Lasagna Mushroom Caps

When we were trying to come up with our meals for the week a while back, I wanted to do a new take on lasagna. I had previously made a mushroom lasagna and that was wonderful, but I wanted something slightly less labor-intensive. I wanted the essence of lasagne without the pasta. Weird, I know. What's lasagna without the noodles? Be patient with me, it's worth your wait.

The flash of an idea! I can take the robust tomato sauce and the creamy mozzarella, and layer them directly into a large mushroom cap. Nom! I'm always on board whenever stuffed mushrooms are involved. To keep with the lasagna theme, I layered the mozzarella and tomato sauce, alternating like you would for a regular lasagna. The different textures combined in a savory and oh-so-delicious way. While the mushrooms were cooking, we took the rest of the tomato sauce and dipped some garlic toast in for an appetizer. If you don't plan on snacking while your meal is cooking, you can cut the tomato sauce in half. But I wholly recommend the garlic toast and tomato sauce appetizer.

Italian-Style Stuffed Mushrooms
2 8oz cans tomato sauce (I used one Roasted Garlic, and one Basil, Garlic, and Oregano)
1 6 oz can tomato paste
8 large button mushrooms
2/3 cup mozzarella
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine tomato sauce, tomato paste, basil, red pepper, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Simmer at medium/medium-low heat for 15 minutes.

3. Rinse and de-stem mushrooms. In each mushroom, layer a sprinkling of mozzarella, a spoonful of the tomato mixture, mozzarella, tomato mixture, and topped with mozzarella. Place mushrooms in a greased 8x8 glass pan. Top with ground pepper and olive oil.

4. Bake for 25 minutes, until mushrooms are soft to touch.

Black Bean Quinoa Salad

I tend to be very boring and consistent with my week day lunches. I usually have a salad, with the ingredients only mildly changing (if at all) from one week to the next. I like to plan my lunches at the beginning of the week, usually making one big batch from which I can scoop out each day's serving.

Needless to say, the same thing every day, every week gets old very fast. I don't like being bored by my lunches. It makes me much more likely to snack throughout the afternoon, and the impromptu snacks are rarely as healthy as the planned ones.

This meal is anything but boring. The spice of the green onions, the toasty flavor of the roasted pecans, and the slight pop of the quinoa keep my taste buds interested and intrigued with each bite. Packed with protein, this meal can replenish all the calories I burn in one of my lunch-time intense work-outs. I had discovered that on the days I go to my more intense weight class (Body Pump), a simple salad was no where near filling enough to propel me through the rest of the afternoon. Enter this Black Bean Quinoa Salad. With this as my meals for the week, I was happy, I was intrigued, I was filled. Need I say more?

Black Bean Quinoa Salad
1 cup quinoa (I used tri-color, but any kind will do)
2 cups veggie stock
2 cups spinach
1 can diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1/4 cup pecans, chopped and roasted

1. Rinse quinoa. In a medium sauce pan,  bring veggie stock and quinoa to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 15-20 minutes or as directed on package.

2. While quinoa is cooking, if you have not already done so you will need to roast your pecans. Roughly chop pecans. Toast in oven at 350 for about 10 minutes.

3. Once the quinoa and pecans are done cooking, combine all ingredients in one bowl. Serve and enjoy. If you're making this for the week ahead, separate into individual serving containers for ease so you can just grab one and go in the morning!

Lemon Rosemary Basa Fillets

While I love to cook, it's not always possible to cook an elaborate, fancy meal on week nights. My husband and I try to take turns cooking and come up with a schedule that works best for all of our commitments, but sometimes we just need a quick and easy albeit YUMMY dinner.

I refuse to trade in convenience for quality. This is one of the reasons fish has become such a staple in our house. The sky (or in this case, the ocean or lake) is the limit when it comes to dinner possibilities featuring fish - from salty soy sauce to sweet maple syrup to bold ginger.

And then there's the convenience factor. For the most part, fish tends to take less time than most other meat options.

I hadn't heard of basa fish until a couple of weeks ago. They were on sale at the grocery store, and I wanted fish that night. I decided to give it a try. Apparently basa is a type of catfish variety, but I thought it more comparable to a mild white fish and treated it like I would tilapia.

This dish is very easy, quick, and delicious. If you prefer, you can substitute the basa for tilapia or a mild white fish.

Lemon Rosemary Basa Fillets
2 basa fillets
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon flour

1. Mix the lemon juice, olive oil, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.

2. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil. Once heated, lay down the basa fillets. Pour the lemon juice mixture on top. Cook for 5 minutes, then flip the fillets and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

3. Plate the fillets, and add the flour to the remaining liquid in your skillet. Stir quickly and let cook for about 30 seconds to a minute. Pour on top of fillets.

Tex-Mex Stuffed Peppers

When I was growing up, we never had stuffed peppers. My dad was allergic, and as a result bell peppers never graced our house. I honestly don't think I even knew that bell peppers could come in multiple colors, let alone the wonderful crisp flavors they can incorporate into your meal.

Flash forward to college, and I'm experimenting with foods and discovering new tastes and textures I never dreamed about. Along the way, I discovered the wonder that is stuffed peppers. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't completely scared the first time I really had bell peppers that my mouth would be on fire. Little did I know. On fire? No. Flavorful? Yes.

AJ and I share our love for stuffed peppers, and are constantly trying new methods, stuffings, etc. Below is just one of the many we have found and love. Oh, and I get to call them Tex-Mex because I'm from Texas. It's a birthright.

Tex-Mex Stuffed Peppers
6 bell peppers
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 jalapeño, cored and diced
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
1 can of diced tomatoes (I used fire-roasted)
1 can corn, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
salt, pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheese

1. Cook brown rice according to package.

2. Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine the onion, jalapeño, brown rice, diced tomatoes, corn, black beans, and seasonings. Set aside.

3. Core bell peppers and scrape out as much of the white part as possible. Stuff mixture into each pepper almost to the top. Place peppers into greased baking dish.

4. Place in oven and cook for 20 minutes.

5. Top each pepper with shredded cheese. Raise oven temperature to broil. Place peppers back into over and cook until cheese is browned and edges of pepper begin to scorch (about 3 minutes).

Dig in!

Lemon Parmesan Quinoa with Seared Scallops

I promised myself I would be more diligent at posting to my blog in 2014, but I was reminded at how completely horrible I am at keeping New Years' resolutions. Rather than set unrealistic expectations for the year, knowing that if history continued to repeat itself I would give up within a few weeks, I decided this year to forgo the New Years' resolution practice. Instead of giving myself an official start date of January 1 and something so official as a resolution, I decided that I would rather give myself goals for changes in my life.

Changes in your life and your lifestyle don't simply happen overnight. I think this is a huge contender for why resolutions don't last. People expect to change some part of their life beginning January 1, and as soon as something doesn't fall into this plan, rather than just trying again or continuing to try, we give up on the goal completely.

That being said, while I would *like* to post my recipes and cooking endeavors more consistently, I know that I have never been diligent at such a practice. I love to cook, and I love to write, but I don't always feel like combining the two. Rather than completely giving up on this, I will continue to try. I know that it's already the end of January and I haven't added anything since before Thanksgiving, but I'm not ready to give up something that brings me joy. I love cooking, I love cooking for people, and I love sharing my cooking with anyone who is around.

Now that you've made it through my soliloquy, you have earned a recipe.

This was such a simple and wonderful dish. I had tried several recipes with seared scallops before, but this was the first time I combined it with quinoa. I know some people don't like quinoa, but I just love it. It's like a blank slate, ready to absorb any flavors you lend. I enjoyed the quinoa so much, I made a whole batch the following week to take as my lunches to work. It was a welcome, fragrant, delicious, lemony change.

Lemon Parmesan Quinoa with Seared Scallops
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 lemon
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/3 cup parmesan cheese (plus more for garnish)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt, pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
12-18 scallops (3 per person)

1. Rinse quinoa in cold water. Cook as directed on the package (usually, bring to a boil on stove with 2 cups water, cover and simmer for 15 minutes).

2. Once the quinoa is cooked, add the zest and juice from the lemon, green onions, onion powder, garlic powder, parmesan, salt, and pepper. Mix to combine.

3. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallops. Cook for 3 minutes, flip, and cook for an additional three minutes or until browned.

4. Serve scallops over quinoa. Garnish with additional parmesan.

Serves: 4-6

Gruyere Apple Mac n Cheese

I don't always indulge, but when I do, it's usually for something epic. This was one of those times.

I love a good mac n cheese. Seriously. When I was little, there was a time when I wouldn't eat anything but mac n cheese or pizza. While I certainly eat other things these days, I simply cannot shake the love for mac n cheese.

My husband love love LOVES bacon, but we don't usually have it very often. When I decided on my indulgence meal, I couldn't leave him hanging. There would be mac n cheese, and there would be bacon. You know how those homestyle mac n cheeses always have a crusty crunchy topping? I love that. I think the crunch is just perfect to offset the creamy texture of the cheese. Immediately thinking of my husband, I imagined taking that crunchy topping one step further by adding crumbled bacon. Wait - I took it two steps further. Instead of melting butter to add to the bread crumbs and bacon topping, I thought - I'm cooking bacon, which will create some bacon grease...why don't I just use THAT fat rather than throwing it away and instead using butter?

And with that, an extravagant indulgence was created. This is definitely one of the less healthy options I've created recently, but it was everything I could have hoped for. The preparation was a little intense and involved timing everything just right so I suggest reading through the whole recipe before attempting to start or you may forget a step or realize that you needed the bacon to finish cooking before even starting the cheese sauce. The main thing to remember is PREPARE THE CHEESE LAST. No one wants to make that perfect cheese sauce and then have to wait until it congeals and then trying to mix everything.

Gruyere Apple Mac n Cheese Topped with Crumbled Bacon
10 oz shredded Gruyere cheese
1 Tablespoon cream cheese
2 cups dry macaroni noodles
1 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup milk
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 apple, chopped (I used honey crisp)
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 Tablespoon butter
3 Tablespoons flour
2 strips bacon
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Cook macaroni as directed on package.

3. Cook two strips bacon. In a small bowl, crumble the bacon, add bread crumbs and bacon grease from the bacon you just cooked. Mix to combine. Set aside. This will be the topping.

4. Bring the same pan as you used for the bacon back to medium high heat. Add onion, apple, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Stir infrequently. This will be caramelizing and cooking while you finish everything else.

5. In a medium sauce pan, melt butter. Add flour and whisk to combine. Slowly add vegetable stock and milk, whisking to combine after each addition.

6. Increase to medium-high heat, bring to simmer. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne.

7. Let thicken (about 3 minutes).

8. Set aside 1/2 cup cheese for topping. Slowly add the rest of the cheese, whisking to combine after each addition.

9. In a big bowl, combine the cooked macaroni and apple and onion mixture. Pour into an 8x8 pan. Pour cheese mixture on top. Mix if needed. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese and bacon mixture.

10. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown and the cheese is bubbling on the sides.

Pecan Spice Cookies

I took a nice long long break from blogging for the month of October. My brother and one of my best friends both got married (not to each other) and I couldn't be more thrilled!

But now it's back to life as normal. It isn't all bad. Luckily, I happen to adore cooking and baking, and I can't wait to share some of the recipes I've been working on!

Fall is now in full bloom (can I say bloom when referring to the Fall?), but when it was just starting to turn colder I was instantly looking for a fall-themed food item to welcome the season. I didn't have any canned pumpkin, and I was at a loss. All I could think of was pumpkin-spice flavored EVERYTHING.

And then it hit me. Pumpkin isn't the only thing that can be spiced. The spices themselves say "autumn is here!" And an idea was born. While we didn't have any pumpkin, we did have a Sam's size bag of pecans.

Success. These cookies are the mere essence of fall, and the chopped pecans only add to it. I give you Pecan Spice Cookies.

Pecan Spice Cookies
3 cups All-Purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy.

3. Add eggs and vanilla, beat until combined.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and spices.

5. Slowly add dry mixture to wet mixture, mixing to combine in between each addition.

6. Stir in pecans.

7. Scoop tablespoons of batter onto greased cookie sheet.

8. Bake for 10-15 minutes.