Cheesy Spinach-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Quick and easy dinner idea.

I'm sorry the picture just doesn't do them justice, they were way more delicious than they look here.

Ingredients

4 large Portobello Mushrooms

2 yellow onions, sliced

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 cups frozen spinach

1 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

4 oz. cream cheese)

2 oz. crumbled feta cheese

sea salt and pepper to taste.

Turn oven broiler to high.

Rinse tops of mushrooms and remove any debris. Wipe with a paper towel. Remove and chop just the stems and set them aside. 

Place mushroom caps top side up on a tray and broil for 5 min. Then turn them over and broil another 5 min. This will draw the moisture out, make sure the mushrooms are not so close to the broiler that they burn. Once they are done remove them from the oven and set aside.

Sauté the onions in the coconut oil until golden (not browned) and then add the spinach, chopped stems, nutmeg and cayenne, continue sautéing. Once the spinach is tender turn down the heat and add the cream cheese. Once the cream cheese has been completely mixed in, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place the mushroom caps on their tops and fill the well with the onion/spinach mixture. Top with feta cheese and place the filled caps back under the broiler until the feta is lightly browned. 

Enjoy, and make sure you share!

Mediterranean Chicken (in the pressure cooker of course!)

I prepared Mediterranean Chicken for our Nutrition Connect meeting this month. I am trying to win others over to pressure-cooking, it is safe, easy and so fast. I am amazed at the great meals that you can put together in very little time.

Ingredients:

• A 3-4 pound chicken
• 1-2 TBSP. Coconut Oil (or cooking oil of choice)
• 2 1/2 cups frozen, bell pepper/onion mix (you can use fresh as well)
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes (you can use fresh, you will need 8)
• garlic powder
• dried basil 
• dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• sea salt

I did not put down measured amounts of the spices because you can adjust to personal taste, start with 1 tsp of everything and you can add more or less as desired. 

 I cut the chicken up, it is easiest to put the cutting board in the sink and cut it up there. After you are finished, you can wash your cutting board and sink, rinse then sanitize both. (Sanitizer recipe - 1 cup water, 2 drops of plain un-scented bleach, spray or slosh over the entire surface of the sink, don't forget the back splash, water handles and sprayer attachment, leave on for two minutes).

Season the cut up chicken with the garlic powder, basil, oregano and sea salt.

Heat 1 TBSP. of coconut oil in pressure cooker pot and melt over med-high heat.

 Saute bell pepper/onion mixture until onions are translucent and water is mostly reduced (do not completely dry it out). Remove peppers from pot and set aside.

 Add one more TBSP. of coconut oil to pot if needed. Brown seasoned chicken pieces.

Once chicken is browned, add peppers/onion mix, tomatoes and bay leaf.                                                                                                                                                        

 Place lid on cooker and build pressure over high heat. Once pressure has built start timer for 8 minutes and turn heat down to medium (this will vary according to type and model of cooker).  When timer goes off, remove pot from heat and vent. When venting is complete the lock will disengage and you can remove the lid (be careful of steam, the contents are very hot). Remove bay leaf. You can serve as-is or over "Riced" Cauliflower.

Enjoy!

Butter Chicken in 15 Minutes!

Here is another great Pressure Cooker Recipe. Delicious and quick.

Ingredients:

A 2 1/3 - 3 pound whole chicken (you can use parts if you prefer, just reduce cooking time down to 8 minutes).
2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
4 Tbsp real butter (do not use margarine)
1 1/2 cups of water
sea salt and fresh milled pepper

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Melt the butter in the pressure cooker pot and saute the onions until very lightly browned. Brown the chicken in the butter and onions on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pot and place in the steamer basket. Add the water to the pot and bring to a boil scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Place the steamer basket into the pot (do not use the trivet if you have one to rest the steamer basket on, you want the basket in the water). Place the cover on the pot, once you have built steam start your timer for 15 minutes. When the time is up remove the pot from the heat and let the pressure fall on its own. Remove the basket from the pot and look at the sauce, if it is too thin boil it to evaporate the extra water, then pour over your chicken. Total time, maybe 30 minutes (15 prepping, 15 cooking). Too easy.

Coconut and Almond Crusted Fish

You know that eating fish is good for you,
but are you eating it on a regular basis? You should be at least 2 six ounce servings per week. Fish is brain food, rich in Omega 3. Some fish are higher in Omega 3 than others, but all fish are part of a healthy diet. Coconut and Almond Crusted Fish is a delicious way to enjoy fish and easy to prepare (it is also low-carb with 6 net carbs per serving).

32 ounces of fish (eight fillets) I used frozen Barramundi from BJ's
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp of Dijon Mustard
2 Tbsp of Lemon or Lime Juice 
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper
2 cups of ground almonds (or use almond flour)
2 cup or un-sweetened flake coconut  (you can make your own, you will have milk as well, you want to use the strained solids).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Defrost fish if necessary. Mix mayo, mustard, juice, 1 tsp salt and cayenne pepper. In a separate bowl mix coconut and almonds. Coat fish fillets in mayo/mustard mixture and then coat the fish with almond/coconut mixture. Bake for 15 minutes.

Here are some neat NC Fish websites:

http://marinersmenu.org/
http://www.fishwatch.gov/

Yummy Beef Tips and Broccoli Recipe

I have never been a big red meat eater, I have had to acquire an appreciation for it. Beef is satisfying and a good source of iron which is particularly important to pre-menopausal women. I've been eating it lately because it is good, it fills me up and I don't get hungry for long time after eating. I made this last night, I took a picture of my plate, this was way too much for me to eat (the rest is for my lunch tomorrow) but I wanted to take a nice photo.

On the right is a nice quick beef stir fry and on the left a tomato, avocado and mozzarella salad served on baby greens. Recipes below.

Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry

1 pound beef tips
1/2 bunch of green onions
4 cloves of garlic, each cut in half
1 small red bell pepper, cut into 8 pieces
1 small yellow bell pepper, cut into 8 pieces
3 heads of broccoli, cut the florets off and split the large ones, save the stalks for another recipe.
4 - 6 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. powdered ginger
2 Tbs. sesame seeds
coconut oil

Heat 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a large skillet or frying pan. On high heat brown beef tips, make sure all sides are seared well. Add the onions, garlic, and both bell peppers, continue to stir-fry until the veggies start to soften and get just a little brown on the edges, then add the broccoli florets and continue to stir-fry. Add the soy sauce and continue to stir-fry, make sure you scrape the brown bits off of the bottom of the skillet at mix it with the soy sauce, turn down the heat and add the powdered ginger and sesame seeds, stir well.

Makes 4 servings.

Tomato, Avocado and Mozzarella Salad

1 large beefsteak tomato, cut into 8 pieces
1 ripe Haas Avocado, cut into cubes
1/4 pound of mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes
2 Tbs. Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tbs. Olive Oil
Baby salad greens

Mix the first 5 ingredients together in  a bowl, serve on top of the salad greens.
Makes 4 servings.