Mushrooms
I’ve been watching a lot of America’s Test Kitchen and trying out some of their recipes. This one looked amazing, so I just had to try it. It was certainly impressive and something to make for company. You can enjoy the rest of the bottle of wine with dinner too!
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
4 Chicken Breasts (boneless/skinless)
Salt & Pepper
1 lb Mushrooms, sliced
1 Onion, chopped
1/4 cup White Wine
1 Garlic Clove, finely grated
1 Tablespoon Flour
1 1/2 Cups Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
1/3 Cup Sour Cream
1 Egg Yolk
2 teaspoons Lemon Juice
1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
2 teaspoons Chopped Tarragon
Heat the butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel then season with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken breasts, about 4 minutes on each side. Reserve on a plate.
Add the mushrooms, onions, and wine. Cook for 8-10 minutes to soften. Stir in the garlic and flour, cooking for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and bring to a bubble. Return the chicken to the skillet along with any juices from the plate, cover and turn heat to medium. Simmer for 5-10 minutes to fully cook the chicken. The chicken should be at about 160°F. Remove the chicken to a plate and cover with foil.
Measure out 1/2 cup of the sauce into a bowl. Whisk the sour cream and egg yolk into the bowl. Pour back into the skillet and stir to combine. Stir in the lemon juice, nutmeg and tarragon.
Serve chicken with the mushroom sauce on top.
Serves: 4
-Recipe from America’s Test Kitchen-
Tags: Chicken, Chicken Breasts, Chicken Fricassee, Dinner, Fricassee, Mushrooms
Quinotto is the quinoa equivalent of risotto. Since risotto is one of my favorite foods, I thought I would give this a try. It turned out to be delicious and the roasted squash gave this dish a wonderful flavor…it’s a close second, but nothing beats out risotto!
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 lb Butternut Squash, peeled & cubed
Salt & Pepper
1/2 Cup Uncooked Quinoa, rinsed
A Handful of Cilantro, chopped
1 Carrot, grated
5 White Mushrooms, sliced
2 Garlic Cloves, finely grated
1 small onion, shopped
1 1/2 Cups Vegetable or Chicken Stock
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place the butternut squash on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 Tablespoon olive oil and season with salt & pepper and about 1 Tablespoon cilantro. Toss to combine. Roast in oven for 30 minutes, or until tender and lightly browned.
Cook the quinoa. A rice cooker works well or you can cook it on the stovetop. Add the quinoa along with 1 cup of water to a saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. For a rice cooker, add the quinoa along with 1 cup water and turn on.
Heat the remaining 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to a sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the garlic and onion, cooking for a couple minutes to soften the onion. Add the mushrooms, remaining cilantro and 1/2 cup stock. Cover and simmer for about 5-7 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed.
Mix the grated carrot into the cooked quinoa. Stir the quinoa and remaining stock into the veggies in the sauté pan. Fold in the squash. Cover and simmer a few more minutes to let the remaining liquid absorb.
Serves: 4 as main dish
-Recipe adapted from FitSugar -
Tags: Butternut Squash, Dairy Free, Dinner, Gluten & Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Mushrooms, Quinotto, Risotto
This is certainly a recipe for mushroom lovers! It’s a wonderful blend of mushrooms, onions, barley and don’t forget the bacon. This recipe is adapted from a Rachael Ray recipe.
Ingredients:
1 Ounce Dried Shiitake Mushrooms
1 Quart Chicken Stock
3 Cups Water
3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/3 lb Thick Cut Peppered Bacon (about 4 slices), chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
3/4 lb White Button Mushrooms, quartered or sliced
1 Bay Leaf, fresh or dried 
2 Medium Onions, chopped
4 Cloves Garlic, finely grated
Salt and Pepper
1 Tablespoons Dried Sage
1 Sprig Rosemary, finely chopped (or 1 Tablespoon dried)
1 (15 oz) Can Diced Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 Cup Pearl Barley
1 Bunch Salad Savoy or Kale, leaves stripped from stems
Freshly Grated Nutmeg, to taste 
To a medium pot, add the dried mushrooms, chicken stock and water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Let this simmer while you prepare the rest of the soup.
Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add the bacon and cook until it begins to crisp up, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and bay leaf, cooking until the mushrooms start to brown, about 8-10 minutes. Add the onions and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, sage and rosemary and pour in the diced tomatoes.
Remove the dried mushrooms from the stock. They should be softened by now. Chop them and add them to the soup pot. Pour in all the stock except for the very last bit since any mushroom grit will be at the bottom of the pot.
Stir in the barley, salad savoy/kale and nutmeg. Bring to a bubble, cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook until the barley is soft, about 20 minutes.
Serves: 4-6
Tags: Bacon, Barley, Barley Soup, Dinner, Mushroom Barley Soup, Mushroom Soup, Mushrooms, Shiitake Mushrooms, Soup
I saved something special for my 100th blog post. We LOVE Alfredo at our house! This is a recipe that we have tweaked over the years to our liking. We normally just serve roasted veggies along side, but this time we decided to mix them in. The zucchini and mushrooms were a good combination and went really well with the chicken Alfredo. When it is us eating, we like to serve it on a large platter.
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups shredded Parmesan cheese
¼ cup butter
2 cups heavy cream
2 Tablespoons dried onion
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 Tablespoon dried parsley
Salt and pepper
1 lb Fettuccini
1 large chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
1 large zucchini, sliced into ¼ inch disks
8 oz mushrooms, halved
3 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, divided
Preheat oven to 400°F. Place zucchini and mushrooms on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Roast in oven until tender, about 25 minutes.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add the fettuccine, stirring often to keep the noodles from sticking to each other. Cook until al dente, drain and return the cooked pasta to the pot.
Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken breast until browned and cooked thoroughly.
In a medium saucepan, combine Parmesan cheese, butter and heavy cream. Once the cheese is melted, add the onion, garlic, parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on low for about 5 minutes to thicken.
In the pot with the noodles, add the chicken, veggies and sauce. Toss to combine.
Pork loin was on sale this week for a pretty good price, so I bought a package that came with 2. The other one I stuck in the freezer. Don’t be intimidated by the big hunk of meat that it is. It’s actually really easy to work with. This turned out really great! Chloe even ate a bunch of it. Hope you enjoy it too.
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
8oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, grated
salt & pepper
2-3 lb pork loin, fat and silverskin removed
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup milk
Preheat oven to 375°F.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper and onion and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic. Cook until tender and season with salt and pepper.
Butterfly the pork loin by cutting it open like a book. (See Apple Stuffed Pork Roast post for detailed pictures). Place half of the mushroom mixture in the center of the pork loin and roll up. Tie with kitchen twine and place on a roasting pan.
Roast until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 145°F, about 1 hour. Let rest at least 5 minutes before slicing into 8 slices.
Before the roast is finished, make the sauce. In the skillet with the other half of the mushroom mixture, heat to medium-high heat. Move the veggies to the side of the skillet and melt the butter. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in milk, bring to a bubble and reduce heat to medium. Simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and lots of black pepper.
To serve, place some of the sauce on a plate and top with 2 slices of the stuffed roast.
Serves 4
Tags: Bell Pepper, Dinner, Mushrooms, Pork, Roasting
For tonight’s dinner I used half of the shredded chicken from yesterday. The inspiration for this pasta dish came from a Betty Crocker recipe for a Mediterranean-Style Chicken and Pasta. I didn’t have a couple of the ingredients it called for, and I added a couple of my own. It turned out really great!
Ingredients:
1 lb Penne Pasta
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 large Red Onion
2 Zucchini, cut in half lengthwise then cut crosswise into 1/4 inch slices
8 oz Mushrooms, quartered
2 Cloves Garlic, grated or finely chopped
2 Cups Shredded Cooked Chicken
1 (14.5 oz) Can Diced Tomatoes
1 (8oz) Can Tomato Sauce
1 Tbsp Fresh Oregano, chopped
1 Tbsp Fresh Basil, chopped
Salt & Pepper
Goat’s Milk Cheese
Boil water in a large pot, salt water and cook pasta until al dente. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pan over med-high heat. Add the onion to the pan and cook for about 3 minutes, or until it starts to get tender. Add the zucchini, mushrooms and garlic. Cook for another 3 minutes, or until the veggies are just starting to soften.
Add the chicken, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, and basil to the pan with the veggies. Season with salt & pepper. Bring to a bubble, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Toss together with the pasta and serve with goat’s milk cheese on top.