Penne Rosa

Well, it's another rainy day at the beach. Bummer as far as my vacation fun goes, but at least I'm getting lots of blog posts done, right? We just got rid of cable at our house, so my kids are fascinated at having Cartoon Network again, so at least they're happy being cooped up inside. The sun came out briefly this morning but then quickly got rainy and then windy. I just washed, dried, and flat ironed my hair (a whole lot of good that did with this humidity, let me tell you...note snarky tone in that) in the hopes that it would help bring out the sun because then I'd want to swim but would have to sacrifice my hair to do so. Does that make sense? Basically I'm hoping that my hairstyling will have control over the weather somehow.

With that note, on to my post.

I love me a creamy pasta dish, but since I'm pretty conscious of my calorie intake and eating healthy, creamy pasta sauces are something I tend to avoid unless I'm being really indulgent. So I was pretty excited when I saw this recipe on Pinterest for a creamy pasta sauce that used Greek yogurt for the creamy aspect of it. If you haven't discovered Greek yogurt yet, you need to try it! It's super tasty and very high in protein, which I love. The husband and I go through it like there's no tomorrow. Thankfully Costco sells it for super cheap! We both like it for a fast, high-protien breakfast or snack, plain with a little honey drizzled on the top, or it's delicious with fruit mixed in as well. And you can use it in place of all sorts of things. It's fantastic!! I even used it to make boxed mac and cheese recently when I was out of milk, and the result was amazing.

Now, I'll step down off my Greek yogurt soapbox and get on with my blog post.

Penne Rosa
Source: Back to Her Roots blog via Pinterest.com

12 ounces whole wheat penne
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
2 medium tomatoes (about 1/2 lb.) chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 cups fresh spinach
1/2 cup marinara sauce
1/3 cup 0% plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese


Cook penne according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet with a lid, heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Add in garlic and red pepper flakes, cook for 2 minutes or until garlic begins to soften.

Add in mushrooms, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, or until mushrooms begin to release their water. Remove from heat, add in spinach and cover skillet. Let spinach wilt for 2 minutes.

Remove lid and place skillet back over low heat. Add the penne, Greek yogurt and pasta sauce. Stir until sauce is mixed well and all pasta and veggies are coated. Heat until just warmed through. Divide into pasta bowls and serve topped with parmesan cheese.

*****

The original recipe called for shrimp, but I left that out because I didn't have any, and my kids don't really like it anyway, plus I thought we needed a vegetarian meal because we hadn't had one in awhile. Wow that was a long sentence. That was the only modification I made. This was a pretty big hit all around with my family. I think it would be delicious with the shrimp the original post used,k but it was good on its own with just the vegetables. It's definitely something I'd make again, especially when I want a creamy pasta fix!


Mmmm...sauce.

Skillet Rosemary Chicken

I've been lazy about uploading pictures to my computer from my camera, and I finally decided today is the day while Boy #2 is engrossed in watching Cars 2 (or "Cars Soup" as he calls it for some reason). We had this one night last week, and it was amazing. I can't believe that didn't motivate me to get these pics uploaded earlier!

This was another Pinterest recipe, but I'd forgotten about it until my BFF made it recently. I thought it looked delicious, yet familiar, when she posted it on her blog. sure enough, I had it pinned as well. I already had chicken thighs on hand from making gumbo a couple weeks ago. I've wanted a cast iron skillet for awhile and finally put one on my Christmas list this year. My awesome little brother came through and got one for me. It was kind of funny because he also got me a cover for the handle, and they were each wrapped separately. I opened the handle cover first and was really confused, then it all made sense once I opened the skillet. I'd been looking for a way to break it in and decided this was the recipe!

Skillet Rosemary Chicken
Source: Minimally Invasive website via Jen's blog and Pinterest.com

3/4 pound small red-skinned potatoes, halved, or quartered if large
Kosher salt
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, plus 1 1/2 tablespoons leaves
2 cloves garlic, smashed
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Juice of 2 lemons (squeezed halves reserved)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4-6 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (6 to 8 ounces each)
10 ounces cremini mushrooms, halved

Preheat the oven to 450. Cover the potatoes with cold water in a saucepan and salt the water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until tender, about 8 minutes; drain and set aside.

Pile the rosemary leaves, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and the red pepper flakes on a cutting board, then mince and mash into a paste using a large knife. Transfer the paste to a bowl. Stir in the juice of 1 lemon and the olive oil. Add the chicken and turn to coat.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, skin-side down, cover and cook until the skin browns, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken from pan; add the mushrooms and potatoes to the skillet, place chicken over mushrooms and potatoes and drizzle with any marinade remaining in the bowl and the juice of the remaining lemon.

Add the rosemary sprigs and the squeezed lemon halves to the skillet; transfer to the oven and roast, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is crisp, 20 to 25 minutes.

*****

I was a little nervous using my cast iron skillet for the first time, but I didn't need to have been. I loved how easy it was to go from the stove top into the oven. Granted I have other pans that can do that, too, but there was just something timeless about using cast iron for this. The chicken browned beautifully, and then the potatoes and mushrooms turned out amazing with the marinade and chicken fat dripping on them. YUM. The husband and I really loved this. Boy #1 freaked out about the chicken being on the bone, but once we took care of that for him he ate all of his dinner. Well, not the potatoes or mushrooms because he doesn't like either of those, but I happily ate them for him. This is definitely something I'll make again! Easy, relatively fast, and super tasty!!

Chicken and Mushrooms in a Garlic White Wine Sauce

*GASP!*

A blog update?! Can it be true?! We've been having a lot of yummy dishes lately, but I just haven't had time to get on my computer and give my blog some love. I started doing the P90X workout series a few weeks ago (today was Week 4, Day 5, to be exact), and I have to do it during Boy #2's naptime which is when I would normally update my blog. The things I give up for fitness. Using up precious naptime for exercising is starting to get old, but what am I going to do. Tonight I got an early start on the component of dinner that will take the longest, the husband and Boy #2 are watching a show about sharks (or "darsh" as my baby calls them) that my brother sent, and Boy #1 is upstairs showing King Koopa who's boss. I figured it was the perfect chance to get in at least one entry.

So, with that all out of the way, I've wanted to try this recipe for quite awhile, but I always ended up coming across it when I was doing no carbs. I guess technically I could have substituted the wine for chicken broth, but since the wine is part of the title of the recipe, I figured it was pretty necessary. One night last week we opened a bottle of white wine that neither the husband nor I were really excited about, so I figured it was a perfect time to try this. It's from one of my favorite blogs, skinnytaste.com. I don't know why people seem to have the idea that healthy food can't taste good. Goofballs.

Chicken and Mushrooms in a Garlic White Wine Sauce
Source: skinnytaste.com

8 chicken tenderloins, 16 oz total
2 tsp butter
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup white wine
1/3 cup fat free chicken broth
salt and fresh pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 200°. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge in flour.

Heat a large skillet on medium heat; when hot add 1 tsp butter and 1 tsp olive oil. Add chicken to the skillet and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side, or until chicken is no longer pink. Set aside in a warm oven.

Add additional oil and butter to the skillet, then garlic and cook a few seconds; add mushrooms, salt and pepper stirring occasionally until golden, about 5 minutes.

Add wine, chicken broth, parsley; stir the pan with a wooden spoon breaking up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook a few more minutes or until the liquid reduces by half. Top the chicken with the mushroom sauce and serve.

*****

I love a dish that comes together quickly and easily. And it smelled fantastic while it was cooking. My parents always used to saute mushrooms in white wine, so the smell is a fond memory for me. Yum. Boy #1 isn't big on sauces (weird kid...but he's my weird kid, so I can say that), so I just gave him chicken, but the rest of us LOVED the sauce and the mushrooms. Boy #2 couldn't stop eating the mushrooms. he kept trying to steal them off my plate. I didn't have chicken tenderloins to use, so I just used chicken breasts and sliced them thin and into tenderloin-type pieces. This was really fantastic, and it's definitely something I'd make again! It looks really fancy (and tastes fancy), but it was super easy. Those are some of my favorite things!

The original blog post suggested serving this with baked rice and peas, so I gave it a go. I have found my new favorite way of cooking white rice. I don't know if I've shared that I have issues when it comes to cooking white rice, and her method was super easy and really good. Boy #1 isn't usually a rice fan, and even he ate it this way.

(Please forgive my less than stellar pictures...I'm having some issues with the speedlite on my camera that I can't quite figure out, so I haven't been able to use it.)

Pizza Loaf

And my updating continues! Boy #2 has taken to getting up at the ass crack of dawn, so while he's engrossed in an episode of Word World I figured I'd do some blog updating. For my meal plan last week I went through some older clipped recipes I had. For years my mom got me a subscription to Taste of Home magazine. I'd doggy-ear a bunch of recipes in each issue and then usually forget about it. I got tired of having years' worth of magazines around, so I finally went through each one and looked at all the recipes again (the husband has gotten more adventurous in his eating over the years, so I knew there'd be stuff I had originally passed up but that he'd eat now) and cut out all the recipes I wanted to try. Then I stuck them in a folder and forgot about them there. Not really, I just rarely pull that folder out to go through the recipes in it. I figured I was probably missing out on some tasty stuff, so I got it out last week and did the bulk of my meal planning using recipes from there.

Boy #1 had his first friend sleepover last week, and I thought this would be a good dinner to have while his BFF was here eating dinner with us.

Pizza Loaf
Source: Adapted from Quick Cooking Magazine, September/October 2003

1 loaf (1 pound) frozen bread dough, thawed
2 eggs, separated
1 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1Tbsp olive or vegetable oil
1 tsp minced fresh parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
8 ounces sliced turkey pepperoni
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 medium green pepper, diced
Marinara sauce for dipping

On a greased baking sheet, roll out dough into a 15-inch x 10-inch rectangle. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks, parmesan cheese, oil, parsley, oregano, garlic powder, and pepper. Brush over the dough. Sprinkle with pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, and green pepper. Roll up, jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal and tuck ends under.

Place seam side down; brush with egg whites. Do not let rise. Bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Warm the marinara sauce and serve with sliced loaf.

Yield: 10-12 slices

*****

First of all, make sure you allow enough time for the frozen dough to rise, if you're using that instead of making your own. There are three thawing options on the package, including a "quick" rise that takes around three hours instead of overnight. I didn't have that problem this time, but it has happened to me before.

This was a HUGE hit at my house. Boy #1 isn't a fan of pepperoni or anything on pizza except cheese, but even he ate it (admittedly it was somewhat begrudgingly). The husband kept going back for more pieces, and the BFF had two pieces of it. This was definitely a fun twist on pizza and something I'll make again since we all loved it so much.

(Sorry again for the cell phone pic!)

Rocco's Mushroom Lasagna

I have a bit of a celebrity crush on a handsome chef...Rocco DiSpirito. Haven't heard of him? here's some eye candy:

Handsome fella, don't you think? I found his most recent cookbook, Now Eat This! Diet at Costco and had to get it. I really like his first Now Eat This cookbook. I had seen this mushroom lasagna on his Facebook page and really wanted to try it. I slated it for last Friday night's dinner for just the husband and me.

Rocco's Mushroom Lasagna
Source: Now Eat This! Diet by Rocco DiSpirito

Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups reduced-fat ricotta cheese, such as Sargento
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces (about 8 sheets) no-boil whole wheat lasagna noodles, such as Dalallo
10 ounces sliced cremini mushrooms
4 ounces white button mushrooms
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat the inside of an 8 x 8 x 2-inch baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, add the ricotta, basil, parsley, and ¾cup Parmigiano-Reggiano. Mix with a spoon until blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Line the bottom of the prepared baking pan with two lasagna sheets. Top with ½ cup of the cheese mixture. Using the back of a spoon, spread the mixture so that the noodles are covered. Top with a layer of mushrooms. Repeat the procedure two more times. On the last layer, place two lasagna sheets on top of the mushrooms. Spread a layer of the remaining cheese mixture on top. Scatter the mozzarella and remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano on top.

Cover tightly with foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Raise the temperature of the oven to 425°F, and bake for another 15 minutes. Uncover the dish and continue to bake for another 15 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

PER SERVING
388 calories 15g fat (8g sat / 2.6g mono / 1.2g poly) 57mg cholesterol 510mg sodium 34g carbohydrates 3g fiber 28g protein

*****

I wasn't able to find the no-boil whole wheat noodles, so I just went with regular no-boil noodles instead. It worked out okay because the husband was doing an open water swim race the next day, so he was happy to have the carbs. I followed the cooking directions exactly for mine...and it came out pretty dry. I think I could have reduced the amount of time at 425 and it would have been fine. It was still good, just a little dry.

This is definitely something I'd make again. The 8x8 dish yielded four very generous servings and at only 388 calories each, that's pretty good! Oh, Rocco, you did not disappoint!

Turkey Tetrazzini

Many, many years ago I bought a special edition of Cooking Light. On the front of the magazine it says "Display until December 31, 2003." There's a recipe in it for Chicken Tetrazzini that always looked good to me, but for whatever reason I never made it. I remember at one point I was going to make it for a friend after she had a baby, but then I think she ended up having to be admitted to the hospital again, so I never took them dinner. A few weeks ago I cooked a whole turkey because it was taking up a lot of space in my freezer, and I remembered this recipe. I figured I'd switch the chicken to turkey and use up some of the meat I had left. Win win!

Chicken Tetrazzini
Source: Cooking Light

1 tablespoon butter
Cooking spray
1 cup finely chopped onion
2/3 cup finely chopped celery
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 (8-ounce) packages presliced mushrooms
1/2 cup dry sherry
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 (14.5-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 1/4 cups (9 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup (4 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
7 cups hot cooked vermicelli (about 1 pound uncooked pasta)
4 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 (1-ounce) slice white bread

Preheat oven to 350°.

Melt butter in large stockpot coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, pepper, salt, and mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Add sherry; cook 1 minute.

Lightly spoon flour into a measuring cup; level with a knife. Gradually add flour to pan; cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly (mixture will be thick) with a whisk. Gradually add broth, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.

Add 1 3/4 cups Parmesan cheese and cream cheese, stirring with a whisk until cream cheese melts. Add the pasta and chicken, and stir until blended. Divide the pasta mixture between 2 (8-inch-square) baking dishes coated with cooking spray.

Place bread in food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs form. Combine breadcrumbs and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese; sprinkle evenly over pasta mixture.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove casserole from oven; let stand 15 minutes.

To freeze unbaked casserole: Prepare through Step 5. Cool completely in refrigerator. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing to remove as much air as possible. Wrap with heavy-duty foil. Store in freezer for up to 2 months.

To prepare frozen unbaked casserole: Thaw casserole completely in refrigerator (about 24 hours). Preheat oven to 350º. Remove foil; reserve foil. Remove plastic wrap; discard wrap. Cover casserole with reserved foil; bake at 350º for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 1 hour or until golden and bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes.

*****

I originally planned this on a night that I was taking dinner to someone from church, but then I found out she's diabetic, so I wasn't sure if this would be the best dish for her to have. i didn't want to come up with something new, so I figured I'd go ahead and still make it for us and take her something different. At first I was going to cut it in half instead of freezing a casserole, so I only got two packages of mushrooms, but then I figured I might as well make it as written and have one in the freezer. I stuck with the reduced amount of mushrooms. My kids aren't big mushroom fans anyway, so it kind of worked out okay. Oh, and instead of making bread crumbs for the top I used some panko I already had on hand.

I was worried it was going to be too bland when I tasted it once everything was mixed together, but I needed to be leaving to take dinner, so I didn't have time to play around with it. It was definitely on the bland side, so with the one I was putting in the freezer I took it out of the casserole dish and added some Lawry's Seasoned Salt to it. I think I've gotten lazy lately because that's my go to seasoning when I think a dish is lacking flavor. It's just easier to throw some of that in there than try and figure out what it really needs.

This is definitely something I'd make again, and it's extra nice that it makes two (or I suppose you could do it all in one bigger pan) because now I have a go to dinner in the freezer when I need something fast.

Polenta Lasagna

I have some major blog catching up to do (what else is new?!), but I wanted to start with this because it was probaby the most amazing thing we've eaten recently. As I've mentioned before, I belong to a pretty amazing parenting message board. Someone posted recently asking what to do with polenta and my friend Heather (who could potentially be one of my BFFs if she and her husband weren't Alabama fans and we didn't live across the country from each other) said she had made polenta lasagna. She filled me in on the basics of how she'd done it, and since I had a tube of polenta in the pantry I slated it for dinner this week. I was pretty giddy about trying it. Heather didn't have an exact recipe of what she did, so I followed her lead and just winged it as I went along.

Heather's Polenta Lasagna

1 tube polenta (mine was 18 ounces)
1 lb sweet Italian sausage
3 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced and sauteed

Heat large skillet sprayed with non-stick spray over medium high heat. Slice polenta into 1/2-inch rounds and place in skillet. Cook 4-5 minutes per side, then flip. Remove from skillet and chill in the refrigerator.

Remove sausage from casings and brown in a large pot. Once cooked through, remove sausage and add onions and garlic. Cook until browned (you may need to deglaze the pan...I used a bit of beef broth). Add tomatoes to the pot (do not drain tomatoes) and add sausage back to the pot. Let simmer 2-3 hours for maximum flavor.

Once polenta slices have cooled, remove them from the fridge and cut the slices in half.

Preheat oven to 375.

Spray an 8x8 baking dish with non-stick spray. Spoon some sauce into the bottom of the dish and spread it around. Place a single layer of polenta slices on top of the sauce to cover bottom of the dish. Spoon sauce to cover polenta layer. Top with a layer of mozzarella cheese. Spread sauteed mushrooms over the cheese. Repeat layers with remaining polenta slices, sauce, and mozzarella, finishing with mozzarella.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until heated through and bubbling. For best results, let the lasagna sit for 5-10 minutes after removing from the oven.

*****

This was SO EASY. It was really a lot easier than regular lasagna because the polenta cooks a lot faster than lasagna noodles. Plus since it bakes in a smaller dish you aren't eating lasagna for days and days. Don't get me wrong--I love lasagna, but a 9x13 pan of it lasts a loooooooooong time for us. The only real planning ahead was to cook the polenta early enough to give it time to cool and to let the sauce simmer, if you're making your own. You could, of course, use jarred sauce to speed it up, but I just prefer to make my own. You could probably slice the polenta thinner to begin with, but I found it a lot easier to slice after it had cooked some than when I was initially slicing up the tube.

I hadn't ever used polenta before. I'm not entirely sure why I had bought the tube of it at Trader Joe's, but I'm sure glad I did. In fact, I went there yesterday and picked up another tube while I was there. I feel the need to embrace polenta now. The husband didn't know what it was, and since he's a southern boy, I told him "Italian grits." :)

My kids ate this pretty reluctantly, but I think that was more due to me giving them snacks too late in the day so they weren't that hungry at dinner time. The husband loved it. In fact he was just sitting here next to me a few minutes ago and commented on how much he loved it. He had some of the leftovers for lunch yesterday and raved about it again after having that. This is definitely something I'll make again!

Tube of polenta:


It was very shiny. In fact it's shininess disturbed me a bit, but I got over it.


Sliced, ready for cooking:


Post-cooking, post-second slicing, ready for layering:


The process begins...






Mmmm...polenta lasagna...

Chicken "Pot Pie" with Crunchy Brown Rice Crust

I know I've mentioned before that I heart the Whole Foods iPhone app. Often when I'm bored or just messing around on my phone I'll open it up and do various recipe searches to see what I find. I came across this one by searching for "low sugar" recipes to accomodate the South Beach Diet. This recipe would be Phase Two friendly because of the rice, but you'd want to avoid it during Phase One when you can't have carbs. This sounded like an interesting twist on pot pie, and I love pot pie, so I figured it was worth a go.

Chicken "Pot Pie" with Crunchy Brown Rice Crust
From the Whole Foods iPhone app, also available on the Whole Foods website

1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for greasing
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 pound sliced button mushrooms
2 teaspoons chopped thyme, divided
1 large carrot, chopped
1 rib celery, thinly sliced
1 small yellow onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1 1/2 cups low-sodium gluten-free chicken broth
1 cup whole milk
1 cup cooked brown rice or brown and wild rice blend
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 cup frozen peas

Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie dish with oil; set aside.

Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, 1 teaspoon of the thyme, carrots, celery, onions, salt and pepper and cook until just tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add broth and milk, stir well and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until very thick, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine rice, cheese, paprika, remaining 1 teaspoon thyme, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.

Stir peas into chicken mixture then season with salt and pepper and transfer to prepared dish. Scatter rice mixture evenly over the top then arrange dish on a baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake until bubbly and crust is crisp, about 30 minutes.

Nutrition
Per serving (about 9oz/256g-wt.): 240 calories (80 from fat), 9g total fat, 3.5g saturated fat, 55mg cholesterol, 370mg sodium, 20g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 4g sugar), 21g protein

*****

For some reason I kept putting off making this. I think it was on my meal plan for a couple weeks, but I'd continually bump it to the next week. I finally broke down and made it, and I was so glad I did. This was nothing like a tradtional pot pie, it reminded me more of a chicken, veggie, and rice casserole, which was great. I found a package of Uncle Ben's brown and wild rice blend at the store, and you just had to microwave it for 90 seconds. And surprisingly, the ingredients weren't a bunch of nasty, unpronounceable junk! I was very surprised.

We all really liked this. The husband is not a fan of pot pies, and he thought this was a good twist on it. I loved the casserole aspect of it; it reminded me a lot of a recipe I used to make often, Chicken Spectacular. This is definitely something I'd make again. There weren't a whole lot of leftovers either!

Claire's Smothered Turkey Burgers

I'm really not sure what else to call this recipe, but I think what I've dubbed it will work. In figuring out my meals for the week I was looking at recipes on the Whole Foods app on my phone (oh how I heart Whole Foods) and saw one that sounded good and easy. It was Mushroom and Swiss Patty Melts with Peas. Somehow, though, I combined that recipe with one I'd seen in a Cook's Illustrated magazine for salisbury steak. I could have sworn there was a gravy of some sort for the patty melts. So much so, in fact, that when I was grocery shopping I was surprised that beef broth wasn't on my grocery list to make said gravy. Although in hindsight I don't know why I thought there'd be a beef gravy with turkey burgers. Who knows. I'm not completely with it if I have one or more kids with me while I grocery shop. If you're a mom, you know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, when I checked the recipe this afternoon to see how long it was going to take I was surprised there was no gravy included. When it came time to make dinner I decided I'd go ahead and make a gravy on my own. I love gravy, and once I had the thought of it in my head there was no way I was going without gravy tonight.

Claire's Smothered Turkey Burgers

1 lb. ground turkey
4 slices Monterey Jack cheese
1 Tbsp olive oil
8 ounce container mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 cup beef broth
2 Tbsp beef gravy mix
Salt
Pepper
Onion powder
Garlic powder

Coat skillet with non-stick spray and heat over medium high heat. Add salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder to ground turkey. Mix well and form into four patties. Place patties in heated skillet. Cook 4-5 minutes per side. When burgers are flipped, place cheese slices on patties and let cheese melt.

Meanwhile, in another skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add mushrooms and onion and saute until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add beef broth to pan, reserving 1 tablespoon. In a small bowl, combine beef gravy mix with reserved tablespoon beef broth. Add to mushroom, onion, and broth mixture. Stir to combine and stir until thickened.

Remove patties from pan when cooked through and top with gravy.


*****

I really liked this. Ground turkey is just so bland to me, so the gravy really gave it a lot of flavor. Only the husband and I had gravy on ours. The boy doesn't like mushrooms or onions, so I figured he wouldn't be interested, but I knew he'd eat just the burger. The baby might have eaten it with the gravy, but he's in love with ketchup, so I figured he'd be fine without gravy as long as he had ketchup on his plate. I had originally planned on mixing some cornstarch with beef broth to thicken it up, but I couldn't find any in my pantry. I saw the container of brown gravy mix and figured that would work great--and it did! This was really easy to make and came together really fast, so it's definitely something I'll make again.

Tofu Enchiladas

I've posted this recipe before, but it was a really long time ago. It's one of the husband's favorites, and I had most of the ingredients for it recently. I'd forgotten how much I like it, although I think it's a lot better when it's fresh as opposed to the leftovers. The husband had no problem eating the leftovers, but I just didn't care for them as much. This is a great recipe for disguising tofu because you really have no idea it's even in there. My college roommate, Joanne, made this for me one time while she lived here in Phoenix, and I immediately fell in love with it. This was also one of the first--if not the actual first--meal I made for the husband when we were first dating.

Tofu Enchiladas

1 package firm tofu
2/3 cup plain yogurt
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/4 tsp paprika
1 cup sliced mushrooms
3-4 green onions
1 cup sliced olives
1 can drained black beans
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Mexican seasoning
12 corn tortillas
2 cans mild enchilada sauce
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Mix together first 10 ingredients. Divide filling between tortillas, following diections for rolling on can. Top with 1 cup grated cheese and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

*****

The only thing I did differently was to use whole wheat flour tortillas instead of corn because I had them on hand and didn't feel like making my own corn tortillas. I had some filling left over--not enough to fill another tortilla but too much to just throw away--so I spread it on the top of the enchiladas before pouring the sauce on there.

We all really liked this. The boy doesn't like mushrooms, but he picked them out. The baby ate just as much of this as I did! He's an eater for sure, but it always amazes me when he eats an adult size portion! I'll have to get this in the dinner rotation more often since we all enjoy it.

Enchilada filling:


Mmmmm...saucy, cheesey enchiladas:

Melted Mozzarella Casserole with Mushrooms and Smoky Chipotle Chile (Queso Fundido)

Today is FIESTA DAY at my house! Well, tonight is anyway. My brother is here visiting from Seattle, and a few weeks ago my mom said she thought we should have a fiesta while he's here. I jumped on board immediately because I'm always down for an excuse to eat Mexican food and drink margaritas. We invited my friend Jen and her family, and I think a couple of the husband's friends may swing by too. It's going to be quite the feast. My contributions are going to be this Rick Bayless queso fundido recipe, Pioneer Woman's pico de gallo, and Rick Bayless guacamole (assuming I can find the box with my Mexican Everyday cookbook).

This queso recipe came from the Rick Bayless cookbook Mexico One Plate at a Time that I was holding hostage from the library for literally months, until I had to finally return it this past week. Bummer. My brother's a vegetarian, so I wanted to find something without meat in it, and since my mom and Jen were both making main course items I thought I'd do some sides and decided on queso fundido. This recipe sounded really good...cheese, mushrooms, and chipotle peppers?! Yes please!!

(Thankfully I found the recipe on the Food Network website which means I get to copy and paste instead of typing it out...woo hoo!)

Melted Mozzarella Casserole with Mushrooms and Smoky Chipotle Chile (Queso Fundido)
Recipe from Mexico: One Plate at a Time (Scribner, 2000) by Rick Bayless

- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, preferably extra-virgin
- 1 medium red onion, sliced
- 6 to 8 ounces full-flavored mushrooms, such as shiitakes, oysters or practically any wild variety, stemmed (discard woody stems or finely chop them) and sliced (you'll have about 2 generous cups)
- 2 to 3 canned chipotle chiles en adobo, seeded and thinly sliced
- Salt
- 12 corn tortillas, the fresher the better (store-bought are okay, but homemade will really shine here)
- 8 ounces mozzarella, preferably whole-milk (but not "fresh" mozzarella, which will not melt) or Mexican quesillo, shredded (you'll have about 2 cups)
- A generous 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or generous 1 teaspoon chopped fresh epazote
- A little black pepper, preferably freshly ground

The mushroom mixture: Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large skillet (preferably nonstick), heat the oil over medium-high. Add the sliced onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softening and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and stir nearly constantly until they have softened and any juice they release has evaporated, about 5 minutes longer. Stir in the sliced chiles, then taste and season with salt, usually about 1/4 teaspoon. Transfer the mixture to a 9- or 10-inch shallow baking dish, Mexican cazuela or pie plate.

Finishing the queso fundido: Very lightly dampen a clean kitchen towel. Check the tortillas to make sure none are stuck together. Wrap them in the towel, then in foil, sealing the edges tightly. Place in the oven and set the timer for 7 minutes. When the timer goes off, stir the shredded cheese into the warm mushroom mixture. Set in the oven alongside the tortillas and bake until the cheese is just melted, about 5 minutes longer. Sprinkle with the thyme or epazote and black pepper and serve without a moment's hesitation, accompanied by warm tortillas.

*****

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to make tortillas or not. I bought chips to serve it with but tortillas might be nice too. I don't remember if I've unpacked my tortilla press yet or not, so that will probably be the deciding factor.

I'm going to use a mixture of shiitake and cremini mushrooms for mine. They oyster mushrooms at my grocery store looked questionable. Having never used them before I wasn't entirely sure what they were supposed to look like to know if they were okay or not. So I went with shiitake, but they were pretty pricey so I figured I'd throw in some cremini to save a bit of money.

Eggplant Pasta Sauce

I mentioned in a previous post that my father-in-law came to visit recently to go see some hockey playoff games (Red Wings vs. Coyotes) with the husband. I wanted a crockpot dinner for one of the nights so we'd be sure to eat dinner before they had to leave for the game. I'd received an eggplant in my produce co-op the week before and needed to be using it. I found a pasta sauce recipe in one of my slow cooker cookbooks that used eggplant, so I thought it would be a great choice.

Eggplant Pasta Sauce

1 lb. eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 14-oz cans Italian diced tomatoes (with garlic, oregano, and basil), undrained
1 6-oz can Italian tomao paste with roasted garlic
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 tsp minced garlic
1-1/2 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
1-1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
4 cups hot cooked penne

Spray inside of slow cooker with cooking spray. Combine all ingredients except pasta and cheese in slow cooker and mix. Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3.5-4 hours. Serve over hot, cooked pasta and top with parmesan cheese if desired.

*****

I didn't have any mushrooms on hand, so instead I added in some diced zucchini. I also thought two cans of tomatoes didn't look like it was going to be saucy enough, so I added in a third. None of them were the Italian style, so I just added in more of the Italian seasoning to compensate for it.

This worked out perfectly to make for that night! We ended up being gone most of the afternoon, so I wouldn't have had much time to get something together for dinner. This way all I had to do was boil some water, throw in the pasta, and dish it up. I made Barefoot Contessa's Garlic Ciabbata Bread to go along with it. This sauce was really good, and I loved all the vegetables in it to make it chunky and give it a nutritional boost. Everyone really enjoyed the sauce--my kids even ate it up! This was a great crockpot spaghetti sauce that I'll definitely make again!

(Note: This made quite a bit, so I froze about half the sauce. It was definitely better the first time around...it lost a lot of the flavor and the vegetables didn't really hold their texture once frozen. It wasn't bad, but it was definitely better when it was fresh.)

Chicken Marsala

I could have sworn I had a Weight Watchers chicken marsala recipe I had made and posted at some point, but I couldn't find it on my blog, nor in my recipe stashes anywhere. I had some mushrooms from my produce co-op a few weeks ago that needed to get used, and I had some marsala wine, so I thought Chicken Marsala would be perfect. When I couldn't find the recipe I thought I had, I turned to my cookbooks and thought Giada would help me out. And she sure did!! Her recipe was for veal marsala, but I just substituted chicken for the veal. I'm not sure if this is the same recipe from her cookbook, but it sounds pretty similar, and copying it from the Food Network website is much easier than typing it all out. For Giada's veal version, check out the recipe on the Food Network website. My recipe below is the same, except I replaced each mention of veal with chicken.

Chicken Marsala

8 chicken cutlets (about 3 ounces each)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
2 to 4 garlic cloves, smashed
2 ounces assorted mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup sweet Marsala
3/4 cup low-salt chicken broth
Leaves from 1 fresh rosemary sprig

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 4 chicken cutlets and cook until golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Add another tablespoon of butter and oil, if necessary. Repeat with the remaining 4 cutlets. Set the cutlets aside.

Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet. Add the shallot and garlic. Saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add a tablespoon of the olive oil, if necessary. Add the mushrooms and saute until tender and the juices evaporate, about 3 minutes. Season with salt. Add the Marsala. Simmer until the Marsala reduces by half, about 2 minutes. Add the broth and the rosemary leaves. Simmer until reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Return the veal to the skillet. Pour in all of the pan juices. Cook just until heated through, turning to coat, about 1 minute. Stir the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter into the sauce. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste.

Using tongs, transfer the chicken to plates. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.

*****

I'm pretty sure the recipe I used called for a stem of rosemary to be put in the sauce and then removed, not just the leaves. But that's not that big a difference. I love how easy Chicken Marsala is to make, and I love the flavor of it. I've seen recipes for it before that don't call for mushrooms, but I feel the mushrooms are an integral part of the recipe.

This was a great recipe--so flavorful and really easy to put together, too. I'll definitely make this again! I served it with some steamed broccoli and garlic mashed potatoes. Yum!

Rick Bayless' Zucchini-Musrhoom Tacos with (or without) Chorizo

It makes me sad that this was already two weeks ago that I made this, and I'm just now posting it. This was worthy of posting as soon as I was done eating. I was goign to say while I was eating, but I wouldn't have stopped eating for anything in the world. But now I'm getting ahead of myself.

I had some zucchinis and Mexican squash I needed to use from the produce co-op in which I participate (how's that for wording it so I don't end the sentence with a preposition!!) and stumbled upon this recipe in Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday cookbook when looking for zucchini recipes. I still had some homemade queso fresco from my cheese making class, so all I needed was chorizo and mushrooms.

Darn it, I can't find this recipe online already (although I really didn't look that hard), so I guess I'll type the beast out myself.

Zucchini-Mushroom Tacos with (or without) Chorizo
Copyright 2005, Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday

4 ounces fresh Mexican chorizo sausage, casing removed (about 1/2 cup)
1-1/2 Tbsp vegetable or olive oil, if needed
1 medium white onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
3 ounces mushrooms (shiitake, oyster, portobello or the like), stemmed and sliced about 1/2 inch thick
1 15-ounce can diced tomates in juice (preferably fire-roasted), drained
1 canned chipotle chile en adobo, seeded
1-1/2 tsp chipotle canning sauce
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup crumbled Mexican queso fresco or other fresh cheese
12 warm corn tortillas
Hot sauce, for serving

If using chorizo, lay it in a very large skillet and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring regularly and breaking up clumps, until cooked through, about 4 minutes.

If the chorizo has rendered considerable fat, tip off and discard all but enough to lightly coat the pan; if it has rendered very little--or if you're not using the chorizo--add the oil to the skillet and raise the heat to medium-high. Add the onion and cook, stirring regularly, until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook about 2 minutes more, stirring regularly, until their liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms are beginning to brown.

While the mushrooms are cooking, pour the tomatoes into a food processor or blender. Add the chipotle chile and its canning sauce and process until smooth.

When the mushrooms are ready, add the tomato mixture and cook, stirring regularly, until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of canned tomato sauce, about 3-4 minutes. Add the zucchini and continue to cook, stirring every once in awhile, until the zucchini is cooked through but still a little crisp, 8-10 minutes. Taste and season with salt, usually about 1/2 teaspoon (more if not using chorizo).

Scoop into a bowl and garnish with the crumbled cheese. Serve with the warm tortillas and hot sauce for everyone to make soft tacos.

*****

Wow. Wow. WOW!!! These tacos were phenomenal. They smelled amazing while they were cooking, but man alive did they ever taste good. Our friend Steve was over that night and had dinner with us, and we all (him, the husband, and I) LOVED these. They were so spicy my lips were tingling--but in a good way. I really wasn't sure at first how all the flavors were going to come together, but they were so good. I made my own corn tortillas to go with them. Oh man, just thinking about these tacos makes me want to have them again. The only change I made was slicing zucchini instead of cubing.

I just read the intro to this recipe in the cookbook and it ends with:

"A quick saute, starting with the rousing flavor of Mexican chorizo and dolled up with smoky chipotle chile, shows off the sexier side of zucchini."

Bow chicka bow wow...sexy zucchini indeed!!

Veggie Pesto PIzza

I realized I forgot to mention a couple other recent happenings around here that have contributed to my lack of blog posting. I finally had Lasik done!!! I was beginning to wonder if I was not meant to ever get it because I had to change from my original date so we could go to a seminar at church (that totally wasn't worth it), then both my kids got pink eye and they wouldn't let me get it done in case I ended up getting it too (which I did). So Friday was the day, and I have to say my life has been changed!!! It was definitely creepy--reminded me entirely too much of this scene from "A Clockwork Orange"--but so worth it in the end!

The other exciting happening is that my friend Jen had her twin baby girls on Friday!!! I guess it really has nothing to do with my lack of blogging, but it's very exciting!! I got to spend a good chunk of the day at the hospital with them yesterday, and aside from my own kids, they are some of the cutest babies ever!! Warning: snuggling with two cute newborn baby girls that have red bows in their hair WILL induce baby fever. And if it doesn't, there might be something wrong with you.

Anyway, I figured Jen would come home from the hospital today or tomorrow, so I slated this dinner in case they wanted me to bring some to them, as I know it's one of their favorites as well. Jen's mom is coming to stay with them for awhile, and Jen thought she'd probably want to make them dinner, but I kept it on the menu for tonight just in case. I'm really excited to have it!! It's been awhile, and lately all we've had is pepperoni or cheese pizza, so a good, homemade, veggie pizza will be fantastic!!

Veggie Pesto Pizza

Giada's Orzo with Peas, Mushrooms, and Parmesan

The sickness that hit the rest of my family last week finally made its way to me at the start of this week. I think actually mine just took a hiatus until everyone else was mostly better. Ugh. I'm still not feeling 100%, but I've muddled my way through the week.

We haven't had a whole lot of new stuff, so you haven't missed anything. Friday and Saturday of last week I didn't have to make dinner (woo hoo!), Sunday in honor of the Saints playing in the Super Bowl (and then their victory!!) we had muffuletta sandwich, king cake, and a really yummy buffalo chicken dip that the husband and I could not stop eating. I guess I need to post that recipe as well. That will be next.

Monday night we had this recipe that I found on my friend Jen B's blog. I was looking for some kind of vegetarian meal and came across this. All I needed were the mushrooms.

Giada's Orzo with Peas, Mushrooms, and Parmesan

2 Tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil (plus more to drizzle on top for finishing)
1 small onion, finely diced
8 oz. crimini mushrooms, sliced in half or quarters (depending on size)
3 clove of garlic, minced
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, grated
2 tbsp fresh basil, chiffonade
2 cups of orzo
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion and mushrooms. Sauté until golden brown; add the garlic and stir frequently for 30 seconds. Remove from heat, season with salt to taste, and set aside.

Cook pasta per instructions then drain and place back in the pot. Add the peas, mushroom mixture, Parmesan, basil, salt and pepper to taste; mix thoroughly. Finish by drizzling a little more olive oil over the top. Serve and enjoy!

*****

I was pretty excited to try this because Jen and her family really liked it, but I have to say we were pretty disappointed. I don't know if I had too much orzo or too few vegetables, but the picture of hers looks a lot more full and flavorful than mine was. I think if I'd had more mushrooms it would have been better. I don't know if this is one I'd try again. It came together really fast which was a plus, but it just needed some more flavor.

Roasted Vegetable Pasta

Everyone in my house is sick with a nasty cold. I figure the boy can have a day of TV and movies in the name of "resting to get better" so while he's doing that I can get caught up on my blog posts.

Several years ago I went to a work dinner at TGI Friday's. I'm not a huge fan of chain restaurants, but it wasn't my choice for dinner, and it was paid for so I wasn't going to complain. I ended up having a vegetable pasta dish that was actually really good. It somehow popped into my head recently and I wanted to try and recreate it. I found what I thought was the recipe with a simple Google search, but I wanted to change it up a little because I wanted to roast vegetables, not grill them. In case you're interested, here's the comparable recipe I found.

Claire's Roasted Vegetable Pasta

1 eggplant, peeled and cubed
1 zucchini, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, cubed
1 red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. dried pasta
Balsamic vinegar
Shredded parmesan cheese

Combine eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper, and onion pieces on a cookie sheet and toss with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast at 400 for 25-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, saute mushrooms with garlic in small amount of olive oil.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

When all components are done, toss together in a big bowl. Drizzle tossed pasta and vegetables with balsamic vinegar and parmesan cheese. Serve.

*****

I hate writing out my own recipes, especially this late after I originally made it. This turned out really good. It wasn't exactly how I remembered the TGI Friday's dish tasting, but it was quite good. I used some penne and some farfalle because it's what I had in the pantry. We all ate this and really liked it. The balsamic vinegar gave it a nice little zip. I think this would also be good cold or room temperature as a pasta salad.

I have a picture of it, but I'm typing this on our laptop and the picture is on my computer.

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

Merry (belated) Christmas, everyone! I hope you all had a good holiday. Ours was great, now I'm just trying to make room for all the toys and such my kids got from my very generous family. I need some serious toy organization in my house!! It was a fun day. Christmas gets more fun each year as my boys get older and get more excited about it. Well, really the older one is the only one that gets it, the baby just knew there was a big tree in the living room with a gate around it so he wouldn't touch it. ;)

Our Christmas Eve celebration consisted of church, take-out Chinese food, and then "snow" at a local outdoor mall. Next year we need to hit the "snow" earlier in the Christmas season because seeing "snow" and all the Christmas decorations really got me in the Christmas spirit.

Anyway, for Christmas dinner we went to my mom's house. Normally we have a big fancy dinner, but we had decided this year to just have an appetizer buffet like we do for a lot of birthday celebrations in our family. I have to say I liked it a lot better! Not that our dinner isn't usually good--it's usually VERY good--but it was nice to just have it all ready and my mom and whomever not have to rush around to get everything served while also opening presents. It was quite the feast! My mom made chicken wings, coconut shrimp, Lil' Smokies, bacon wrapped scallops, pepperoni bread...I think that was it. My contributions were stuffed mushrooms, baked brie, a Rick Bayless queso recipe, and a cheeseball. Although my mom said why didn't we skip the cheeseball because we had so much other stuff, so that bad boy is still in my freezer for another time. And I ended up making the queso the next night as we had another family dinner then.

I've kind of fallen behind in following the Barefoot Bloggers recipes lately. I don't remember what Novembers were. The first one for December was a croissant bread pudding which sounded awesome, but it made a lot, and I just didn't need to sit here and eat an entire 9x13 pan of bread pudding by myself. When I saw that this was the second one for the month I figured it would be perfect to make for our Christmas "Dinner" Appetizer Fest.

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
2009, Ina Garten, All Rights Reserved

16 extra-large white mushrooms
5 tablespoons good olive oil, divided
2 1/2 tablespoons Marsala wine or medium sherry
3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from the casings
6 scallions, white and green parts, minced
2 garlic cloves minced
2/3 cup panko crumbs
5 ounces mascarpone cheese, preferably from Italy
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop them finely. Set aside. Place the mushroom caps in a shallow bowl and toss with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and Marsala. Set aside.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage, crumbling it with the back of a wooden spoon. Cook the sausage for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until it's completely browned. Add the chopped mushroom stems and cook for 3 more minutes. Stir in the scallions and garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the panko crumbs, stirring to combine evenly with all the other ingredients. Finally, swirl in the mascarpone and continue cooking until the mascarpone has melted and made the sausage mixture creamy. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, parsley, and season with salt and pepper, to taste, Cool slightly.

Fill each mushroom generously with the sausage mixture. Arrange the mushrooms in a baking dish large enough to hold all the mushrooms in a snug single layer. Bake until the stuffing for 50 minutes, until the stuffing is browned and crusty.

*****

The only thing I changed about the ingredients were to use regular Italian sausage instead of sweet, and I used a full pound since I used more than 16 mushrooms. I didn't realize how hot my mom's stove got, so a little bit of the sausage was slightly over-cooked because I was trying to get other things done while it was cooking. It was really a small amount and didn't make a difference in the taste at all.

These were a huge hit!! I was eating the stuffing mixture straight out of the pan, I thought it was so good. I changed the cooking time a bit, too. Everything else that was going in the oven was at 400, so I had them in there for probably 20 minutes. Plus 50 minutes seemed like a really long time since all the ingredients were already cooked. If the sausage hadn't been cooked I could see 50 minutes, but that sounded too long.

I would definitely make these again for a party or if I need to take an appetizer somewhere...or if I have all the stuff on hand and they just sound good to me. ;) It came together really easily and tasted awesome!! I even had one cold the next day and thought that was good, too.

Vegetarian Mushroom Gravy

My brother is a vegetarian, and while I'm sure he wishes he could indulge in the turkey gravy we had for Thanksgiving #2, he couldn't. His friend Siri made mushroom gravy for their turkey-less Thanksgiving celebration, and my mom got the recipe from her and made it for him for Thanksgiving #2. I didn't make it, so I didn't know if I should post it, but 1) it was really good, 2) she sent me the recipe, too, and 3) I took a picture of it. So, here you go.

Vegetarian Mushroom Gravy

3/4 cup white or button mushrooms, chopped
1 small yellow or white onion, minced
1/4 cup margarine
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp poultry seasoning (or 1/2 tsp each of sage, thyme and marjoram)
salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, melt the margarine and add onion and mushrooms. Sautee for just a minute or two over high heat.

Reduce heat to medium and add vegetable broth and soy sauce. Slowly add flour, stirring well to combine and prevent lumps from forming. Bring to a simmer or a low boil, then reduce heat.

Add poultry seasoning, salt and pepper, stirring consistently. Allow to cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring regularly, until gravy thickens.

*****

This was really good gravy! It's something I would make if I wanted gravy for something but didn't want to use a packet or use drippings and go to all that trouble. I had turkey gravy on my dressing and this on my mashed potatoes. Way to go, Siri, for finding this yummy vegetarian gravy!! And way to go for my mom for making it for Thanksgiving #2!

Stuffed Eggplants

I had originally slated a vegetarian moussaka recipe in my meal plan for Sunday night, but then after reading it again I decided it didn't sound very good. I had already bought the eggplants for it, so I needed to find something different so they didn't go to waste. I was looking at my cookbook shelves and saw one of my great aunt's cookbooks called Healthy Heart, so I thought I'd give that a try. I had all the ingredients except mushrooms, but since I needed to go grocery shopping anyway that wasn't a big deal.

Stuffed Eggplants

One 1-pound eggplant
Kosher salt for sprinkling
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, diced
i garlic clove, minced
1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, chopped
2 plum tomatoes, diced
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 to 3/4 tsp dried
1/8 tsp kosher salt, optional
Freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup multigrain bread crumbs
1/2 cup egg substitute

Trim off the stem and cut the eggplant in half lengthwise. Make slits in the flesh and salt the halves. Place in a colander and allow to drain for 30 minutes. Rinse, then wipe off all salt and moisture. Leaving a 3/8-inch shell, remove the flesh with a small paring knife or grapefruit spoon and dice.

Preheat the oven to 375.

Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet. Add the onion and saute for 3 minutes. add the diced eggplant, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are cooked through, about 15 minutes. When the vegetables are soft, stir in the bread crumbs and egg substitute until well incorporated and the eggs are cooked.

Mound the stuffing in the 2 eggplant halves. Place in a baking dish and add just enough water to cover the bottom of the dish without touching the stuffing, about a quarter way up the sides of the eggplant. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Carefully remove the foil from the baking dish and cool for 5 minutes. Slice in half with a sharp knife and serve immediately.

*****

I had two smaller eggplants, so I went with those instead of one big one. And I just realized when typing this out that the mushrooms were to be chopped; mine were sliced. Oops. I also didn't feel like making breadcrumbs, so I just used some panko I had in my pantry.

These were pretty tasty, although I think I'd change a couple things. I thought some pine nuts mixed in would have given it a little bit of needed texture and crunch, and some parmesan sprinkled over the top would have been good, too. We all really liked them, even the boy at all of his filling! These were really easy to put together and a good dish to add to my eggplant arsenal. ;)