Grilled Portobello Mushrooms Stuffed with Sausage, Spinach, and Cheese

Well, I am on week two of the South Beach Diet Phase 1. Overall, it has been a fairly easy transition from our normal diet, and not too crazy not having tons of carbs. Although, yesterday my son was eating a whole wheat tortilla at breakfast and I was actually jealous. Maybe the no carb thing is affecting me more than I think. All in all, I think two weeks is my limit for not having fruit and complex carbs and I am going to be glad to move on to Phase 2. So far, I have lost 6 pounds on Phase 1 and I still have most of the week to go. I am hoping to take off another 4 pounds, just so it can be an even 10 pounds lost. I like round numbers.

I found this recipe on a website I love called Kalyn's Kitchen. Her recipes are normally delicious, and I was pleased to find that she had a ton of SBD stuff listed. The site is a great resource to have in your back pocket. These portobellos were fantastic, and I have found yet another recipe I would make with or without the SBD. We served a heaping side of steamed broccoli to complete our meal.

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms Stuffed with Sausage, Spinach, and Cheese
Adapted from: Bobby Flay's Grill It via Kalyn's Kitchen website

Ingredients:
4 large portabello mushrooms
12 oz. mild or hot turkey Italian sausage
1-2 T olive oil (for browning sausage and onions and brushing on mushrooms before grilling)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tsp. minced fresh garlic
1/2 cup of dry red wine
1/2 cup marinara sauce (jarred is fine)
pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
8 oz. coarsely chopped spinach leaves
2 T chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup grated part-skim mozzarella, plus 1/2 cup for sprinkling on top

Directions:
Preheat gas or charcoal grill to high heat. Heat a small amount of olive oil in heavy frying pan, then crumble Italian sausage into pan and cook about 5 minutes, breaking apart with back of the turner as it cooks. When sausage is well-browned, remove to bowl.

If needed, add a bit more olive oil, then saute onions until they're starting to soften, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and continue cooking until onions are starting to brown, a few minutes more. Add red wine to de-glaze the pan and let it almost evaporate. Add Italian sausage back into pan, then add red pepper flakes and tomato sauce and simmer 2-3 minutes while you chop the spinach.

Add chopped spinach and let it wilt and cook down, stirring so it's evenly distributed in the sausage/onion mixture. Turn off heat and stir in 1/2 cup mozzarella, and chopped basil.

Remove stems from mushrooms caps, being careful not to break them. Scrape out brown gills from inside mushrooms if desired, then brush both sides of mushrooms with olive oil. Put mushrooms on grill, inside facing down, and cook about 4 minutes, until mushroom is slightly browned and starting to soften.

Remove mushrooms from the grill. Carefully stuff the inside of each mushroom with sausage/spinach/cheese mixture, then top each mushroom with about 2 T grated mozzarella.

Carefully put mushrooms back on grill, stuffing facing up of course! Cover grill and cook about 5 minutes, checking often and removing from grill when mushrooms are cooked through, and cheese is melted and starting to brown, and stuffing mixture is hot. Serve immediately.



The Result:
YUM! I made a whole pound of turkey sausage and a whole jar of marinara sauce. I only used about half of the mixture, so the other half I froze for spaghetti and meat sauce some night. I love when dinner can pull double duty! The meaty texture of the portobello mushrooms was so satisfying, and the flavor combo of these ingredients really hit the spot.