Designalovelylife

My husband grew up on a beef farm and I was a vegetarian for 7 years. A few months before we started dating I began eating meat again. Although I do eat meat, I eat it sparingly. My husband’s diet was beef-centric before we moved in together. He is pretty adventurous and agreeable food-wise. He also lost 15 lbs upon living with me, so he is pretty much a convert, although in the beginning he did tell me he was suffering from a “protein deficiency.”  Not sure what his symptoms were and considering he eats meat at lunch and I cook a meat dish a couple nights a week I wonder if this was truly a valid concern. 

How did I convert him? I make yummy food. It also appeals to his frugal side, it’s a lot cheaper. 

Since I left my full-time design job to stay home with Zander, cooking has become a creative outlet for me. When I was stuck inside with the baby the first few months I watched the food network, participated online at Allrecipes.com and dove into my cookbooks. It became a challenge for me to learn new recipes and cooking skills and the results were amazing. There is nothing quite as satisfying as a piece of warm honey wheat bread you made yourself! I really enjoy interpreting recipes from restaurants or developing my own from scratch. I made these stuffed portobellos the other night and Will was practically licking his plate. This is a recipe I made myself. 

Spinach Stuffed Portobellos

If you don’t like mushrooms you could substitute a variety of vegetables, red peppers, acorn or butternut squash, or omit the the tomatoes on top and stuff a tomato instead. You can also change the cheese if you like, I would probably use fontina if I were to serve these at a dinner party. You can also omit the butter and cheese to make them vegan, in that case I would recommend sprinkling the tomato with some bread crumbs for a crispy  finish.

4 portobello mushroom caps

10 oz. chopped fresh spinach (I recommend using regular spinach not baby)

1 medium onion diced

2 T. olive oil

1 T. salted butter

4-6 good handfuls of italian  style bread crumbs

4 thick slices of tomato

4 thick slices of havarti cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Pre-Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a large frying pan heat the oil and butter over medium heat, add the onion and sautee until transparent. Add the chopped spinach and sautee until wilted. Add the bread crumbs, you can play with the quantity and make it as hearty as you like. Quickly toss the bread crumbs to coat the spinach. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, add salt and pepper to taste. If you notice the bread crumbs are clumping up break them up with a fork and mix again. Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions and stuff the mushroom caps, top each mushroom with a tomato slice. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the mushroom is soft. Top each mushroom with cheese slice and bake in the oven until it is melted, 2-3 minutes.

I recommend serving over a long grain rice. For a more flavorful rice substitute the water for chicken or vegetable stock and add a tablespoon of butter or olive oil. At the end add a half cup of fresh chopped parsley. Yum!