Zucchini and Tomato Stew with Polenta

What a delicious way to use up the zucchini from your summer garden. Make this into a vegetarian recipe by substituting vegetable broth for the chicken broth. Use low sodium broth to keep the sodium down. Also, you can change up the vegetables, as long as you keep the zucchini, tomato, and garbanzo beans. For this picture, we added beet greens from the garden, mushrooms, and black eyed peas.

Ingredients:

• 1 large zucchini, cut into ½ thick cubes
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• ½ cups shredded carrots
• 1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can of garbanzo beans, (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
• 1 stalk of celery, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• ¼ cup of fresh basil, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 3 cups of chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon of crushed oregano
• ½ teaspoon crushed thyme
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ½ cup of tomato paste
• 1 cup of corn meal
• 4 cups of chicken broth

Preparation:
Place all the stew ingredients in the crock pot and mix well to combine.
Cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4.
Just before serving:
Bring the 4 cups of chicken broth to a boil.
Stir 1 cup of the hot broth into the corn meal in a separate pan.
Slowly stir in the remaining broth, stirring constantly to prevent lumps.
Cook and stir for another 2-3 minutes.
Place a spoonful of polenta in a bowl and a spoonful of stew on top.

Photo/Suzanne Pitner
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