Marcheschi Sauce

This is a great sauce to go over pasta or polenta; we use penne or mostaccioli pasta. I double the recipe and divide it into small containers and freeze it.

¼ C. olive oil
1 lb mild or Hot Italian sausage (sometimes I use turkey sausage, it is not as good, but healthier)
2 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 large carrots chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 bunch of parsley, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 (16 oz) can of tomato juice
1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
Grated Parmesan cheese

In big saucepan heat oil, add chicken and sausage and brown together. Remove meat, keeping the juice, and gently brown onions, carrots, celery, parsley and garlic. Add meat back in with the vegetables, then add tomatoes chicken broth, tomato juice, and salt to taste. Simmer for at least an hour on low heat covered. Serve sauce over pasta or polenta and sprinkle with cheese.


Polenta

7 C water
1 Tb salt
1 2/3 C coarse-grained yellow cornmeal
7 chicken bouillon cubes

1. Bring the water and bouillon cubes to a boil in a large, heavy pot
2. Add the salt, keep the water boiling at medium-high heat, and add the cornmeal in a very thin stream, letting a fistful of it run through nearly closed fingers. You should be able to see the individual grains spilling into the pot. The entire time you are adding the cornmeal, stir it with a whisk, and make sure the water is always boiling.
3. When you have put in all the mal, begin to stir with a long-handled wooden spoon, stirring continuously and with thoroughness, bringing the mixture up from the bottom, and loosening it from the sides of the pot. Continue to stir for 40 to 45 minutes. The cornmeal becomes polenta when it forms a mass that pulls cleanly away from the sides of the pot.