tomatoes.  It was filling, and made a great middle ground dish between breakfast and lunch.

I thought I had a jar of prepared pasta sauce in the fridge, but couldn't find it when I went to use it.  My head was too foggy to even make a sauce.  And I do like sweet tomatoes anyway.  So I simply opened a can of diced tomatoes and used it for the top layer of the casserole.  For presentation, I sprinkled Trader Joe's Everything But the Bagel Seasoning liberally on top. 

Polenta Casserole

1 roll slice-and-bake Polenta (I used basil polenta)

1 bag Trader Joe's frozen Mushroom Medley (pre-seasoned with olive oil and parsley)

1 half jar Melissa's Produce Roasted Peppers

1 24 oz can diced tomato, drained

Roast a bag of mushrooms in a separate dish in the oven at 375 for 25 mins.  While the mushrooms are roasting, slice polenta into 1/4 inch rounds and layer in the bottom of an 8x8 or 9x9 pan. Layer one layer of Melissa's bell peppers on top of the polenta.  Add the cooled mushrooms as the third layer.  Drain the can of tomatoes, and add them as the fourth (top) layer.  Sprinkle seasoning on top as desired (I used Everything Bagel seasoning, but basil or Italian seasoning would be great substitutes).  Cook the dish at 350 or 375 for 45 mins to one hour, until heated through.  Enjoy as a vegan dish, or optionally, add shredded cheese on top for the last ten minutes of baking.  Makes great leftovers too!