Stuffed Portobello Caps

Pizza is one of my all-time favorite foods and being gluten free had not stopped me from indulging in some of the most delicious g-free pies around the city. And since most gluten free crusts are significantly smaller (in size...not price!) I end up eating a full pie almost every time I order one. 

I would never tempt myself to make a pie at home so I picked up a few portobella mushrooms and set out to make healthy mini-mushroom pizzas. These are super easy to make and about 150 calories per cap (as long as you don't sprinkle a ton of cheese on top.) 

Recipe:

3 portobella caps
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

1/3 cup tomato sauce 

veggies for topping (spinach, peppers, onions, etc.)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

2) Carefully, scrape the stem stub and gills from the inside of the mushroom caps, using a spoon. Spray top and bottom of mushroom with olive oil spray and place on a lined backing sheet. Roast for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and pour out water that has accumulated while baking. 

*This may seem like a pain but you can pop these in the oven while you slice and dice veggies!

3) Once mushrooms are baked and dried, fill each cap with 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce, your favorite toppings and about 3 tablespoons of cheese. The veggies do not need to be cooked, though you can speed along the process by giving them a toss in a saute pan for a few minutes. 

4) Put stuffed mushrooms back in oven for about 6 to 8 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

These are super easy to make, delicious and guilt free! I ate two for dinner then saved one for a snack for the next day. The mushroom was a little soft after reheating but the flavor was amazing. I have made them several times with different veggie combinations too - like artichokes, sun dried tomatoes and pepper or kale, onion and Brussels sprouts. The combinations are endless! Enjoy.

The Leftover Miracle Pasta

*This post brought to you in Flashback Friday form.*

Back in March, I spent an entire Sunday in bed - perhaps the amount of cocktails I consumed the night before had something to do with that but a lady never reveals her secrets. ;) By 5 pm, I was starving. Carbs. Needed. So. Badly!!

I mustered up the strength to make it to the fridge and found a pile of veggies about to spoil. I didnt have any sauce but thankfully I had tomatoes and red peppers in the pile and knew exactly what to do. 

I roughly chopped up my tomatoes, red pepper, three frozen garlic cubes (thank you Trader Joes!) and an onion and tossed it in a saute pan over medium heat to start breaking down. I wanted these veggies to soften into a rustic sauce-like texture. While that was cooking, I diced a yellow and green squash into cube, a few carrots and some celery. 

I wanted a bit more than just veggies so I pulled out two frozen TJ's turkey burger patties and cooked them in another pan. They cook so quickly from their frozen state and break apart relatively easy as they heat up. The perfect addition to this nearly effortless dinner!

When all elements were cooked through and my fave brown rice and quinoa noodles were cooked, I tossed the meat into the veggies and topped with my delicious make-shift sauce. 

After a heavy helping of Parmesan, I was happily back in bed stuffing my face!