Turkey Mushroom Stroganoff

No pictures for this recipe folks - it wasn't quite pretty enough. That, and I was lazy by the time I got home at 8pm.

The original recipe came from a recent Taste of Home magazine I received in the mail. There are always so many recipes I want to try in each issue, but then they get tossed into a pile and lost. I forget. Time moves on. But . . . this time I was determined to try one out, and that's just what this gal did.

Turkey Mushroom Stroganoff
Adapted from Taste of Home's Chicken Portobello Stroganoff

20 oz. ground turkey (Why? Because my grocery store didn't package it in 16 oz. sizes, which I found uber strange. A pound would be just fine too as that's what the original recipe used.)
12 oz. button mushrooms, cut into large chunks
1 medium onion
1 tsp. jarred garlic (the equivalent of 2 cloves)
1 c. chicken broth (I made mine with warm water & chicken bouillon)
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
Salt and pepper, to taste
8 oz. light sour cream
Hot cooked egg noodles or pasta

In a large skillet, cook the turkey, mushrooms and onions over medium-high heat until the meat is no longer pink. Add the garlic and cook a minute or so longer.

Bring the mixture to a boil. Because of the moisture from the veggies, I had quite a bit of liquid in my pan. Cook until that's mostly evaporated. Add the broth, cream, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; cook until the liquid in the pan is reduced to half or so. This took longer that I thought it would, but I forgot to time it. Just eyeball it!

Reduce the heat and stir in the sour cream. You want it to heat through once the sour cream is added, but not boil so the sour cream curdles. On my stove, I had to turn the heat completely off because it wanted to continue to boil. Work with it and see what happens - if it continues to want to bubble, just take it off the burner. Serve with the noodles or pasta, or eat as is if you're low-carbing life as I am right now. I didn't miss them at all, but I'm not a pasta/rice/noodle kind o' person. Yes, I just admitted that. Please don't throw things at me.

The verdict? Well, I don't post recipes I don't like. My thought though - it was a little bland. Buppy liked it and said that it's what stroganoff is supposed to taste like, so I guess I aced that. To be honest, I've never had stroganoff before so I had no idea what to expect. I guess I just like a little more spice in my life! Buppy liked the fact that it used ground meat; he said that if you order it at a restaurant, they often use tough cuts of meat, so this was much easier to eat. If you like stroganoff, give it a try. I don't think you'll be disappointed. Oh, and I had the leftovers for lunch today at work. I'm happy to say it reheats well. Enjoy!

Linked to Miz Helen's Country Cottage Full Plate Thursday, 4/5/12.

Steak Tips with Peppered Mushroom Gravy

Man, it seems like forever since I posted a new recipe. Well, here's a beefy-mushroomy-noodley dish of goodness that both Buppy and I think is a keeper. I found it on myrecipes.com, and it's originally from Cooking Light. Even better.

Steak Tips with Peppered Mushroom Gravy
Slightly adapted from myrecipes.com

2 c. uncooked egg noodles
Cooking spray
1 lb. rib steak tips, cut into 3/4" pieces
2 Tbsp. butter
1 lg. onion slice, diced
10 large white button mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. water
1 1/2 tsp. beef soup base (Orrington Farms is my fav, but bouillon will do)
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
Salt and pepper, to taste
Blue cheese crumbles, optional garnish

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat; coat pan with cooking spray. Add steak, season lightly with salt and pepper and saute for 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove from pan.

Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

Melt butter (in the pan used for the meat) over medium-high heat. Add onion and mushrooms; saute 8-10 minutes. Add garlic; saute for 30 seconds. Stir in soy sauce. Sprinkle flour over the mushroom mixture ; cook, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes or until a paste forms and no white from the flour is visible. Add beef soup base, then water gradually and stir constantly. Add pepper, thyme and salt (if necessary, but be sure to taste to check). Bring to a boil and cook 3-5 minutes or until thickened. Return the beef to the pan; cook 3-5 more minutes to cook beef a bit more and heat through the center. Serve beef mixture over noodles and top with blue cheese crumbles.

Buppy and I were pleasantly surprised by this dish on Monday night. We went for a nice walk around our neighborhood, then I got busy with dinner and Buppy took a nap watched some TV. With his eyes closed. Anyway, he offered to help, but cooking puts me in a relaxed zone, so I declined his offer.

When I tasted the sauce as I was adding the meat back to the pan, I was amazed at how much flavor it had with such little effort and seasoning. Other than the beef soup base, the only real seasoning was thyme, which I generally find overwhelming and unwelcome. Truth be told, I don't care for a lot of spices, but that's a whole other blog topic. Back to dinner . . . I don't generally eat egg noodles either, or noodles of any sort. I'm a mashed potato kinda gal, but I figured, why not? Turns out the beef/mushroom mixture and the noodles combined very nicely, and the sauce wasn't too thin or thick for the noodles, which had originally worried me. The beef was cooked perfectly too, which always makes my day. When Buppy woke up and tasted the sauce, we both knew I'd be making this again. Enjoy!

*This post is linked to Miz Helen’s Country Cottage Full Plate Thursday for 5/19/11.

Personal-Sized Calzones

Last Monday night's dinner was supposed to be a pizza braid, but that morphed into personal calzones since I was working with sticky dough and wasn't sure I could pull off the cuts and braiding. No worries, mate, it was still a tasty meal, and the best part was being able to personalize the fillings in each one. Tiny Tot #1 wanted cheese only, Tiny Tot #2 wanted pepperoni and cheese, and Buppy and I each had sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, sauteed onions, black and green olives and cheese. Lets just say the kids' calzones were much easier to seal than the adult ones.

The hardest part (if you can call it that) about this recipe is sealing the edges of each calzone. The dough didn't really want to cooperate, but I showed it who's boss, and only a little cheese managed to escape from one of the lesser-filled ones.

I used this pizza crust recipe made in my bread machine (does it get any easier?) to start with. Once it was done, I plopped out the dough, kneaded it a little (with oiled hands because it was sticky), then divided it into 4 equal portions. I rolled each portion out as best I could to look like a little mini pizza, then topped with sauce, each person's requested fillings and cheese. For a calzone, you basically just fill up half the mini pizza with your toppings/cheese, fold the empty half over and do your best to seal the edges. Hence Tiny Tot #2 calling dinner 'pizza folded over'. I did the 2 for the kids first, and while they were baking made mine and Buppy's. I made sure to poke a few holes in the first batch to allow some steam to escape, but that was unneccessary in the bigger ones because I tore the dough a bit. I'm gonna say I did it on purpose so I wouldn't have to go through the hassle of poking the holes. Believe what you want.

The first pan (which had 2 calzones on it) baked for 15 minutes. They were just slightly undercooked when we cut them in half, so we let the larger ones on the 2nd pan bake for 17 minutes; they were perfect.

Give calzones a try sometime. They're a nice twist on the original pizza and could easily be stuffed with whatever you want. Be careful with super wet ingredients though, because if too much water cooks out of something (i.e. raw veggies), your dough will get soggy. I suggest sauteeing fresh veggies before cramming 'em in.

Lastly, to those of you who have asked about finding inexpensive bread machines --- there were 3 at my local Goodwill last time I checked (2 weeks or so ago). Good luck finding one in your area!

*Linked to Miz Helen’s Country Cottage Full Plate Thursday, 4/28/11.

Experimenting with Philly Cooking Creme

Last week, I decided to experiment with some Philadelphia Cooking Creme. Kraft First Taste sent me 2 coupons for the stuff, one for a free container and one for $1.50 off another container. I found them on sale for $2.50 each at a local grocery store, so I basically paid 50 cents for each one.

I decided I wanted to do a chicken, veggie and pasta dish, so I started off by roasting up some fresh broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms and celery. The veggies were tossed in EVOO and seasoned lightly with some Mrs. Dash Herb and Garlic seasoning. I roasted everything at 425F for about 10 minutes.

For the chicken, I pounded out 2 boneless, skinless breasts and cut them into slices. I put 2 spoonfuls of flour into a plastic bag, seasoned it with garlic salt, black pepper and dried basil and added the chicken . . . then I shook it all around. I did the Hokey-Pokey . . . Oh wait, back to the chicken. I poured a tablespoon of canola oil (give or take) into a skillet and heated it on medium-high. I cooked the chicken in 2 batches (adding more oil as necessary) and removed to a plate (with a paper towel on it to absorb any excess oil).

I cooked up about 3/4 of a box of penne rigate per the instructions on the box, then combined the chicken, roasted veggies and pasta in a large skillet. I added 3/4 of the container of Italian Herb cooking creme, stirred it all together and heated through over medium heat until everything was warmed. Note: the pasta was cooked extra al dente because I knew it would continue to cook while I heated the mixture in the skillet. I added a little stock to the pan with the cooking creme, just because I wanted to thin the mixture out a little.

Overall, this was a tasty meal. I don't think I'll purchase any more of the cooking creme though. The convenience was nice, but the calorie count isn't great. Plus, I'm confident I can make similar sauces from scratch ingredients. I might change my mind when I taste the Savory Garlic one we still have unopened in the fridge, or when I go back to work and learn to again appreciate ingredients that make speedy dinners an option.

Thanks again to Kraft First Taste for allowing me to give it a try for free!

Homemade Hamburgers + Homemade Buns

As most of you (maybe?) know, I'm not a big hamburger eater. Give me a steak any day and I'll tear it up, but hamburger? Eh. But.......we have over 30 lbs. of the stuff, so I try to make it work for me in a variety of ways. This past week, I decided to make hamburgers that we could grill instead of using it in tacos (like I do 94.68% of the time). Oh yeah, I also felt ambitious enough to make homemade buns, too.

About the buns. I used a recipe from allrecipes.com that had stellar reviews and (I think) 4.5 stars. Lets just say mine didn't come out looking or feeling anything like the reviews or pictures led me to believe they would. They didn't really rise much, which surprised me because the yeast bloomed like crazy. I noticed, though, that when I was rolling them out, they didn't get the "shiny" outside like the recipe said they would. They weren't bad, they were just kind of flat and dense. Not my favorite recipe (and I most likely won't use it again), but they worked for the burgers that night.

The burgers were pretty simple to make. I took 1 lb. of ground beef and added ground black pepper (to taste), 1/2 Tbsp. crushed garlic and peppercorn seasoning, 1/2 Tbsp. garlic salt, several shakes of Worcestershire sauce and 1 large slice of raw onion, very finely minced. I formed this into 3 quarter-pound burgers (for Buppy), then the last 1/4 lb. into 2 eighth-pound burgers for me. Again, it all goes back to me not being big into burgers; I like a thinner patty.

I also sauteed some fresh mushrooms and raw onion in some butter, then added in a splash of beef stock and dry sherry for flavor. Excellent combo for a burger. Oh yeah, and a splash of Worcestershire sauce, too.

At the end of the grilling process, Buppy topped our burgers with Swiss cheese so it'd melt and get all ooey-gooey. I love ooey-gooey cheese, but really, who doesn't? We finished our burgers with green leaf lettuce, and I think Buppy added mayo to his. To round out the meal, we had homemade potato chips. I actually made sure to bike extra long that day so I could splurge. Way to think ahead, right?? We found that the chips are best cut 1/24" thick (with the NEW MANDOLINE Buppy got me for my birthday!), then fried at 375F for 7+/- minutes depending on how full the fryer is (don't overcrowd). We seasoned some with Old Bay, some with Cajun seasoning, some with seasoned salt and fresh cracked black pepper.......they were all pretty good. Homemade potato chips just rock my socks. Well, most chips do, but I like that I can season homemade ones with whatever I want.

One last note: I found that forming the hamburger patties is easy if you take the lid to something like a sour cream container, spray with cooking spray and pat the meat into it. It makes them very uniform and the perfect shape. I used the same size lid when doing both my and Buppy's burgers, so they each fit on the bun pefectly, but his was thicker. Give it a try sometime. Enjoy!

Another Go-Round with Pizza Dough

I sure can't thank my sister enough for purchasing a bread maker for $5 from Goodwill and donating it to me. You see, where she lives, she can buy things at GW and return them if they don't work. Same was true when I lived in Wisco. But not here folks. Big, bold print at the bottom of the receipt states ALL SALES ARE FINAL. Makes me leery about buying anything that might not work, because regardless, I'd be stuck with it. So here's a big shout out to my sister for my free bread machine! I'm making quite a habit out of using it!

The first pizza dough recipe I tried with the bread machine was from allrecipes.com and had great reviews. I really like it, but variety is the spice of life. I decided to go to the bread machine manufacturer's website and see what kind of recipes they have, and that's where this one come from.

Pizza Dough
Slightly adapted from the Regal Breadmaker Guide and Cookbook

7.5 oz. water (between 100F-110F)
3/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tsp. garlic powder

Measure all ingredients and add to the bread pan in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select the 'dough' setting and press the start/stop button. When the display reads 00:00, press the start/stop button again and remove the dough.

Preheat your oven to 425F. Pat dough into 2 greased cookie sheets to the thinness you desire. I'm a pretty thin crust kinda gal, but Buppy stops me short of turning it into a cracker. Prick the dough with a fork in various spots and pop into the oven for 3+/- minutes. I like this par-baking technique because it keeps my dough from being soggy. Once you remove one pan, repeat with the other sheet of dough. From here, top with your favorite pizza toppings and return to the oven for 10+/- minutes, until the cheese gets all bubbly and beautiful and golden. A word to the wise here: because of the short cooking time, things like fresh veggies don't really have much chance to cook through. Onions would probably still be rather crunchy, so if you have toppings like onions, mushrooms, green peppers, etc., I suggest sauteing them a bit first to soften them up. Or, if you like crunchy veg, by all means don't. The other reason this is helpful is so your pizza doesn't get soggy when all the veggies start to release their water. Totally up to you though.

My most recent creation, which looks surprisingly like a brain to me, was topped with turkey bacon, a small amount of pepperoni, some deli ham, green olives, black olives, onions, mushrooms, fresh spinach, sauce and cheese. Olives on pizza have really grown on me the last couple years; the saltiness they lend is the key. Mix it up, throw on whatever toppings make your skirt fly up and have some homemade pizza for dinner tonight. Enjoy!

Beef + Mushrooms = Excellent Stew

I'm a complete slackasaurus. Life has been busy lately with job hunting, social outings, motorcycle rides, cooking and basic household chores. Last week . . . at least I think it was last week, possibly the week before . . . I made something I've been dying to try. I love beef stew and mushrooms, so The Pioneer Woman’s beef stew with mushrooms looked perfect for moi. It was fairly easy to make, tasted great (the beef consumme & wine really added a nice touch) and made excellent leftovers the next day as well. I didn't have cremini mushrooms on hand, so I had to sub in white button ones instead. Probably not as good as the creminis would have been, but still yummy. Check out The Pioneer Woman’s blog for the recipe and much, much better pics. Enjoy!

Greystone Grill - Restaurant Review

Photo courtesy of Greystone Grill's website.

Last night was a very enjoyable excursion to a restaurant in the Columbia/Ellicott City area with a good friend of mine who happened to be in town for work. I couldn’t let an opportunity to see him slip away since he finally made it to the Bmore area, so we met at his hotel and walked across the parking lot to check out the Greystone Grill. Besides, being the foodie that I am, I welcomed the excuse to try out a new restaurant!

We started with a blue crab & artichoke fondue described in the menu as ‘a melting pot of cheeses with crisp crostini.’ People, that’s fancy talk for dip. It didn’t come out in a fondue pot, and no dipping skewers were provided. I was a little let down at the sight, but their crostinis more than made up for it! I’m not usually one to love bread by itself, but this was a definite exception to my rule. I’m not actually sure if it was scratch-made in the restaurant or if they jazzed up some store-bought goods, but the light sprinkling of Old Bay really made them shine. Dipped in the “fondue”, it was a flavorful way to start the meal. It definitely could have stood more artichokes in my opinion, but I’m not gonna knock cheesy-crabby goodness with really snazzy bread!

For the main event, my friend completely stole my idea after I told him what I was vibing on just prior to ordering. He was all set to order the shrimp & champagne pasta [which sounded divine!], but at the last minute went with the pan-seared ahi tuna, Greystone salad & side of the day, which happened to be green beans sautéed with garlic.

Even though there were plenty of yummy-sounding entrees to choose from, I chose to order an hors d’oeuvre and a side instead. I went with the ahi tuna appetizer --- “pan seared rare and sesame crusted, served with a wasabi vinaigrette.” It was, surprisingly, the first time I’ve ever ordered tuna in a restaurant. My side of choice? Sautéed mushrooms seasoned with garlic and thyme. Very glad I chose to go with a smaller portion; it was actually just the right amount. The tuna was very smooth, with a nice mellow flavor. I usually love sesame anything, but it seemed to get lost once I dipped the tuna in the wasabi vinaigrette; eh, the vinaigrette was really good as well, so I can’t complain.

Overall, I’d rate the experience as a 4 out of 5. The company was wonderful, the food was tasty, and the 3 hours flew by! Hopefully Buppy and I will be able to visit this restaurant, too. I think I saw on their website that they offer discounted gift certificates. Now who doesn’t love that?

Roasted Asparagus & Mushrooms

If you’re in the mood for a fantastic, healthy and easy side dish, this recipe is for you. While I’m not sure where I picked it up, I can definitely vouch for its tastiness. Buppy and I have made it several times, both for ourselves and for company, and it’s always well received.Roasted Asparagus & Mushrooms

1 lb. fresh asparagus, trimmed
½ lb. fresh mushrooms, quartered
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, minced [we’ve also used dried in the past]
2 tsp. olive oil
Salt & pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 450F. Lightly spray a cookie sheet with vegetable cooking spray. Place the asparagus & mushrooms in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, then season with rosemary, salt & pepper; toss well. Lay the asparagus & mushrooms out on the prepared pan in an even layer; roast in the preheated oven until the asparagus is tender, about 15 minutes. Viola!

We’ve also substituted Mrs. Dash’s garlic & herb seasoning for the rosemary with delicious results. In fact, I think that’s what we normally use nowadays. Well, whatever spice[s] you favor, the roasted veggies will no doubt be wonderful. Enjoy!Asparagus is definitely my favorite veggie. Photo courtesy of Fistfulofcoupons, found at photobucket.com.

Chicken & Artichokes with Wine Sauce

I’m a big chicken fan, and we often cook with boneless, skinless breasts because they’re relatively healthy, quick and easy. I’m also a huge fan of artichokes, although I’ll admit more so the canned version than the fresh ones [which are so much work for such little reward!] White wine you say? Heck yes, throw some in! ‘Shrooms? Couldn’t live without ‘em. This dish was obviously a no-brainer for me. Turns out, I’m a fan of it, too! Shocker!

I must admit I was a bit skeptical when I saw there were no onions or garlic. I thought to myself, “Self, who cooks like that?” However both Buppy and I were pleasantly surprised and appreciated how light it turned out.

Chicken & Artichokes with Wine Sauce
Adapted from Proceed with Caution, which she adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, Bridal Edition, page 427

¼ c. white flour
½ tsp. dried sage
Salt & pepper, to taste
3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 can artichoke hearts [in water], quartered
1 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1/3 c. dry white wine
1/3 c. chicken broth
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish
Freshly cooked angel hair pasta

In a shallow dish, stir together flour, sage, approx. ¼ tsp. salt [I didn’t actually measure] and approx. 1/8 tsp. freshly cracked pepper. Coat the chicken breasts in this flour mixture.

Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over med.-high heat until hot. Cook chicken in hot oil until no longer pink. The breasts I was cooking were relatively thick, even after they were pounded down slightly, and they took about 14 minutes to cook through. The original recipe recommends 8-10 minutes, so keep an eye on them and continue to temp. or cut one open to test for doneness. Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm once cooked.

In the same skillet, cook the mushrooms and artichoke hearts in hot butter over medium heat for 3 minutes or until artichokes are tender.

In a container with a lid [so you can shake all this together], mix cornstarch, wine, broth and a pinch of salt. Shake until cornstarch is dissolved, then add this mixture to the skillet. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.

Place a chicken breast [or half of one, depending on their size] on a bed of hot angel hair pasta and top with sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Side note: The pan I used to cook everything in is raised in the center and lays flat around the outside, so thickening my sauce at the end was a challenge because only the little that stuck to the middle was thickening and the rest flowed to the outside where it wasn’t. Boo. Make sure to use a flat pan so you don’t have the same trouble.

Side note, part deux: There wasn't a lot of sauce, so don't get your hopes up. Just want to make you aware. I'm thinking next time I might double the wine/broth and add a little extra cornstarch. Or possibly not serve it over pasta, but beside a potato or other starch.

Sketti & 'Balls

Buppy really likes spaghetti. Me? I’m not much of a pasta person, although I do enjoy spaghetti sauce on toast or an English muffin [weird, I know]. I used to actually eat it cold with toast in college [even weirder, I know]. And while it seems like a hot time of year to dive in and make some sketti & ‘balls, I did it. I think I’ve only made this for Buppy one other time since I’ve known him, and that was with turkey [which was ok by him] and kale [not so ok by him]. What can I say, I was trying to add some more veggies into our diets. Didn’t really fly with him or the kids though.

Last Monday, since I had the day off, I figured I’d make homemade meatballs and jazz up some jarred sauce. It worked out well if I do say so myself, and the kids and Buppy totally devoured this. Had I not been trying to take care of him and the kids at the same time [because of his back problems], I might have been ambitious enough to make my own sauce from scratch. This, however, was a delicious stand-in.Sketti & 'Balls
Recipe by Bugaboo

Meatballs
1 lb. ground pork sausage
1 c. dried breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 egg, beaten
½ tsp. Italian seasoning

Sauce
1 tsp. olive oil
4-5 lg. mushrooms, chopped
½ lg. onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. minced jarred garlic
½ tsp. Italian seasoning
1 [26 oz.] jar spaghetti sauce [whatever brand & variety you like best]

In a large bowl, combine breadcrumbs, cheese, pepper, garlic, egg and Italian seasoning; mix well. Crumble pork over the mixture and mix again to make sure all ingredients combine completely. Roll mixture into meatballs of desired size; I made mine about 1”.

To fry the meatballs, heat a non-stick skillet over med. heat. Add meatballs to the pan but do not crowd; I had to do mine in 2 batches. These cooked for approximately 5 minutes on each side or so; we like ours a little brown on the outside, but remember they’ll finish cooking in the sauce after being fried. Once one batch is done, remove to a plate covered with a paper towel to absorb some of the grease and set to the side until needed. Repeat with the 2nd batch once it’s finished frying.

To make the sauce, I first sautéed the mushrooms, onion, Italian seasoning and garlic in the teaspoon of olive oil in a large pot over med. heat. After approximately 10-15 minutes [once the veggies have become tender], I added the jarred spaghetti sauce. At this point, I added in all my meatballs as well so that everything could simmer together and the flavors could blend; I let this simmer for about an hour or so.

I made angel hair pasta to go along with this, although you can use whatever variety of pasta you like or happen to have on hand. Or throw it on a sub roll with some cheese for a meatball sub. I’ll tell you now, I could have easily used only ½ or ¾ of the meatballs this recipe produced for the amount of sauce I had; there’s much less sauce than normal, but since Buppy and I enjoy meatballs, it’s all good. With a sprinkle of fresh Parmesan cheese, this is a great spaghetti and meatball dinner! Enjoy!

Crab Dip Stuffed Mushrooms

The idea for these crazy-tasty mushrooms sprang into my head when I was visiting my local produce market [which I love-love-love!] and found their mushrooms to be much larger than normal. They're always a lot cheaper per pound than in our regular grocery stores, but they're usually smaller too. Fine with me, because they get chopped up and added to salads and sauces and wherever else I can throw a mushroom in, so who really cares about size anyway?

Last week though, they were big. Really big. And the caps were still closed, which always means they're fresher. I looked at these babies and thought, "No doubt about it; I shall stuff you!" And that's just what I did.

Buppy and I tossed around filling ideas --- there are so many options to choose from! --- and finally decided on a crab & cream cheese one. I searched high and low on the 'net, but couldn't find anything that was exactly what I wanted, so why not make up my own recipe? So I did. And it was pretty darn good, if I do say so myself [which I do].It produced far too much for the amount of mushrooms we used, but we were rookies this go-round and will know to either make less, use more mushrooms, or just baked the rest of it right away and serve it with baguettes and/or crackers. Seriously, it's not like cream cheese & crab dip will ever go to waste, right? Unless you're one of those wacky people allergic to seafood, in which case, I pity you.

Crab Dip Stuffed Mushrooms
Recipe a la moi

1 [8 oz.] block 1/3 less fat cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 c. reduced-fat mayonnaise
1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 3/4 tsp. Old Bay
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 [8 oz.] container crab meat [do not use claw! anything but claw!]
14 large button mushrooms
Bread crumbs, optional
Parmesan cheese, optional

Wash the mushroom and remove the stems; set caps aside. Finely chop the stems and reserve to add to the cream cheese mixture later.

Preheat your oven to 400F.

Beat together the cream cheese and mayo until smooth. Add the lemon juice, Old Bay and Worcestershire sauce and beat until just mixed. Add in the chopped mushroom stems and crab meat, then mix [with a spoon, not beaters!] until just combined. Do not over mix! You want the crab to still be a little chunky. Chunky crab is goooooooood!

Note: I'll tell you at this point that Buppy and I pre-baked the mushroom caps to allow them to release some of their liquid; nobody likes a soggy mushroom. I found a blog on the 'net that said salting and baking made them better, so I gave it a try. I'm not sure I'd suggest this to anyone else because it made a weird skin form around the outside of the mushrooms that we weren't too fond of. Won't do that again, so I won't provide cooking times or temp info here. My advice: don't pre-bake. I might change my tune after trying these again without pre-baking the mushrooms, but until then, I plan to steer clear of the pre-bake.

Take your mushrooms and lay them on a baking sheet, stem hole up. Stem hole? Kinda sounds dirty, doesn't it? Back to the mushrooms . . . fill each hole with a heaping spoonful [basically as much as will fit without overflowing out of the mushroom]. Really load 'em up. Then, if you're so inclined, sprinkle each button of goodness with a lil' bit of bread crumbs followed by a lil' bit of Parmesan cheese. Any cheese would work, and I'm sure you can use bread crumbs or cheese or both or neither. Whatever makes your skirt fly up.

Place the pan into the pre-heated oven for 17-20 minutes. My time here was much lower because as I said, I pre-baked my lil' shroomies. Most recipes that don't pre-bake them call for a cook time of 17-20 minutes, so that's what I'm going with. If your oven cooks as unevenly as ours does, rotate the pan half way through the cooking process. The mushrooms are done when they're soft and the filling is heated through. Mmmmmmm.What you do with the leftovers is your biz, but remember that you'll definitely have some. Throw it in a small casserole dish, top with bread crumbs and/or cheese and bake that right along with the 'shrooms. Or just make more mushrooms. Invite your friends over for 'em --- they'll love you forever and always. Enjoy!

Easy-Peasy Baked Chicken & Cheesy

I admit it, most of my recipe that I picked up while in college are things I've never actually made until now. And I feel really bad, because at that point in my life, I didn't really care where I got the recipe. I just copied it onto the computer and saved it to try at some future date. I have no idea where most of them came from, but now that's neither here nor there. I have yummy recipes and you can, too. Because nice girls share.

This is a recipe I actually have made once or twice, and I know for a fact that Buppy has made it for himself and the kids once (before we were cohabiting). I think they liked it; I know he did, but I'm not 100% sure about the kiddos. Who cares though, since their tastes change quicker than my undies. Is that sharing too much? Probably. Back to my point --- this recipe uses pantry ingredients, is quick to throw together, and you can pretty much forget it once you stick it in the oven. Unless you're like me and have an oven that bakes unevenly. Then you have to think about it again halfway through the baking process so one side doesn't over bake while the other doesn't fully bake. Take my advice and set a timer! What a pain. Ah, story of my life: the uneven-baking oven. Seriously.

Baked Chicken & Cheese
I got nothin'.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (Mine generally run rather large, so I cut them in half and then they're the size of normal chicken breasts; if yours are small, use more.)
8 slices Swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
½ c. skim milk
¼ c. reduced-fat sour cream
1 ½ c. herb stuffing mix
¼ c. melted butter
Mushrooms (optional, but I really love mushrooms!)

Place chicken in buttered 9"x13" baking dish; top with slices of cheese. Mix soup, milk and sour cream (and mushrooms, if using) together and pour over chicken/cheese. Top with stuffing and pour melted butter on top. Cover with foil and bake at 350F for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 30-40 minutes more.Buppy's problem was that he thought this was a faster recipe than it is because he neglected to read the part about "bake 30-40 min. more after uncovering." I think he got mad at me. Not my fault Mr. I-didn't-read-the-recipe-through-before-beginning-dinner! If you've got the time, give it a try. I promise you won't be disappointed! Enjoy!

*Linking this bad boy up to Life as Mom’s Ultimate Recipe Swap for Favorite Recipes today, 2/17/11.