Creamy Pumpkin Polenta

Polenta is such a wonderful dish, and the addition of pumpkin makes it extra creamy and tasty. The pumpkin also bumps up the fiber and vitamins A and C, so whip up a batch today! It will probably become one of your favorite pumpkin recipes.

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 5 cups water or vegetable stock
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 cups corn meal
• 3/4 cup cooked (or canned) pumpkin
• 1/2 cup cream cheese, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Instructions

1. Bring water or stock and salt to boil.
    
2. Reduce heat to a simmer.
    
3. Stir in pumpkin.
    
4. Slowly pour in corn meal while continuously stirring. An easy way of doing this is to pick up handfulls of cornmeal and let it run through your fingers in a very slow stream, stirring constantly. If mixture gets too thick and impossible to stir, add more boiling liquid.
    
5. Once cornmeal has been added, stir in the small pieces of cream cheese, a little at a time, until cheese is completely melted and incorporated into the mixture.
    
6. Continue cooking and stirring for about twenty minutes. If you don't cook the polenta long enough, you won't achieve the proper creamy consistency.
    
7. Continue to add additional liquid as necessary to achieve the proper consistency, similar to that of thick Cream Of Wheat Cereal. Your spoon should be able to stand straight up when stuck in the middle and the mixture should pull away from the sides of the pot.

Notes

• I use low-fat cream cheese...the family loves it. Pumpkin is a nice twist!! Pumpkin Pie Spice is great too!
   
• To check out more perfect pumpkin recipes, see our collection here.