Artichoke Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

I've always wanted to do this.

Take two of my favorite things and smoosh them together.

Artichokes and mushrooms... really really big mushrooms. (P.S. Don't you love my little plastic lemon? So fresh...)

I made the 2 portion recipe, and it didn't seem like enough, seems how we were having these for dinner. So I basically made enough for three.  I guess my portabella caps are bigger than their portabella caps.  

I'm not surprised. 

This was my first time ever cooking portabella caps... btw take the stems off... you don't want to eat those.. Mr. G told me this as the caps were going into the oven already stuffed... sooo a little too late to fix it.

Taking the ribs out is optional... but when I do this again I probably will. They render this gross looking brown liquid that doesn't taste bad, but doesn't look good.

The stuffing has basically everything I love in it. Cream cheese, sour cream, green onions, garlic, and artichokes... The recipe called for grape tomato on top before adding more cheese.  You can try this, but I was cooking for a tomato hater. 

It smelled great coming out of the oven.  It tasted great too! If you like artichokes you will love this.  It has a very strong artichoke flavor.  And the portabella tastes awesome.  They are meaty and filling, you won't miss the meat at all!

Also, make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature.  That way it will mix better into your stuffing.

And yes, these were meant to be grilled. Do I own a grill? No. Did I want portabella mushrooms for dinner? Yes. So I adapted.

Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms for Two (adapted from Food.com's Grilled Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms)

2 Large portabella caps

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Stuffing:

1/4 cup for stuffing and 3/4 tablespoon to top with - grated parmesan cheese (separated)

1 (5 and 1/4 ounce) jar artichoke hearts drained and coarsely chopped 

1/4 cup cream cheese, room temperature

1/8 cup sour cream

3/4 tablespoon lemon juice

1 large clove of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons oregano

1 and 1/2 green onions very finely chopped

*I used fat free cream cheese and low fat sour cream to cut calories.

1. In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the stuffing. Salt and pepper to taste and set it aside.  You can cover and chill it if you aren't using it right away.

2. Wash mushroom caps and remove the stems and ribs if you desire. Brush with olive oil until coated, then lightly season with salt and pepper.

3. Divide stuffing between the two caps, and spoon it on in.

4. (At this point you can cover with tomato, sprinkle with olive oil, and then cover with cheese) If you're not using tomato, top the stuffing with grated parmesan cheese or mozzarella cheese, and then lightly sprinkling with olive oil.

5.  Bake stuffed caps at 425 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes or until the caps are tender. 

Enjoy!

Mom's Chicken and Rice

This is one of my favorite meals that my mom cooked for me growing up, and it's also one of the simplest.  

It's comfort food! Butter, rice, chicken - and all in a creamy mushroom soup sauce.  It's easy and cheap; two things every bride needs in her weeknight meal arsenal.

Looks like a lot of butter... it is.  But the rice soaks it all up and becomes super delicious.  I never said it was healthy, but after a long, stressful day I want comfort, not healthy. 

I was so hungry getting this into the over, I forgot to take pictures... so you get a rice, soup, pre- awesome sauce picture. 

See those beams of heavenly light coming off of it? Yes, that can be in your kitchen tonight!

Mmm, rice. Get in my mouth! I could live on that rice.  It's so quick and easy, and with just the two of us, the leftovers last and last.  Another thing a bride needs: two nights in one! 

GiGi couldn't care less... She was actually snoring today... snoring! oh, story time: 

Last night we had another really bad lightening storm, we get those from time to time.  And this time we had a little frightened puppy. 

GiGi sleeps buried in blankets in her little bed in the walk space between my side of the bed and the wall.  

So last night (I should say early this morning - 3:30 AM) the thunder started getting louder and closer, which woke me up.  I roll over and there is a little puppy head peaking over the side of the bed - shaking like a leaf.  

She gets out of her bed, walks over to the other side of our bed (she needs a running start to make it on the bed, so she jumps from the other side...) and jumps right in....

Usually she sleeps in her bed, but we made an exception last night because she was so scared.

We all survived. 

Also, I have been out for a while because of this monster. This is my wildly awesome science classroom! School starts in a few days and I've got a lot of work to do! Wish me luck!

Mom's Chicken and Rice

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 cup of Water

1 cup of Rice

Salt and Pepper to taste

Garlic salt

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 Cup of Butter

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Melt butter in your baking dish. I put the stick of butter in the oven in the baking dish and let the pre-heat melt it.  Watch it though, you don't want burnt butter!

3. In a large bowl, mix cream of mushroom soup, water, and rice together with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. 

4. Season chicken lightly with salt, pepper, and garlic salt.  

5. Put chicken in the melted butter and turn to coat.

6.  Pour soup and rice mixture over the chicken and  put it in the oven, loosely covered with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes.  Then remove aluminum foil and continue to bake for 20 more minutes, or until rice is done. 

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Rolls

It's been awhile. But getting ready for school is frightening. I feel like if I don't spend every moment in preparation I am going to crash.  That's probably not the case, but I would rather be over prepared then under prepared.

However, today I took a break to make the Mr. and I some cinnamon rolls with lemon glaze.  He's been such a wonderful husband this week.  Even though his job has been stressful as well this week, he listened to my irrational fears and mini-freak outs with nothing but hugs and encouragement.  

This recipe was a little different than the normal bread making I've done.  I thought you have to put warm water with the yeast to activate it.  Apparently that is not always the case. This recipe called for cold milk and honey to get the yeast started. 

The next part was covering the yeast mixture with flour to act as a sort of plastic wrap. After a while it smelled like it was doing its yeasty thing, so I supposed it was fine.  At this point I'm also thinking something like, "Please work, this is a lot of ingredients to trash..." 

The next part was to make that gooey cinnamon-sugar center that is so good! Honestly, with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon how could it be bad??

I like recipes that tell you when to do the "busy work".  Like grease and flour the cup cake bakeware, and mix together the magical cinnamon roll center. 

This recipe has a lot of steps.  And like most bread recipes you make the two parts of the dough: the yeast part and the everything else part. 

Oh, story time. 

Mr. Gingerbread said the cinnamon rolls were good when he tasted them, but like most men he just couldn't stop there. 

Mr. G: "What's this got in it? It's got a twang to it."

Me: "That's cardamom"

Mr. G: "It leaves a weird after-taste" (makes nasty face, but with quick recovery) "But they are really good!"

The only reason I have included these two eggs is because the recipe said mix the two eggs in four additions. So I beat them up and tried to pour just a little at a time... that didn't work.  Don't worry, the cinnamon rolls were fine.

I added the two parts together and it came together in no time. My poor mixture was really working to mix it all together; making noises and such.

So I fixed that with a change to the dough hook.

What's the best part about living in a state where it's stifling hot nine months out of the year?  I can put the bread dough out on the porch to rise.  It's a warm (freakishly hot) and relatively dry place. 

Bread takes time.  But if you've got an afternoon or a rainy day with nothing to do for a few hours, it is very rewarding.  The scent alone makes me feel better.

I really can't wait to have a big kitchen.  Just think, one day I'll be able to roll out the dough on the counter, instead of my dinner table. 

Our apartment isn't that bad.  My husband is always getting on to me about talking trash about the apartment, but I really don't.  It's a perfect fit for us right now, us and our little dog.

I was nervous about the rolling, and it could have been a little tighter.  Just get it as tight as you can, and seal it with water.  Otherwise the rolls won't fit in the cupcake pan.

I didn't have a cool pastry chopper thingy like the girl whose recipe I used.  However, a sharp kitchen knife worked just fine.

The third and final rise.  I told you it's time consuming. But soooooo worth it!

While those were baking, I made what every good cinnamon roll needs: icing.  It's surprisingly simple to make.  Powdered sugar, milk, and some lemon juice for flavor.  Mixy mix and there you go.

Oo and yall...

When those things came out of the oven... heavenly. 

They fill your home with that wonderful cinnamon roll smell. So warm.  I'm definitely making these again when it gets cold... in January...

But you do know why we even bother to make cinnamon rolls right?

The center, duh. So good.

The recipe is located at Joy the Baker's wonderful blog.

Check it out!

Low-Cal Chicken Alfredo

I know what you're thinking...

That low-cal chicken alfredo is about as real as Santa Claus. But let me assure you, (spoiler alert) the alfredo is for real.  

I found this recipe right after we got married, and it's been true love ever since.  Instead of a heavy cream  sauce, I use fat free cream cheese and skim milk.  

Ya, we made the switch to skim milk about two months into this marriage, and the transition was quite smooth.  However, whenever I have 2% it's like drinking heavy cream.  

This recipe is delicious and mildly good for you! Garlic, romano cheese, cream cheese (my faaaaavorite), and chicken.  Just think, eat enough of this stuff and you'll be as skinny as those chicken breasts...  

Ok, maybe not..  that's what I get for being cheap....

Grate up all your cheese before you get started.  This way you can continually stir your roux-milk mixture and not end up with a burnt mess.   

The recipe calls for fresh parsley.  And until yesterday I didn't own fresh parsley, so I used dry.  It turned out fine, and then I bought an actual parsley plant.  

I feel so organic right now.

I cooked the chicken before adding it to the cheese and milk mixture.  It's not in the recipe, but you gotta get that protein to go with your cheese.

GiGi tried to type.. it was ADORABLE!  She's perfect...  

And so is this (low-cal) chicken alfredo.  I used lemon juice instead of lemon zest. It's a quick week night meal, and you can always buy shredded parmesan and skip the whole cheese grating step.  It's so creamy, and tastes delicious! 

Low-Cal Chicken Alfredo (adapted from FoodNetwork.com)

1 Tablespoon butter

1 Clove garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed from the plastic lemon juice or 1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 Teaspoons all purpose flour

1 Cup non-fat 0% milk (or low-fat 2%)

Kosher salt

2 Tablespoons fat free cream cheese

3/4 cup grated romano or parmesan cheese, plus more for topping

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, or dry parsley

Fettuccine noodles 

Freshly ground pepper

2 or 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut up and cooked

To make the sauce:

1. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. 

2. Add the garlic and lemon zest or lemon juice and cook until the garlic is slightly soft, about 1 minute. 

3. Add in the flour and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for about a minute until it forms a roux. 

4. Whisk in the milk and 3/4 teaspoon salt and cook, whisking constantly, until just thickened, about 3 minutes. 

5. Add the fat-free cream cheese and parmesan cheese (or grated romano); whisk until melted, about 1 minute. 

6. Stir in the chopped or dry parsley.

Cook your chicken. I boiled mine, and then my husband was like, "Doesn't that boil all the flavor out?" And I was like, "shut up."

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook until al dente, 2 to 3 minutes (this is what food network said, but I cooked my pasta according to the package directions till al dente). Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain the pasta and return to the pot.

Add the sauce and 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking water to the pasta and gently toss to combine, adding more cooking water as needed to loosen. Season with salt. Divide among bowls and top with parmesan and pepper.

Enjoy!