Spinach Stuffed Rolls

I made my own variation on this Spinach Twist from the Sisters Cafe to rave reviews all around. The boys around here were rather surprised that they liked them so much. Drew commented that it was the bacon and salt that made them so delicious, so I won't tell him that there was no bacon and they were still delicious.

While I have made the original version and liked it I made a few variation this time that I think put them over the top. The original recipe called for 8 oz of cream cheese, but I had half a brick of cream cheese and half a log of goat cheese so that's what I used. I think the goat cheese made all the difference in flavor. I also upped the spinach and decreased the meat. Then I opted for the traditional cinnamon roll style because it is easier than the original twist and caused less trepidation for my kids.

1 pizza crust, rolled into a rectangle
3 oz cream cheese
3 oz goat cheese
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp rosemary
1 egg beaten
4 cups fresh spinach
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped ham (I used deli meat)
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine cream cheese, goat cheese, basil, rosemary, and egg in a small bowl. Spread over rolled pizza dough. (You may need to soften at half power in the microwave for 30 seconds or so to make spreadable.) Saute onions and mushrooms in butter until translucent. Add spinach and saute until wilted. Add salt and pepper and ham. Spread spinach mixture over the dough. Sprinkle parmesan over top of spinach. Roll up and slice like cinnamon rolls. Place on a lined jelly roll pan and bake for 20-30 minutes.

Hawaiian Haystacks with Mushroom Gravy

Despite the random assortment of canned fruits and vegetables, I really love Hawaiian Haystacks. Somehow the combination of flavors and textures just works. It is a great meal to feed a crowd with minimal preparation too. I used to make gravy with chicken broth and diced chicken breasts, but I've since decided I prefer it meatless, so I make this gravy instead. Dave does however like his chicken so I grill up a thigh or something for him to throw in or open a can of cooked chicken. I'm also thinking about experimenting by adding garlic and onions.

Mushroom Gravy

Melt  2T butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add 8oz finely chopped mushrooms and saute until tender. Add 2 T. all-purpose flour and stir well until mushrooms are well coated. Continue to stir about 2 minutes to cook out the flour taste. Slowly add 2 cups vegetable broth (made with my favorite veggie broth concentrate, or chicken broth, or beef broth). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, stirring constantly. Thin out with more broth or milk if you want it creamier

To make a Haystack: Start with cooked rice and top with gravy and any or all of the following:

Fresh or canned pineapple (or mandarin oranges, or marachino cherries)

Fresh or canned tomatoes

Shredded cheddar cheese

Green onions

Chow mein noodles (the crispy ones you buy in the Asian aisle of the grocery store)

More mushrooms

Chopped bell pepper

Chopped celery

Slivered almonds

Anything else that sounds good...

Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls

This was a risky meal that totally paid off. I had tons of cabbage and mushrooms from my last two weeks Bountiful Baskets, but the chances that my family would eat mushrooms wrapped in cabbage leaves were slim. These were so good that even the cabbage/mushroom-lover in the family was surprised. Everyone ate them. I served them over mashed potatoes. The flavor was reminiscent of stuffed peppers or shepherds pie.

The recipe comes from Not Eating Out In New York:

The changes I made were:
Cooked for 1 hr 20 min--we were hungry.
No shallots--didn't have any.
Added 1 tsp italian seasoning to mushroom mix
Used Hunt's Fire Roasted Tomatoes

Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage
(makes 3-4 servings)

1 small head of cabbage, cored
1 lb any mushrooms, such as Portobello/Crimini, Porcini, button, wild varieties, etc., stems trimmed and roughly chopped
1 16 oz. can diced or whole peeled tomatoes
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup golden raisins (optional)
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon salt, plus more for the boiling water
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 large shallot, minced

Heat up the onions and olive oil in a saucepan on low heat. In a mixing bowl, crush the tomatoes with your hands for a minute or two until the pieces have broken down to a loose pulp. Add it to the onions just after they have turned slightly transparent, about 5-6 minutes. Add the raisins, if using, and the lemon juice and let simmer, covered for another 10-15 minutes.

Put the mushrooms and shallot in a food processor and pulse a few moments until they have broken down to rough, moist pulp. Remove and turn into a mixing bowl. Add the breadcrumbs (if making from fresh bread, simply pulse the bread a few times in the food processor first). Add the egg, Parmesan, and a pinch each of salt and pepper and mix. Cover with plastic wrap.

Preheat oven to 374 degrees. Bring a stockpot of salted water deep enough to submerge the cabbage in with water. Once it’s boiling, gently add the cabbage and let boil for 1 minute. Remove with tongs or a large spatula and remove 2-3 of the outer leaves. Replace into the pot and boil another minute. Remove, and tear off another 2-3 leaves. Repeat until you have at least 8 leaves big enough to use to wrap with the stuffing. Let the rest of the head cool. Cut out the tough middle fibrous stem of each leaf of cabbage and discard (these should be shaped like a thin diamond and comprise the whitest streak of each leaf).

Place an inch-thick log of the mushroom stuffing mixture inside each blanched leaf and wrap, tucking in the end pieces like a burrito, until fully wrapped. You should have approximately 8 fully wrapped leaves. Slice the rest of the remaining cabbage to about 1/2″ inch thick pieces and place along the inside of a covered casserole or large cast-iron Dutch oven. Place each rolled stuffed cabbage leaf in a line on top of the shredded cabbage. Top with the tomato sauce, and cover. Bake covered for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Remove from heat, and let rest, uncovered for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Steak Hoagies

This is a Dave meal for sure. I've cut the meat in half and double the veggies. I've never gotten any complaints.

Recipe adapted from My Kitchen Cafe

1 sirloin steak, about 1 inch thick
1/2 tsp each black pepper, salt, and garlic salt
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, sliced thin
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced thin
8 ounces white mushrooms, sliced thin
1 tablespoons steak sauce (I used A-1)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 (6 inch) sub rolls, slit partially open lengthwise
4 slices deli provolone cheese

Adjust oven rack to upper middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine salt, pepper and garlic salt. Pat steak dry with paper towels and rub salt mixture liberally into each side. Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium high heat until rippling. Cook steaks until well browned, 5 to 6 minutes per side (or according to your preference). Transfer to plate and tent with foil. Let them rest for five minutes, then slice thinly against the grain.

Meanwhile, add remaining oil, onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to empty skillet and cook until vegetables are softened and golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Off the heat, stir in steak sauce, oregano, and sliced steak until well combined.

Divide steak mixture among rolls and top with cheese. Arrange sandwiches on rimmed baking sheets and bake until cheese is melted and rolls are golden brown around edges, about 5 minutes. Serve.

Pepper Steak and Mushroom Rice Pilaf

Link here.

Mushroom Panini

This is a much less time-consuming version of this sandwich.

Sliced mushrooms
Sliced yellow onions
1 T butter and 1 T olive oil (or more if you are making several sandwiches)
Fontina cheese (I think Swiss and Provolone would be good too.)
Fresh baby spinach leaves
Foccacia bread (or other artisan bread), sliced

Saute mushrooms and onions in butter/oil.

Layer--bread, mushrooms/onions, spinach, cheese, bread. Brush exterior with olive oil. Grill on panini maker until cheese is melted and you have some good grill lines.

Clam Sauce and Linguine

1 lb package linguine
1/2 cup butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz chopped mushrooms
1 or 2 chopped green onions, white and green parts separate
2 (6.5 oz) cans minced clams (chopped are too big)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp ground pepper
salt to taste
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan

Cook linguine to al dente in salted water.

Melt butter in medium skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic, mushrooms, onion whites until lightly browned. Add minced clams, parsley, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking until hot.

Toss sauce with drained hot pasta. Garnish with Parmesan and onion greens.

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com here.

Complete the meal ideas:
Asparagus with lemon, and muffins.
Honey-Nut Green Beans, no-knead bread.

Creamy Wild Rice Soup

I made this Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup from MelsKitchenCafe.com without the chicken and substituted veggie broth for the chicken broth (compensate for the chicken with extra veggies and rice). No one missed the chicken at all. It was very hearty and filling, and with the rice, almonds, and milk you easily have a complete protein.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Printable Version

*Note: The vegetables in this soup are very adaptable. I usually use a combination of carrots, celery and corn and use the guideline of having 2 cups total of any number of combinations (i.e. only carrots and corn, carrots and celery, carrots, celery AND corn, you get the picture).

½ cup butter
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
½ – 1 cup frozen corn
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup carrots, sliced
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
½ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
¾ cup all-purpose flour
6 cups chicken broth
2 cups cooked wild rice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup slivered almonds
2 cups nonfat half-and-half (use normal half-and-half if you prefer, but you won’t believe how delicious this is with the nonfat variety!)

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, celery, corn, chicken and carrots and sauté for 5-7 minutes until vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through. Add the mushrooms and sauté 3-4 more minutes. Then add flour and stir well. Over medium heat, gradually pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly. Bring the soup just to a boil and then reduce heat to low and let simmer, while stirring, for 5-6 minutes, until it has thickened slightly.

Next, add the rice, salt, curry powder, mustard powder, parsley, ground black pepper and almonds. Allow all the ingredients to heat through and then pour in the half-and-half. Let the soup gently simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. The soup should not boil but should simmer over low heat so that it thickens slowly.