Food Network Monthly Cookalong: Sausage and Pepper Skewers w/Grilled Polenta

I did a backwards search on Food Network's website this time because I knew I wanted something with Sausage and Peppers but wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do. Turns out I found exactly what I was looking for from a very unexpected source, Sandra Lee. I have never seen any of Sandra Lee's shows and I'm not sure they even air up here in Canada but I have to say her reputation precedes her. From what I've heard she is the queen of convenience products and enjoys mixing and matching to create her recipes. Then I thought...maybe it's not such a bad thing after all to veganize her recipes to show how easy and convenient vegan cooking can be! I've definitely been known to lean on a quality convenience product when cooking because I don't always feel like starting everything from scratch and when it comes to vegan sausages, no one does it like Field Roast! I have a few packages in my freezer for treats when I feel like something yummy and this is one of those times! Sandra's recipe can be found here and all I really had to do was switch out the  sausage for some amazing Italian Field Roast links that are made with eggplant, fennel, red wine, garlic and sweet peppers. I had never barbecued them before but they really are a little bit more delicious when you do! I put some bell peppers and onions on the skewers just like Sandra and added a little mushrooms because we had them and love them grilled. I got to skip the step where you cook the sausages half way before putting them on the skewers so it makes a quick recipe even quicker! I just sliced each sausage link into five or six pieces each and put them on with the veggies.

I was intrigued by the grilled polenta since I had never had it that way before so I wanted to give that a go as well. I didn't have instant polenta on hand but did have just enough of a bag of Bob's Red Mill Organic Polenta/Corn Grits to make them the more labour intensive way. I put three cups of salted water to boil, added my one cup of polenta in while whisking once it was and then kept stirring every minute or so for 30 minutes until it was nice and thick. Once it was cooked I poured it out onto a greased half sheet pan and put it in the fridge for a bit. Once it is chilled you can cut it into little squares. Before heading to the grill, I sprayed it with some spray oil and just like she says, grill it for a few minutes on each side to get those pretty grill marks and you are done! The skewers didn't take long either, I just grilled them at the same time and everything was done at the same time. Ryan and I really enjoyed this one and we would definitely make it again. It was quick, easy and definitely tasty!