Portobello Parmesan

So this is what we are having for dinner tonight. This recipe comes to me from my friend Jen Bowman (Hi, Jen!!). I can't wait to try it. I had seen a similar one somewhere but of course would never be able to find it if forced, and in all actuality probably would have forgotten about it if she hadn't told me she had a good recipe for it. I keep forgetting this is what we're having, then when I look at my dinner list for the week I get all excited.

Portobello Parmesan
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing the grill pan
4 to 6 Portobello mushrooms
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup marinara sauce (store bought or homemade)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill.

Drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil over both sides of the mushrooms. Sprinkle the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil on the grill to prevent the mushrooms from sticking. Grill until the mushrooms are heated through and tender, about 5 minutes per side.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Spread 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Place the grilled mushrooms on top of the marinara sauce and top with the remaining marinara sauce. Sprinkle with the cheeses and top with the butter pieces. Bake until the cheese melts and the top is golden, about 15 minutes. Serve.

*****

Doesn't this sound SO GOOD?!?!??! I almost start drooling whenever Jen tells me about recipes she makes because they all sound so good. She's even getting me to branch out and try squash, but that will be another bonus post later in the week. Which reminds me, I need to find out from her how long butternut squash last. Anyway, I only bought two mushrooms because once again I didn't look at the recipe before going to the store. But, I don't think the boy would eat it anyway, so it works out. I will probably cook up a little spaghetti on the side to have with it. That's what we usually have as a side when we have chicken parmesan. My marinara sauce will be Prego or Ragu, whichever it is I have open in the fridge. And I may increase the cheese a bit, too. Half a cup of mozzarella hardly seems like enough for cheese whores like we are!

Tomorrow's dinner is up in the air now, by the way. I bought fresh basil at Trader Joe's this weekend, so I was going to make a basil chicken recipe I have, but 1) I'm pretty low on chicken breasts, and 2) I kind of want to use it to make tomato basil soup to freeze. I don't know, I'll think on it and see what I decide to do.