mushrooms – OwlCat Designs

December 26, 2012

Warm Winter Salad

Now that the holidays are coming to a close, and New Years is staring to wave at us with all its new beginnings and good resolutions. Why not indulge in something reminiscent of comfort food, but without the guilty pleasure price tag? This salad is just right for that. Sustaining enough to not leave you looking through the cookie jars in the break room, but nourishing and light at the same time. It’s a salad for those that don’t like salad. Like my one friend that doesn’t see why anyone would want to eat ‘crunchy water’. This would even work for her, a no greens salad!

And of course, where would we be with our healthy living resolutions if it were not going to be convenient? So this one packs neatly into a jar, dressing and all. When ready, just shake, remove the lid and heat up ( I like mine warm), or enjoy cold!

per serving you will need:

Ingredients

1 small sweet potato
3 tbsp chick peas (cooked or canned)
5 small mushrooms, quartered
1/2 small zucchini, diced into cubes
3-4 tsp roasted garlic dressing
2 cup mason jar

Directions

Prick sweet potato with a fork, wrap with 2 paper towels, drizzle some water on the paper towel for moisture and microwave until soft and cooked through. (Alternately use some leftover roasted sweet potato, peeled) Once cool enough to handle, peel and cube and set aside to cool completely.
Heat a teaspoon olive oil in a small skillet, add mushrooms to pan and quick sauté for 1 minute. Set aside to cool. Add zucchini to pan, and sauté for another minute, set aside to cool completely.
Layer ingredients into a 2 cup mason jar in the following order:

creamy roasted garlic dressing
sweet potato
chick peas
zucchini
mushrooms
lid

You can assemble this salad completely and store in your fridge for up to 4 days!

November 20, 2012

Mushroom Gruyère Tart

This past weekend I was on a mission to not go out and buy more, but use up all the odds and ends that can accumulate in your kitchen and fridge over the week. In my case that involved some mushrooms that were begging to be eaten and the large chunk of cheese that I bought and had not made much of a dent into looked like a contender as well. Add an open container of cottage cheese and you’re talking! And pie crust is always easy and cheap to make, you can even make a large portion ahead and freeze it for later.

And in the tradition of a true leftover dish, this can be made without the mushrooms, add some leftover steamed broccoli for example, Cheddar or other semi hard cheese can be substituted for the Gruyère. Play with it, it’s really easy to make something yummy if it is served in a pie crust. The result heats up well for lunch in a toaster oven or even as a light dinner with a side salad of spinach and pomegranate seeds. Ever since I discovered how easy it is to get to the seeds, I have been in love with the juicy little red things, when the weather gets colder, I know they will show back up in the stores soon 🙂

Also I am super sorry for still not posting the Sweet Potato Spatzle I promised a little while ago. Turns out I was so exited making them, that I never wrote the recipe down 🙁 So I will have to recreate them before I can share it with all of you. Not like I mind eating them again so soon, lol.

Ingredients

1 single pie crust I (preferably whole wheat and homemade)
8 oz brown button mushrooms, sliced
1 sweet onion, diced
2 eggs
4 oz Gruyère cheese, grated
1/2 cup cottage cheese (min 4% fat*)
1 tbsp good quality balsamic vinegar
1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt

*using lower fat contend can make the result dry

Directions

Heat a little oil in a skillet, cook the onions until they start to become translucent, then add the mushrooms and salt. Cook until both the mushrooms and onions are soft, then add the balsamic vinegar and cook for an additional minute. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
In the meantime, heat the oven to 380ºF. Roll out pie crust and fill a pie or tart pan with the dough.
When the mushrooms are cooled down enough, add the eggs, grated cheese and cottage cheese (make sure you let the mixture cool down so the eggs don’t ‘cook’ when added) Stir well and fill into prepared crust. Smooth out the top.
Bake in the middle of the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until slightly browned and set in the center.

February 24, 2012December 16, 2017

Kale Mushroom and Meatball Skillet

The darker the green the more nutritious a plant is, we have all heard that. And as far as color goes, you can’t get much darker than kale. Now for many this is sort of a strange new vegetable. Your Mom never made it unless you happen to be from Northern Europe or maybe Italy. If you grow it in your own garden and it’s young, it can be eaten raw on a salad. But this time of year and coming from the store, the leaves are more made for cooking. Here I made mushrooms and chicken meatballs to round out the meal. All done and only one pot to clean. I am including a simple meatball recipe, but I have also made this using ready made chicken sausage from Carl, my favorite poultry guy at the farmers market.

The true advantage of using sausage is it comes on its own ‘keep your hands mostly clean’ dispenser 😉 just squeeze off a portion and ‘dispense’ into the pan, one meatball at a time, kinda like squeezing toothpaste. (If you go with sausage, make sure you know what is in them, as sausage can be an excuse to use up whatever is on hand… The ones I get are awesome, made from skinless chicken breast meat, spinach, feta and some salt, that’s it! )

leftovers, ready to take to work

Serves 2 hungry mouths

Ingredients

1 bunch of kale
1 lb of chicken breast, ground (or sausage)
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup baby spinach, lightly packed,
1 1/2 cups mixed mushrooms, chopped ( I had shiitake and maitake that needed to be used)
2 tbsp Apple cider vinegar

Directions

To make the meat balls:
Mix ground chicken, chopped spinach and crumbled feta in a bowl, and form into ping-pong ball sized meat balls. If you wet your hand a little, the whole thing sticks less. (If you are using sausage, skip this step)
Clean and wash the kale, then separate the leaves from the tough stems. I usually rip the leaf off, or even strip it off the stem by pulling the stem through between thumb and index finger. Or you can use a knife. Cut or tear into pieces
Heat a little oil in a skillet, add the chopped mushrooms and saute until lightly brown.
Add the meatballs, cook until browned on one side.
Pile the kale on top, all of it (if it looks like it is going to come out of the pan, just add half, wait for it to cook down a bit, then add the rest), add 1/2 cup if water, place (or balance, if there’s a mountain in your pan) a lid on top and allow to cook covered.
After 5 minutes, check to see if there is still any water left, if not, add a little more. Cook until the kale is tender and the meatballs are cooked through.
Add apple cider vinegar, toss and cook another 2 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

January 26, 2012December 16, 2017

Chicken with Yellow Pepper and Mushrooms

Part II of Chicken for every day of the week

See more quick and easy, yet no chance of boring chicken recipes here

Could you use more quick week night meals? Maybe? Well, this one is just as quick as you need at the end of a long day, yet it’s tantalizing flavor will tempt even picky eaters. It takes all of 15 minutes to make, if you got all your duckies lined up 😉 So chop and mix everything before you start and you’re ready to rock the kitchen!

Pounding the chicken until it is an even 1/4″ thickness ensures quick and even cooking, saving time and energy. Using a spice mix to rub or sprinkle on the chicken let’s you build flavor without having to add a lot of salt or spend hours roasting and basting. And using white wine, well, ask the French on that one, it works. The alcohol evaporates before this dish ever gets on your plate, but you could definitely use broth or water instead.

Did I tell you about my new magnificent skillet??? It’s got a slick white ceramic coating, I think I am in love 🙂

The spice mix makes more than what you need for this recipe you can use it on chicken, salmon and it’s awesome on pork chops too.

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 skinless boneless chicken breast half
1/8 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne
1 dash ground pepper (white or black)
1 pinch oregano
1 pinch cilantro
1/2 clove garlic, minced or crushed
1/4 tsp lemon peel
1/4 cup white wine or water
1/4 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced ( I used Shiitake and Maitake, but any mix of mushrooms would work)
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 tsp thyme

Directions

In a small bowl, mix cumin through cilantro, set aside
Pound the chicken breast flat in between two layers of cling wrap, using a meat mallet or the bottom of a heavy pot. (Don’t do this after 10, or your neighbors might not like you anymore)
Remove top layer of cling wrap, sprinkle the top of the chicken with the spice mixture
In a skillet, heat a teaspoon oil over medium high, add the chicken, seasoned side down, removing the other layer of wrap from the top, then season that side as well. Cook 3 minutes or until slightly browned on the bottom.
Flip chicken over, add the garlic to the pan (next to the chicken) and cook for about a minute until starting to look golden, then add the lemon peel, mushrooms, bell pepper and thyme.
Cook for 2 minutes, so some of the juices release, then add the wine, cover the pan and give it another 2 minutes, uncover and cook until most of the liquid is evaporated.
Et voilà! Yummy dinner!

November 17, 2011December 16, 2017

Creamy Mushroom Soup

One thing that I really love about the colder months is soup! I could live on soup. If all I could eat for the rest of my days is soup, I’d be happy. Ok, maybe something crunchy to go on the side…

Soups are warming when it is cold, easy to make, easy to reheat and mostly pretty cheap to make as well. A lot of times when it is cold, I do not drink as much water as I should and as I do in the summer, I am just not as thirsty and I think soup has that added benefit of liquid 😉

To achieve the creamy consistency without added fat, I used some sweet potato, but since the mushrooms are braised and caramelized first to intensify their flavor, you can’t tell that there is anything except mushroomy goodness in the soup!

…shown here with Garlic Thyme Sweet Potato Straws

Ingredients

12 oz crimini or baby bella mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 md shallot, minced finely
1 md sweet potato, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp Olive oil
Salt

Directions

In a heavy pot, heat oil over medium. Add the diced shallot and cook until softened and browned.
Add the sliced mushrooms, sprinkle with salt, stir, cover and turn heat to medium low. Cook for 15 -20 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes. The mushrooms will start to release their juices and cook.
Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally until the liquid is reduced and the mushrooms start to caramelize and brown in bits, about 5 minutes.
Add water and the sweet potato to the pot. Add enough water to cover the mushrooms and sweet potato by 1″ to 1 1/2″ (remember, you can always add more water, trying to boil it off, is much harder). Add 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste) and bring to a boil.
Cook until the sweet potato is very soft.
Remove from the heat, let cool slightly, then using a handheld blender/immersion blender (if you don’t have one, you NEED one, seriously), puree the soup. (alternately you could use your food processor/blender and blend the soup in batches, being careful not to overfill the container)

Serve with Garlic Thyme Sweet Potato Straws, croutons or a slice of hearty home made bread.

If you really want your soup to be super creamy, you could add 1/2 cup half-and-half (or coconut milk to keep it vegan).

Makes 4-6 servings