Monthly Archives: September 2012

More mushrooms?

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We eat a lot of mushrooms around here. We eat a lot of everything. Eating is good.

And since I’m a good eater, I’m sharing another mushroom recipe. This is a hearty, stick to your ribs, dish. Perfectly suited for those cooler nights. For any night!

Gather your ingredients. I used wheat noodles this time. Sometimes, I use the no-yolk kind.

Strip the thyme off the stems. Chop the shallots. (or like me, spoon them out of the jar) Depending on the size of your mushrooms, either cut them in halves or quarter them. Measure out a cup of the low fat sour cream and cut off 4oz. of the low fat cream cheese. In a large sauté pan over medium high heat, melt the butter. Dump in the shallots and the mushrooms. Cook for roughly 5 to 7 minutes, or until the shallots are clear and the mushrooms tender. Add the wine ( I used a delicious Pino Grigio) and swirl it around. Using a spatula, scrape up all the little yummy bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add the thyme, salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered until the wine has almost cooked off. Give it a stir a couple of times for good measure. Now, scoot all the mushroom mixture to one side of the pan. Add the sour cream & cream cheese.Let it soften a bit, then combine it with the mushrooms. If it seems a little dry, add some hot pasta water. You want it nice and creamy. Plate up some noodles and top with the stroganoff. Eat, enjoy.

Mushroom Stroganoff

Serves: 4   Prep time: 20 min.    Cook time: 20 min

Ingredients

  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • 16 oz baby bella mushrooms
  • 2 whole shallots (sliced)
  • 1 cup low fat sour cream
  • 4 oz low-fat cream cheese or neufchatel cheese
  • ½ cups white wine
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 10 – 12 oz package of wide egg noodles

Preparation Instructions

Prepare egg noodles according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water. Keep warm.

Trim stems of mushrooms. Cut the mushrooms in halves or quarters depending on size.

Place large sauce pan on stove over medium-high heat.

Add the butter and melt.

Add shallots and the mushrooms. Cook about 5 minutes, or until the shallots are clear and the mushrooms are tender.

Add the wine and stir the pan, scraping up any stuck on bits. Add the thyme and black pepper.

Cook down the wine until the pan is almost dry. Push the mushroom mix to one side of the pan. Add the cream cheese and sour cream. Allow the heat up and soften. Blend together. Cook until hot and bubbly. Add reserved hot pasta water – if necessary – by the tablespoon until desired creaminess is reached.

Enjoy!

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Summer’s excesses. Roast Summer Vegetables and Quinoa

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If you’re like me, your fridge is full of summers bountiful vegetables. And, if you have neighbors like mine, that means tons of yellow squash and zucchini! My near favoritest was to cook vegetables is by roasting them. This is also an excellent way to clean out the fridge. Use up whatever you have!  

Quinoa is a powerhouse of nutrition. Per serving it has 6 grams of complete protein, made up of all the essential amino acids. It is a cholesterol free and gluten free food and also packs 20% of your USDA required iron! So, why not roast some vegetables and put them on top of some oh, so good for you quinoa.

Get out your bag of quinoa and prepare it according to package directions. Make sure you rinse it, if it’s the kind you have to rinse. My brand is pre-rinsed. Most quinoa cooks at a two to one ratio. Two cups of fluids – water or broth – to one cup of quinoa. I combined two cups of vegetable broth and one cup of quinoa in a medium sauce pan.  Bring it to a boil and simmer until all the liquids are absorbed. Roughly 20 minutes. When done, you can add some butter or olive oil and fluff it up.

Clean out your vegetable bin and pile it all on the counter. Take picture. Remember grape tomatoes. Add to pile and take another picture. I used one zucchini, one yellow squash, one cup of whole mushrooms and the same amount of orange grape tomatoes. I added in an orange bell pepper and half of that red onion. I sliced the scallion on the diagonal and topped the finished plate with it.

Give the vegetables a rough chop. You want the pieces to all be about the same size. Halve the zuke and yellow squash and cut into 1/2 in half moons. Halve the mushrooms, and cut the red onion and pepper into about 1 inch cubes. Leave the tomatoes whole.

Add the prepared veggies – except the tomatoes! – to a bowl and toss with the olive oil and Italian spice. Keep the ‘maters separate.

Line a baking sheet with tin foil and layer the veg on it. Spread them out. Not the tomatoes, not yet!

Roast in a 450º. After 15 minutes, remove and flip them all over. Now, you can add the cherry tomatoes. It wouldn’t be pretty if you put them in at first. Exploded tomatoes ALLLL over. Return to the oven and roast an additional 10 minutes, until good and browned. Serve about one cup of quinoa on a plate and top with about the same amount of roasted vegetables. Add the sliced scallions and give it all a nice topping of shaved Parmesan cheese. Oh man, I’m getting hungry just thinking about it. Cheese……..yum

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Roast Summer Vegetables and Quinoa
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Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • One cup quinoa
  • Two cups vegetable broth
  • ½ half chopped red onion, about 1 cup
  • 1 chopped bell pepper, your choice of colors
  • one zucchini, about 6 inches long, cut into half moons
  • one yellow squash, about 6 inches long, cut into half moons
  • one cup whole mushrooms, cut into halves
  • one cup cherry or grape tomatoes
  • 1 Tablespoon of dried Italian seasoning
  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 scallion for garnish
  • Monterey Jack cheese for garnish
Instructions
  1. Prepare quinoa according to package directions, using the broth to replace the water. Cook time approximately 20 minutes.
  2. Preheat oven to 450º. Line a large baking tray with foil.
  3. Chop vegetables into uniform pieces. In a large bowl, combine the chopped vegetables, olive oil and Italian seasoning until evenly coated. Keep the cherry tomatoes separate.
  4. Spread vegetables out on tray and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and flip pieces. Add the tomatoes at this time. Return to oven and roast an additional 10 minutes.
  5. To serve, place a cup of quinoa on a plate and top with one cup of roast vegetables. Garnish with scallions and monterey cheese. Enjoy!

 

 

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