Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms

The husband and boy are feeling a bit under the weather, so everyone (except for me) went to bed a little early this evening. Being left alone didn't exactly hurt my feelings, since then I had some time to workout on our elliptical and get a jump start on my blog post for tomorrow night's dinner. Once in a while it is nice to get some uninterrupted "me" time (although, the babies did keep fussing and I had to stop and feed them both in the midst of my alone time...so I guess it wasn't totally uninterrupted). Anyway, I love getting a chance to pursue some of my interests without feeling like I am short-changing anyone on quality time. But, I digress...

I found this recipe by searching through the myrecipes.com website, which is put together by the publishers of Cooking Light and several other magazines under the same corporate conglomeration. I did a search in their "vegetarian" files, and this popped up as a favorite amongst it's reviewers. I absolutely l-o-v-e portobellos, which is what grabbed my attention first. I thought that the addition of kalamata olives and fontina cheese made it sound interesting, so I thought I would give it a go. I think I will serve these stuffed mushrooms with either some roasted or baked potatoes.

Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms
From: myrecipes.com; Health magazine, May 2006

Ingredients:
4 large portobello mushroom caps
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 1/2 cups chopped tomato
1/3 cup chopped kalamata olives
1 cup fresh whole-grain breadcrumbs
1/2 cup (4 ounces) shredded fontina cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Place mushroom caps, gill sides up, on a rimmed baking sheet; drizzle with oil and vinegar, and season with salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Bake until caps are just tender, about 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, combine tomato, olives, breadcrumbs, cheese, and chives in a medium bowl. Season with remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

4. Divide tomato mixture evenly (about 1/2 cup per mushroom) among portobello caps. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned and mushrooms are tender. Serve hot.

CALORIES 189 ; FAT 11g (sat 3g,mono 6g,poly 1g); CHOLESTEROL 16mg; CALCIUM 111mg; CARBOHYDRATE 16g; SODIUM 457mg; PROTEIN 8g; FIBER 3g; IRON 2mg



The Result:
These were sooooo good! I wasn't sure how they were gonna turn out, but they ended up being mighty tasty.

The recipe turned out as written, so I didn't really have to change anything on this one. The only word of caution is that the recipe made a lot more filling than what my medium-sized mushrooms needed, and I couldn't think of another use for it. So, my dogs ended up benefiting from all the excess filling. (It's nice to spoil the pups once in a while...they appreciated their treat mixed in with their dog food.) I guess you could adjust the filling quantities to make a little less. I hate wasting food!

Anyway, for the breadcrumbs I toasted 4 slices of whole wheat bread and then wizzed them up in the food processor. It ended up working out perfectly, and I got the whole grain breadcrumbs that I needed. I ended up eating 2 caps total (with some rice and salad), and it was pretty filling.

Overall, this is a great recipe and one that I will make again.