Slow Cooker Black Bean Mushroom Chili

from EatingWell.com

INGREDIENTS

1 pound dried black beans, (2 1/2 cups), rinsed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup mustard seeds
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds, or ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds, or ground cardamom
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
8 ounces tomatillos, (see Ingredient Note), husked, rinsed and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup water
5 1/2 cups mushroom broth, or vegetable broth
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1-2 tablespoons minced canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, (see Ingredient Note)
1 1/4 cups grated Monterey Jack, or pepper Jack cheese
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 limes, cut into wedges


PREPARATION

1. Soak beans overnight in 2 quarts water. (Alternatively, place beans and 2 quarts water in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 1 hour.) Drain the beans, discarding soaking liquid.

2. Combine oil, mustard seeds, chili powder, cumin and cardamom in a 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven. Place over high heat and stir until the spices sizzle, about 30 seconds. Add onions, mushrooms, tomatillos and water. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are juicy, 5 to 7 minutes. Uncover and stir often until the juices evaporate and the vegetables are lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Add broth, tomato paste and chipotles; mix well.

3. Place the beans in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Pour the hot vegetable mixture over the beans. Turn heat to high. Put the lid on and cook until the beans are creamy, 5 to 8 hours.

4. Garnish each serving with cheese, a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of cilantro. Serve with lime wedges. Stovetop Variation: Total: 4 1/2 hours In Step 2, increase broth to 81/2 cups. Omit Step 3. Add the beans to the Dutch oven; cover and simmer the chili gently over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the beans are creamy to bite, about 3 hours.

TIPS & NOTES
Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. 

Ingredient notes: Chipotle peppers are dried, smoked jalapeño peppers. Ground chipotle chile pepper can be found in the specialty spice section of most supermarkets. Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce are smoked jalapeños packed in a flavorful sauce. Look for the small cans with the Mexican foods in large supermarkets. Once opened, they'll keep up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer.
Tomatillos are tart, plum-size green fruits that look like small, husk-covered green tomatoes. Find them in the produce section near the tomatoes. Remove the outer husk and rinse them well before using.

NUTRITION -  10 servings, generous 1 cup each
Per serving: 306 calories; 10 g fat ( 4 g sat , 2 g mono ); 20 mg cholesterol; 40 g carbohydrates; 18 gprotein; 13 g fiber; 415 mg sodium; 735 mg potassium.

Pesto Stuffed Portobello Pizzas

BodyRock.tv Portobello Pizza

Ingredients:
4 tomatoes, chopped
4 large portobello mushrooms,
4 cloves of garlic,
lemon,
1 leek, chopped
1 onion, chopped,
fresh basil,
parmigiano reggiano cheese,
fresh parsley,
olive oil,
salt.


Directions:Heat up about 2 table spoons of olive oil.

Stir the onion until it’s slightly brown.

Squeeze about 1 table spoon of fresh lemon juice over the ingredients.

Add about 5 leaves of chopped fresh basil.
Spray olive oil on a baking sheet and place the mushrooms on the sheet with the bottom side up.

Add the mixed ingredients from the sauce pan into each mushroom and top with grated parmegiano cheese. Place the baking sheet into the preheated oven and bake for 12 minutes at 400F

Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley. Ready to serve
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Pesto Stuffed Portobello Pizzas

4 Portobello mushroom caps, stems removed
1/2 cup Basil Lemon Pesto (or other Clean pesto sauce)
4oz fresh mozzarella, drained and sliced 1/4-inch thick
4 campari tomatoes or other vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2. Using a soup spoon, scrape out gills from underside of portobellos caps and discard. Spread 2 Tbsp pesto in scraped-out hollow of each mushroom cap. Top with mozzarella and tomato slices, enough to cover top of each mushroom.

3. Place pizzas on a baking sheet and bake in the oven until mozzarella is melted and portobello mushrooms are cooked, but hold their shape still, about 10 minutes.

Servings 4 x 1 pizza
Calories: 201
Protein: 12g
Fat: 14g

Roasted Asparagus, Mushrooms and Onions

Prep Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 35 mins
Servings: 12


Ingredients
3 lbs asparagus, trimmed
1 lb mushrooms, thickly sliced
1 large red onions, sliced
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions
Heat oven to 425ºF.
Line two 15 1/2x10 1/2-inch rimmed baking sheets with foil.
Gently toss all ingredients in a large bowl until vegetables are coated with oil.
Spread evenly on baking sheets.
Roast 20 to 25 minutes stirring once until vegetables are slightly charred and tender.
If preparing the asparagus and onion ahead, store them in a plastic bag large enough to accommodate the rest of the ingredients so you won't have to dirty a bowl.

Paleo Shepherd's Pie

I’m not gonna lie, this meal in more finicky than what I usually like to cook. It messes up more than 1 pan and requires that you pay attention to it while it’s cooking. It’s what I imagine having a child would be like. I get it though…you gotta put up with the crap and in the end, you’ll reap the reward. In this case, it’s food to stuff into your face.

1 lb. ground beef, chicken, turkey, pork…almost any ground meat will work

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 carrots or parsnips, chopped

4 oz. mushrooms, sliced

1 T each FRESH rosemary, sage and thyme (herbs are the flavor maker and must NOT be omitted)

splash + 1/2 c chicken stock

1 T potato starch (easily substituted with corn starch)

1/2 head cauliflower, chopped and boiled in water until soft

1 egg

S&P

Preheat your oven to 400ºF.

In a deep-sided, oven safe saute pan add the ground beef and saute on medium heat until browned. Add the onions, garlic, carrots and mushrooms and cook until softened. Add 1 c chicken stock and potato starch. Use a spatula to pick up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan.

Turn the heat off and toss in 3/4 of the chopped herbs along with some salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, a splash of chicken stock and the cooked cauliflower pieces.

Use a combination of whisking and smashing to get the cauliflower as smooth as possible. Throw in the rest of the herbs along with a nice, heavy pinch of salt.

Spoon the mixture on top of the meat and press into an even layer with your spatula.

Bake in the oven, on the middle rack, for 10 minutes, then turn the oven on broil and cook for another 10 minutes. Once the “pie” has come out of the oven, let it rest a few minutes before serving.

Get more HERE!

petite lasagna

Ingredients:

12 oz raw ground turkey
¼ tsp salt, divided
¼ tsp pepper
1 cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped mushrooms
14.5 oz can crushed tom. or sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tsp dried oregano, divided
½ tsp dried basil
1 ½ cups part skim ricotta cheese
24 small square wonton wrappers (the kind near the tofu in the refrigerated section of the produce dept)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

(makes 12)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the turkey, onions, mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Crumble the meat and saute the mixture for about 10 minutes, or until the turkey is cooked through. Add the garlic and stir constantly for 30 seconds.

Add the crushed tomatoes and 2 tsp of oregano. Bring the pan to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, a pinch of salt and pepper, the remaining teaspoon of oregano, and the basil. Stir to mix well. Set aside.

Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Place 1 wonton wrapper into each of the 12 cups, pressing firmly in the bottom of the cup and up the sides.

Using half of the ricotta mixture, divide it among the 12 muffin cups. Next, using half of the turkey tomato sauce, spoon it evenly over each of the ricotta filled cups. Sprinkle with 2 tsp of mozzarella.

Gently press another wonton wrapper on top of the mozzarella layer.

Repeat the process by distributing the remaining ricotta, then the remaining tomato sauce, and finally the rest of the shredded mozzarella.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

Let the cups cool, remove them from the pan, and serve!


Nutrition Info for 1 petite lasagna:
Calories: 181.2, Total Fat: 7.9g, Cholesterol: 41.9mg, Sodium: 389.5mg, Total Carb: 13.6g, Fiber: 1 g, Sugars: 1.6g, Protein 14.1g

*    Find this recipe and more here

Fast & Easy Chicken Bean Stew

Fast & Easy Chicken Bean Stew

Serves 8 Serving Size 1.25 cups
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour

Baby it’s cold outside! And when it is cold we want something hot and hearty to fill up our bellies and warm us up. Stews are perfect and Winter is the best time to enjoy them. Plus the recipes allow you to use almost whatever is in the fridge.

A cassoulet is typically made with meats such as duck, pork or goose, cooks for hours and is rather high in fat! So in keeping with one of my mini-goals to eat healthier I modified a simple cassoulet recipe I found. Since I changed the type of meat used and the cooking vessel I could not commit a culinary sin and call this a cassoulet. Hence, you have a filling stew that was prepared in less than 30 minutes with only an hour of cook time.

2 skinless boneless chicken breasts, sliced 1/2 inch chunks
1 15 oz can of Red Kidney Beans
1 15 oz can of White Kidney Beans
1 15 oz can of Black Beans 50 less sodium
1 24 oz jar of Pasta Sauce
(I used Safeway Select Spicy Red Bell Pepper Pasta Sauce)
25 Baby Carrots, raw chopped
8 Red Pearl Onions, chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
1 Portobello Mushroom cap chopped
1 tsp of fresh Thyme

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all ingredients in 3 quart baking dish. Cover and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until carrots are tender.

Let rest for 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms, Balsamic, and Parmesan

(Makes 4-6 servings)

Ingredients:

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced in 1/2 inch slices (I used brown crimini mushrooms, but any mushrooms will work)
1 lb. fresh green beans, preferably thin French style beans
1 1/2 T olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 T finely grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450F/230C. Wash mushrooms and let drain (or spin dry in salad spinner, which is what I did.)

While mushrooms are drying, trim ends of beans and cut beans in half so you have bite-sized pieces. (An easy way to trim them is to gather a small handful of beans, stand them up on cutting board, holding loosely so they will fall down and have ends ends aligned, then trim. Repeat with other end.)

Cut mushrooms into slices 1/2 inch thick. Then put beans and mushrooms into a Ziploc bag or plastic bowl.

Whisk together olive oil and balsamic vinegar and pour over, then squeeze bag or stir so all the beans and mushrooms are lightly coated with the mixture. Arrange on large cookie sheet, spreading them out well so beans and mushrooms are not crowded.

Roast 20-30 minutes, starting to check for doneness after 20 minutes. Cook until beans are tender-crisp, mushrooms are cooked, and all liquid on the pan from mushrooms has evaporated.

Season beans to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper, then sprinkle with finely grated parmesan. Serve hot.

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