D life

Some of our favorite things we make at home:

Grilled Portabella Mushroom Burgers
Note: Start to marinate the mushrooms about an hour+ before you are ready to grill.

Package of Portabella Mushroom Caps
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves minced
Large whole wheat buns or your favorite kind
small jar red bell peppers or pimentos
1/4 cup of Mayo or Miracle Whip (I like the Whip, sorry, I grew up with this stuff)
1/8 tsp of ground red pepper (or more if you like it hot!)
smidgen of olive oil if needed
Extras: Lettuce and sliced tomato

Mix soy sauce, vinegar, olive oil and minced garlic together. In a large plastic bag place mushroom caps and pour sauce in. Seal and give a shake. Put in refrigerator for an hour or so.
Dressing: Drain jar of chopped pimentos. Add mayo, red pepper and if needed, a touch of olive oil (usually the chopped pimentos are still oily enough that you don’t need any more). This will leave you with more dressing than you need, so use it on turkey sandwiches!
Get grill going! I use an indoor grill sprayed with cooking spray. Place mushrooms, gill side down and cook for about 4 minutes. Flip ‘em over and repeat. Place buns on grill to get them nice and toasty.
Place dressing on one side of bun and stack mushroom, sliced tomato and lettuce on the other side.
Enjoy!

Lemon, Goat Cheese & Artichoke Stuffed Chicken Breasts
This one takes some practice to roll the breasts just right without stuffing falling out everywhere, but it stil always tastes great no matter how it comes out looking!

Chicken Breasts (2-4)
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 large jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 tsp grated lemon zest
3 oz herbed or your favorite goat cheese, softened
Wooden skewers (short ones) or toothpicks (not colored ones or they’ll bleed on the chicken. I know from experience

Heat oven to 375˚
Lay chicken breasts on cutting board covered in plastic wrap. Cover breasts with plastic wrap and pound ‘em flat, about 1/4 inch thick.
Mix up bread crumbs, artichoke hearts, lemon zest and goat cheese in small bowl. (If you only make 2 breasts, you’ll have leftovers) Spread stuffing on underside of flattened chicken breasts, roll them up as best you can, and stick them with tooth picks or skewers. It took me awhile to get these nice and neat, but it never mattered too much, the end result was always tasty!
Heat up skillet on medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Place rolled breasts into skillet and brown on as many sides as you can. (the skewers make it kind of hard) This gives the outside a nicely browned look, instead of pale, oven chicken color. You can skip this step as it is mostly a presentation thing.
Place chicken on baking sheet (tip: cover sheet with aluminum foil for less mess!) Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes. Check to make sure they are cooked thoroughly. Voilá!

Mac & Cheese
Here it is, the secret recipe! I don’t actually follow a recipe, just throw it together, so I hope the measurements aren’t off!

Bag of shells or macaroni elbows
8 oz Block of Sharp or Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1 Can cream of mushroom soup
1 tablespoon dollop of plain yogurt
1/2 cup to 1 cup of milk

Boil shells or elbows to package directions.
Heat oven to 350˚.
When noodles are done, drain. Add soup, yogurt and cheese. I pretty much use a whole 8oz block of cheese, but you can use less or more, depending on your tastes. Add in about 1/2 cup milk, mix and see if you should add any more milk. Mix well and spread into a rectangular baking dish.
Bake in oven for about 15-20 minutes, until you see it getting hot and bubbly! Yum!

Tomato Salad (with or without Cheese)
You have to play with the amount of oil and vinegar.

4-5 nice sized tomatoes, yellow and red, your choice
about 10-12 fresh basil leaves, chopped finely
about 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
about 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
salt & pepper to taste
Options: Thinly sliced or chopped red onion
Cubed fresh Mozzarella Cheese

Cut tomatoes in quarters or smaller, depending on how large you want them. Add basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar and toss. Sprinkle on a bit of salt and pepper. Mix in red onion or cheese or both if desired. If there’s too much liquid, drain a bit. If too little, add more oil and vinegar.

Pear & Candied Walnut Salad
Accompany with good french bread, and you can dip the bread in the leftover dressing.

bag of Salad greens, like Spring Mix
1-2 brown pears
bag of walnut pieces
brown sugar
1 tbsp butter
chopped red onion, about 3/4 cup
crumbled Gorgonzola or blue cheese
Newman’s Own Balsamic Vinagrette (or your favorite)

In small sauce pan heat butter until melted. Stir in about 1/4 cup brown sugar until dissolved. Add more butter or sugar if needed. Add walnuts, remove from heat and stir to cover walnuts. Place them on waxed paper to let cool.
Clean pan or start fresh with another and spray with cooking spray. Cook onion until soft. Remove from heat.
Slice pears. Star with one, esp. if just making dinner for 2. Slice another pear for more people.
Start arranging plate. Lay down lettuce, and sprinkle on onion and crumbled cheese. Arrange pears and walnuts. Drizzle with dressing. Magnificent!

Mediterranean Pizza

Boboli Pizza Crust
1 container of Pesto Sauce
small can sliced black olives
2 cans tuna (reg, or albacore, your choice) drained
1/2 bag of baby spinach
3/4 cup chopped red onion
1 bag shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to directions on Boboli pizza crust bag.
Over medium heat, wilt spinach in skillet covered in cooking spray. Set aside to cool.
Spread a nice layer of the pesto sauce over the pizza crust. I usually use almost all the package. Layer in whichever order you wish the spinach, onion, tuna, cheese, and olives.
Bake according to crust directions or til cheese is bubbly. (I can’t remember off hand how long, I just always follow their directions and it’s worked out great!)

Mushroom and Potato Chowder

1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
3 cups water
1 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup diced, peeled potatoes
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 cup light cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
In a large kettle, sauté onion in butter until tender. Add flour, salt and pepper; stir to make a smooth paste. Gradually add water, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 1 minute. Add the mushrooms, celery, potatoes and carrots. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add cream and Parmesan cheese; heat through.

Berry Pudding Cake
Delicious if you love berries. Was a hit at a recent party. Best if  eaten  right away.

2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed
2 cups fresh raspberries, rinsed
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar

1. In a 9- by 13-inch baking dish, mix blueberries and raspberries with 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Spread level.

2. In a bowl, whisk eggs, olive oil, orange peel, vanilla, and remaining 1 cup granulated sugar. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt until just combined. Pour batter evenly over berry mixture and gently spread to cover berries.

3. Bake cake in a 350° regular or convection oven until top springs back slightly when gently pressed in the center, 28 to 35 minutes. Let cool at least 10 minutes; serve warm or cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving, and scoop portions onto plates.