Mushroom and Sausage Ragu with Polenta

The last time I tried a dish with polenta I didn't love it, but I did LOVE this one! It comes from an old issue of Cooking Light. The sauce was also great on noodles, which is what I did for my kiddos.

Ingredients:
* 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
* 8 ounces hot turkey Italian sausage
* 1/2 cup chopped onion
* 1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
* 2 large garlic cloves, minced
* 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
* 1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
* 2 1/2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
* 1 1/2 cups water
* 1 cup uncooked polenta
* 4 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese (I used FF)
* 1 tablespoon butter

Directions:
1. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Remove sausage from casings. Add sausage to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Remove sausage from pan.
2. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in sausage, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and tomatoes; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium; simmer gently for 15 minutes.
3. Bring broth and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add polenta, stirring well. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer 20 minutes or until thick, stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt, cheese, and butter. Serve with sausage mixture.

Serving size: 1 cup polenta, 1 cup ragu, Calories: 428 Fat: 18.7g Saturated fat: 8.4g Protein: 18.2g Carbohydrate: 46g Fiber: 4.6g Cholesterol: 53mg Iron: 3.3mg Sodium: 821mg Calcium: 74mg