Polenta and Pinto Bean Pie

I've been trying to make an effort to look through more of my cookbooks more often and try some new dishes from them. I made polenta and pinto bean pie on Monday night. This recipe comes from Quick Fix Vegetarian by Robin Robertson. This is a great cookbook filled with healthy vegetarian meals that you can make in 30 minutes or less. Perfect for work nights for us! I have many recipes flagged to try, so I'm sure you'll be seeing lots more recipes from this cookbook. This dish was very good. Very flavorful and filling. And super quick and easy to make! We all really liked it. This was our first time trying polenta - it was good in the dish. I look forward to trying it in other ways in the future.


Polenta and Pinto Bean Pie

1 (16-oz) package pre-cooked polenta (I used garlic-basil polenta)
1 (16-oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 (16-oz) jar tomato salsa or picante sauce (I used my home-canned zucchini salsa)
1 (4-oz) can mild green chilies, drained
1 Tablespoon chili powder (I added a little extra b/c we love chili powder)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup shredded cheese (I used co-jack)
1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips (I used blue corn tortilla chips)

Preheat the oven to 350. Cut the polenta into 1/2-inch thick slices. Arrange on the bottom of a lightly oiled 9 or 10 inch square baking dish. Set aside.

In a bowl, combine the pinto beans, salsa, chilies, and chili powder. Stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread over polenta.

(I sliced my polenta thinner and made a layer of polenta, then half the bean-salsa mix, then another layer of polenta, then bean-salsa mix.)

Top with the shredded cheese and tortilla chips. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 minutes more to lightly brown the top.