Written by: Linda Griffin

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courtesy of “Ridin’, Ropin’ & Recipes” by Nancy Sheppard
recipes submitted by Linda Griffin Brost: Mollie Griffin’s granddaughter

INGREDIENTS:

1 hen
1 onion
2-3 stalks celery
Salt to taste
(2) 14oz containers frozen red chili puree, such as Baca, thawed
2-3 cups Yellow corn meal
2 cans whole kernel corn
1 can whole black olives
2 sm. cans button mushrooms
Flour
Canola or olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

Boil hen with chopped onion and celery, with salt to taste. Remove chicken, cool, debone and chop.
Reserve broth.
Prepare roux to thicken chili puree into gravy consistency:
4 TBSP canola or olive oil
4 tsp flour
Brown flour in oil and add water to make roux (approx. 1 chili container)
Add 2 containers of defrosted chili to roux and stir
Stir in chopped chicken and simmer

Polenta

2 cans whole kernel corn
2-3 cups yellow corn meal, depending on amount of chicken broth reserved
Add enough cold water to cornmeal to make it pour from bowl. Bring chicken broth to a boil and pour corn meal into broth, stirring constantly until thickened and smooth. Add whole kernel corn and mix.
Pour enough polenta into 9×13” baking dish to cover a depth of approximately 1/3 of the dish.
Reserve approx.. 1 cup to use on top of casserole
Pour chili/chicken layer over polenta layer
Dot the top of the casserole with dollops of the polenta mixture, whole black olives, and button mushrooms,
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes to set.