Stuffed Mushrooms

Hi foodies, today I am going to share a recipe of one of my newfound favorite dishes - Stuffed Mushrooms. This delightful dish will surely take place in your Italian dinners once you try it out. But before I dive into the recipe, I want to share a small story about my personal experience with this vegetable from fungi family.

So, until about 4 years ago I was not a fan of mushrooms, I in fact always tried to avoid eating them.

However, I started including mushrooms in my diet as I found I was little low on Vitamin D. Generally, I like to avoid taking any supplements and rather eat real food that provides the same health benefits or better. Since then they have helped me boost my Vitamin D levels. Of course, it wasn’t just the mushrooms that helped in getting those levels back up, but I have not seen my Vitamin D levels going down again. And this is how my journey of exploring this earthy, nutty flavor vegetable started! Since then, I have also learnt that they not only provide Vitamin D, but also Vitamin B-6 and B-12 along with lot of other minerals and vitamins. Hence, I always make sure to include mushrooms in my grocery list, and also in my family’s diet. I am up for using every inch of this healthy vegetable, including stems!

Stuffed Mushrooms are one of the many ways I include these healthy bits in our diet. Apart from the simply grilled ones, this recipe is my husband’s favorite.                                     

  

The Stuffed Mushrooms recipe is very easy to make and is bursting with flavors. It can be served as a finger food  appetizers or as a side with pasta. So let's start with the ingredients needed to make the delicious flavorful Stuffed Mushrooms. 

Ingredients –

12-16 Whole white/brown mushrooms  (min. 2" dia)   

4-5 Colorful sweet peppers or equivalent slices of bell peppers     

2 Cup Baby Spinach

1/2 White onion (medium)

1/2 Cup mushroom stems (separated from the whole mushrooms)

6-8 garlic cloves

     

   1/4 Cup Cheese (Cheddar or Mozzarella)

   2 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese             

   2 Tbsp Oregano     

   1 Tbsp Thyme

1/4 Cup extra virgin olive oil to drizzle over the mushrooms

Salt to taste

Let’s begin...

First thing first, clean dirt from mushrooms properly with damp cloth or paper towel. I would not recommend washing them under water as mushrooms are like sponge, they will soak lot of water and will be very chewy when cooked. 

Now carefully remove the stems of mushrooms without breaking the cap. 

Next finely chop white onion, sweet peppers and mushroom stems. Also, roughly chop baby spinach and mince garlic cloves. 

      

Take a pan/skillet and add olive oil to heat up at medium flame. Add chopped onions and minced garlic. Sauté it for a minute without burning the garlic or turning the onions brown. 

      

Now add all the remaining vegetables including mushroom stems, sweet peppers and spinach. Add oregano, thyme and salt to it and sauté for about 4-5 minutes until onions become tender. 

     

Turn off the heat. Let the stuffing cool down a little bit. Add breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and cheddar or mozzarella and mix well. 

Start stuffing the mushrooms by generously filling the stuffing into each mushroom. Line the oven tray with aluminum foil and place stuffed mushrooms with stuffed side up. If you have any extra stuffing mixture left, just spread it in the tray along with the mushrooms to bake. You would not want to miss eating this delicious crusty stuffing when it is ready. 

Drizzle the extra virgin olive oil generously on the mushrooms and place the tray in the oven to bake at 375 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. 

             

Serve these delicious stuffed mushrooms warm, it will surely please everyone's palate and appetite!!

Mexican Quinoa

Quinoa as we know is one of the super foods. But, is it a super grain or super seed? Fun fact - Widely known as whole grain, Quinoa is actually a seed from amaranth family. Nicole Spiridakis wrote in a story for NPR, "The yellowish pods are the seed of a plant called Chenopodium quinoa, native to Peru and related to beets, chard and spinach." 

This super food is high in fiber, full of antioxidants and minerals, rich in protein, yet lean. Due to such high nutritional value, Quinoa provides great health benefits and also serves as one of the popular diet foods for those trying to lose some extra pounds. :)

I have been using Quinoa for quite a few years now. I have successfully tried multiple different combinations of spices and vegetables with quinoa, making this super food a part of our meals at the house. Let me share one of these recipes that also happens to be the most favorite Quinoa recipe of my family. So without further ado, let's start with preparing what I call - the Mexican Quinoa.

Ingredients (makes lunch for 3-4 people) - 

1 cup quinoa  (thoroughly rinsed and washed)

1 tsp olive oil for cooking quinoa

1 3/4 cup water 
1 can black beans 15 oz (rinsed and washed)

1 medium tomato 
1 large slice of red bell pepper (optional)

1 small red onion (1/2 cup when chopped)

1/2 cup boiled corn kernels 
4-5 spring onions

1/2 cup fresh cilantro 

For dressing -

 

1/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil 
1.5 tsp Cumin powder 
1 Lemon
Salt to taste
1 tsp Red chili flakes (add more if like more spicy)
1/2 tsp Black pepper 

Take quinoa in a bowl and wash them well, until the water runs clean. Now add Quinoa, water, salt, olive oil to the Instant pot to cook them for 1 minutes on manual high pressure and let the pressure release naturally. Alternatively, you can cook Quinoa in a big pot on the gas stove. Boil 5-6 cups of water, add quinoa and cook them for about 10-12 minutes. 

                                                

While Quinoa is cooking, finely chop all the vegetables - tomato, onion, red bell pepper, and spring onions.

                              

To make the dressing, take a small bowl and add extra virgin olive oil to it. Add cumin powder, red chili flakes, salt and black pepper and give it a good stir. At the end, squeeze in lemon juice and whisk it all together. 

  

                    

                                         

Now, open the lid of the Instant pot, stir quinoa just a little to check if its properly done. Quinoa should be soft and fluffy just like the picture below. Drain the quinoa under cold water and transfer them to a large bowl. Let them cool completely.

                     

After that, add beans and veggies including corn and cilantro to the quinoa along with the prepared dressing. Lightly toss everything together so that the quinoa get coated well in the dressing.

Our Mexican quinoa is ready to eat. You can eat it warm or after it cools down. Take some prepared quinoa in a plate and serve them with fresh avocado slices or tostadas.

This recipe is so easy to make yet it is healthy, fulfilling and tasty. I am sure you and your family will also enjoy this one pot meal much like my family does.

Notes - 

• For this recipe you can use either multi-color or white quinoa, whichever is available. 
• I have taken canned beans, they are pre-cooked. If you are using raw beans, soak them for at least 5-6 hours and pressure cook them. You can do this step a day prior and store the beans in refrigerator if desired.
• Corn kernels can be canned or you can boil corn ahead of time.
• Simply exclude red onions and spring onions if you don't eat onions.