This is one of my favorite comfort meals. And it’s pretty healthy, too! Every couple weeks, I make a huge batch of Giada DeLaurentiis’ Marinara Sauce and use it for all types of dishes throughout the week. My favorite easy go-to meal involves freshly made polenta with a tad of butter. I top the dish with a few toasted pine nuts and hand-grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Delish! I like it better than marinara with pasta.

Basic Polenta
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Serves 6

6 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
1 3/4 cups yellow cornmeal
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a heavy large saucepan. Add 2 teaspoons of salt. Gradually whisk in the cornmeal. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens and the cornmeal is tender, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the butter, and stir until melted. Top with sauce and serve immediately.

Note: I don’t put all of the butter that is called for in this recipe, but without at least a little butter, it’s just kind of bland.

Simple Tomato Sauce
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Makes 6 cups

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
4 to 6 basil leaves
2 dried bay leaves
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional

In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and simmer covered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.
Add half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

Note: I’ve seen several diffferent variations on Giada’s Simple Tomato Sauce, but this is the one I return to time and again.