Chik'n & Mushroom Arugula Salad

This salad was a spur-of-the-moment, let's-clean-out-the-fridge salad. Sometimes that can go poorly, but this time it went wonderfully. The flavors worked really well together and we didn't waste any produce. This recipe makes two servings. Enjoy!

Portobello Sliders

Inspired by a recipe on The Curvy Carrot's website (what an awesome blog name, by the way), I made these delicious and filling portobello sliders for dinner. My recipe is slightly different from hers, since I had different ingredients on hand. My recipe makes four sliders (and feeds about two people). Enjoy!

Portobello & Veggie Fajitas

Veggie fajitas are awesome because they're really filling and fairly low-calorie. Not to mention that they're super-easy to cook, as long as you have a skillet of some sort on hand. This is a highly customizable meal, so throw in any types of veggies, top with any type of sauce, and season as mild or spicy as you'd like. This recipe makes two generous servings.

Open-Faced Portobello Melt

This is a recreation of my favorite sandwich from Baltimore's own Soup's On. The toppings are amazing, but the secret ingredient to this sandwich nirvana is garlic bread. This recipe makes two open-faced sandwiches.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
French bread
Five (5) cloves of garlic
Two (2) tablespoons of butter
1/2 bundle of arugula
One (1) large portobello cap, sliced
One (1) roasted red pepper -- This is usually sold in slices, but I am estimating that it is about one pepper.
Four (4) slices of smoked mozzarella -- It doesn't have to be smoked, but if I have a choice, I always choose smoked cheese.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Spread butter and garlic on bread and bake for 15 minutes, or until slightly crispy.
While the bread is baking, toss portobello caps in a pan with some olive oil and garlic. Heat until soft.
Top bread with mozzarella slices, portobello caps, and roasted red pepper slices.
Bake for ten minutes, or until melted.
Top with arugula. Enjoy!


Tip
For future reference, I will melt the cheese on top of the mushroom and peppers. Underneath took too long and made the bread a little crispier than I would have liked.

Cheese & Pistachio-Stuffed Mushrooms

Looking for a good side dish to my kale & pistachio pizza, I was immediately drawn to cheese-stuffed portobello, plus I had extra crushed pistachio on hand from the pizza. I mixed it in and immediately knew I had made a good life decision.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients
1/4 cup of pistachios, crushed
1/4 cup of cheddar cheese, shredded
1/8 cup of mozzarella cheese, shredded
Six (6) smaller portobello mushroom caps -- Try to find the mushroom caps that are smaller than the "regular"-sized portobello, but larger than the baby bellas.
Olive oil for brushing

Directions

Preheat oven to 375F degrees.
Mix cheese and pistachio together in a bowl.
Wash and hollow all mushroom caps.
Brush olive oil on top of mushrooms and flip upside down on a pan.
Stuff mushrooms with cheese mixture.
Bake about 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
Let cool and enjoy by themselves or as a side dish.

Philly Cheese "Steak"

This is one of the most delicious recipes that I have tried in a long time. Additionally, it doesn't take the much time to make, so it's definitely one that I'm keeping around for awhile. There aren't many Philly Cheese Steak equivalents for vegetarians, which is a shame, since it is one of my favorites from my meat-eating days. This recipe works fabulously for those not eating meat or those that want to cut back on fat, but not taste. (There is a large difference in the fat content in steak versus a portobello mushroom.)

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients (makes two sandwiches)
Two (2) sliced portobello mushroom caps, destemmed -- I bought the ones that are presliced. I used four slices per sandwich
One (1) sliced red bell pepper
1/2 sliced white onion 
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Oregano and black pepper to taste
One (1) tablespoon of soy sauce
1/2 cup of vegetable broth
3/4 tablespoon of all-purpose flour
Two (2) sub rolls or pieces of French bread -- I used Jimmy John's bread
Four (4) slices of provolone cheese

Directions
Pour olive oil into pan and warm to medium heat.

Toss in sliced veggies. Cook until soft (about five minutes).
Mix soy sauce and vegetable stock. Put aside.
Turn down to low heat.

Slowly stir in flour and vegetable stock mixture. This will cause the veggies to get thicker. Make sure it's all stirred in before removing from stove.
Place on cool burner and lay slices of cheese on top. Cover for 1-2 minutes so that it melts.
While cheese is melting, butter the bread and toast in pan for a few minutes.
Remove and put your Cheese "Steak" into the bread.
Let cool and eat your delicious concoction!