It is the week before Thanksgiving and we all know that the heavy foods will be everywhere next week so this week I am trying to stay healthy! Tonight I took on the challenge to cook Andrea’s Recipe 2: Creamy Polenta and Fried Eggs and it was enjoyed by my girls and my husband!

I apologize for the amount of time that it has taken me to tackle a second recipe. I even had this moment of, “why did I commit to doing this cookbook challenge?!” However, this is life. It is messy. It doesn’t go as planned and that is OK. The important thing is that I started again – even though my original plan to get through this cookbook in a year might be a stretch. We will see what happens!

This morning, I picked up Andrea’s cookbook and said to myself, “It is OK if I don’t do things in order!” So, I paged through the cookbook and landed on page 92, “Creamy Polenta and Fried Eggs.” I remembered ordering this a few months ago and I know that I have some eggs in the fridge that need to be used before we head out of town on vacation – perfect meal for this week before Thanksgiving!

Spending some time in South Carolina, our family knows grits but to be honest, I didn’t know too much about polenta so I did some research. They are both made from ground corn. Polenta is made from yellow corn – hence the yellow color. Grits, on the other hand, are made from white corn (hominy). It seems like they can be used interchangeably yet don’t reach for the quick cooking ground corn or the already prepared items. Making them from scratch is the healthiest and the tastiest! Polenta can really be topped with anything “sauce-like.” Andrea just tops hers with eggs – I got creative and added some sautéed veggies and some turkey bacon. I highly recommend adding the fried egg on top and cutting into the yolk and letting it be a sauce for the entire dish. So good! I did sprinkle some cheese on the girls bowls – because well, cheese. 🙂

P.S. We went to see Trey Kennedy live last week and you guys, you gotta go see him!

Julie and Julia – how about Betsy and Andrea!

My oldest, Madilyn, made this awesome video on my YouTube channel @BetsyMoore23. Please subscribe! My girls are helping me build my YouTube fans and we would love to see the numbers grow!

Follow Andrea’s recipe on page 92 yet I made it my own. I know what my kids like and really don’t like. Personally, I think this dish would be fantastic with some sautéed zucchini but I know that is one veggie my oldest does not like. Oh, I added a can of diced tomatoes and a can of beans because why not. Enjoy!

Keeping Track of Cooking Progress

Two recipes complete and I have kept track of it in my spreadsheet.

Here’s a screenshot of my spreadsheet. 😉

Would you consider making this polenta dish? Comment below.

If you’re interested in joining the cookbook challenge, DO IT! Comment here and let me know you want to follow along with me. Make it fun for you, whatever that looks like. If you want to cook through a different cookbook, that is fine too. Let me know what cookbook you’re cooking through, and I would love to keep up with your progress.
Have you ever tried cooking through a cookbook? Do you have any favorite cookbooks or where do you find new recipes?

Keep up with me elsewhere! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, my Facebook group called The Bee’s Knees and here on my blog. Happy cooking!