Holy chorizo these were good!!! Sooooo stinking simple you would not believe it!! There are literally 6 ingredients and 2 of them are optional!!! These would make excellent Super Appetizers!! I used them for my lunch meal and was completely satisfied. If you think about it you got your spicy your protein your veggie and your cheesy richness!!
So give them a try and let me know what you think!!
12-15 mushrooms, can be regular white mushrooms or crimini
1 small tube of chorizo
4 oz of cream cheese
1/2 tsp of oregano
2 cloves or minced garlic
1 cup of grated monterey jack or pepper jack
Squeeze chorizo out of casing and cook in frying pan until completely done. Drain off as much of the drippings as you can. Remove pan from burner and add cream cheese, oregano and garlic. Mix well. Clean mushrooms and remove stems. Add chorizo mixture into mushroom center. Fill as many mushrooms as you can. Top with grated cheese and bake in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.
I have been eating Paleo and following the Whole 30 program since December 30th and I feel amazing!!!! The Whole 30 is basically a challenge to go above and beyond eating Paleo by cutting out ALL forms of natural sweeteners too. Eating Paleo is basically eating meats, veggies and fruits and nuts in moderation. It is amazing how good your body feels when you start cutting out all the junk that you put into it!! I'm so excited!! And though during the challenge I'm not supposed to weigh myself but I did and in 5 days I had lost 4 lbs....so I'm happy!!
Here's what I had for breakfast this morning!! I was simple and yummy and I slathered it with homemade salsa!!!!!
Single serving (add more ingredients according to people)
2 eggs
1 small zucchini, halved longways then the halves halved and all of it diced
1 Tbls diced onion
3 small mushrooms sliced
1 lg handful spinach
1 lg clove of garlic, minced
Saute all veggies in coconut oil or olive oil for approx 5-10 minutes until your desired doneness. In a separate bowl scramble eggs and pour into pan with veggies add salt and pepper to taste. Mix around until eggs are fully cooked.
Well hello.......Ive missed you all!! Where have I been you ask........well......its been summer.....and gorgeous outside.....I've been in the sun, on the boat, at the lake, at bbq's, at friends houses, to Vegas, camping, and several other places that I can not recall!! But I must say Ive had an amazing summer!! I have been cooking, and taking snap shots.....just didn't have the time to sit down in front of my computer long enough to edit photos and blog!! Sorry!!
But......I'm here now, all though I am slightly overwhelmed with the amount of blog posts I have to do!! Hopefully through the winter I will stay on top of things considering it is just going to rain and rain and rain!! What else is there to do but cook and blog right???
Now for the topic of this post.....Risotto......it really is a beautiful thing....creamy, warm, delicious, rich....so many possible adjectives!! I've only been making it less than a year now....but I'm addicted. This one is a mushroom risotto. I used button, crimini and portabello......ahhhh......so good!! I think my favorite would have to be butternut squash, with pumpkin being a close runner up!!
Mushroom Risotto
1 c arborio rice
1/2 c good quality white wine
3-4 c heated chicken stock
2 c chopped mushrooms of your choice (or all one kind, whatever you like)
2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic grated on microplane
1 T chopped chives
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
In a separate small stock pot heat chicken stock and keep warming on burner. In a pan heat olive oil and add diced onion. Saute for about 5 minutes until translucent and tender. Add rice and saute for 3-5 minutes Stirring frequently. Add wine and stir well. Now add one cup of hot stock and stir. Let simmer until almost cooked out, then repeat steps until all stock is gone. When you add the last bit of stock add your garlic in. Once last bit of stock is absorbed add chives and Parmesan cheese. Serve. Should be very creamy!!
So tattoo man told me the other day that he had thought of a recipe to try but then forgot what it was.......um.....that is sooooo hot!! And can I just say how wonderful it is that he is sooooo supportive and cooperative with me over this blog and the time I spend coming up with recipes and preparing them and photographing them!! I just love him!! So.....I shared with him what I do when I come up with a recipe idea....I email it to myself so I will remember it!!
That is what I did the other night when I was laying in bed and thought of this one. How bad could mushrooms be that are stuffed with caramelized onions, bacon and potatoes??? Um.....not bad at all!! So....here is my recipe....now mind you I was just putting stuff in the pan so I will try to give you the best measurements I can!! Ready....set....COOK!!!!
2 potatoes, cooked (I just put mine in the micro and zap them for like 8 minutes)
1 medium onion, sliced in thin rounds
2 cloves garlic, grated on micro plane
5 slices of bacon, chopped into pieces
1/2 cup milk or heavy cream
1/2 tsp season salt (more or less depending on taste)
10 mushrooms, stems removed
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan
In a large frying pan fry bacon and onions until onions are golden brown and caramelized. Then add all the remaining ingredients except mushrooms and cheddar cheese. Mash and mix completely. Using a spoon, scoop heaping amounts of the potato mixture into each mushrooms. Top with grated cheese, dividing the half cup evenly among the potatoes. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes.
This is a recipe that would make Popeye say "Strong to the finish when I eats me spinach!" But seriously......this breakfast was packed with protein to keep you fuller longer and it was SOOOO TASTY!!! I came up with the idea day before yesterday so I yesterday I headed to my favorite store Trader Joe's and got the ingredients!!
You know what I noticed today when I made it though....well a couple of things. I noticed how EXCITING it is when you have an idea in your head and you are able to make it a reality I <3 that feeling!! I also noticed...as a food blogger you eat alot of cold food. Lol.... By the time you prep the food, plate the food, prep the area to take the photos, photograph the food, and finally sit down to eat it...it can lose its warmth. Oh well......it's all a labor of love!! Sometimes Ive been so excited after taking one bite I couldn't wait to blog it so I blogged first and then ate......what can I say....I'm a dork!!
This recipe will make 2 servings!!
2 portobello mushrooms
4 cups washed spinach leaves
1/2 of a small red onion, sliced into thin strips
1 T red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs poached
2 tsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Place washed portobello's on a baking sheet cap facing down (or else they fill up with the juices and get mushy) Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in oven at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile start heating water to poach your eggs. In a frying pan, put a little olive oil and place over medium heat. When pan is hot add onions and saute for 2 min then add spinach. Once spinach has wilted remove from heat and add vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Your eggs should have been poaching during this time as well!! Remove mushrooms from oven and place on plate cap side up. Put half your spinach mixture in each one and top with poached egg. Sprinkle with salt pepper and 1 tsp on each one of the Parmesan cheese.
K......so maybe I watch a little too much Food Network........
This plate was super fun to make though, and all recipes are ones that I made up.....I mean obviously there are similar recipes out there.....but I didn't follow any recipe...just threw some ingredients together and made these.
This plate was for my sons youth pastor and his wife. The youth group decided to have a date night dinner for them to show how much they appreciate them and Kim (whose idea it was to have the dinner) asked if I could make the appetizers. Well of course!!!!!! I <3 to cook!!!!
Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
3/4 c blue cheese
2 slices of ham/prosciutto/bacon chopped or 1 c cooked sausage
1/2 Parmesan cheese
1 c panko bread crumbs
1 tsp parsley
salt to taste
pepper
12-15 cleaned mushrooms with stems removed
Preheat oven to 400. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and stuff mushrooms. Bake in greased baking dish with about a 1/4 water in bottom.
Creamy Artichoke Parmesan Stuffed Puff Pastry
1 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 c marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
1/2 c Parmesan cheese
2 cloves grated garlic
2 green onions, chopped
pepper
2 thawed puff pastry sheets
1 beaten egg
Cut each puff pastry sheet into thirds along the fold. Then each third into thirds, so each sheet will yield 9 squares.
Stir all ingredients together, brush two sides of puff pastry squares with egg, put a spoon full of artichoke mixture by egged edges. Fold over to make a triangle. Press down edges to seal. Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes.
Mozzarella Stuffed Rice Balls
2 c cooked seasoned rice
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 tsp fresh basil
1/4 cup marinara sauce, more for garnish
mozzarella cheese, I used cheese sticks and cut them into chunks
2 eggs beaten
2 cups Panko bread crumbs
Mix first four ingredients together. Make a golf ball sized rice ball and shove a chunk of mozzarella in the center. Drop into egg mixture then into the panko. Deep fry in oil that is 350 degrees until golden brown. Put the remaining marinara sauce either in a bowl to dip the rice balls or under them on the plate.
