SPINACH AND CHEESE STUFFED MUSHROOMS

Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

2 packs of fresh whole mushrooms (I used baby portabella and just regular ole mushrooms, the baby portabella ones were better)

10 oz chopped frozen spinach thawed and drained well

3 tbsp butter

1/4 cup chopped onions

Crumbled Feta

Grated swiss cheese or a pack of shredded Italian Cheese (that’s what I used for these)

Grated Parmesan

Pull the stems out of the mushrooms so that the cap makes a bowl. I did it with a tiny melon scoop but they aren’t hard to remove at all. Put them stems in a food processor and chop them really small.
In a pan, saute the onions in butter until they are soft and then add the spinach and chopped mushroom stems. When it’s good and heated, add the grated swiss or Italian cheese blend. You may need to salt this mixture to taste.

Lay the mushroom caps out upside down on a well greased cookie sheet and stuff them with the spinach mixture.

Top them with a little crumbled feta and then sprinkle parmesan over that. Bake it at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes and you have a delicious appetizer that looks gourmet!

Enjoy!

MOZZARELLA CHICKEN

MOZZARELLA CHICKEN

This is a really good way to do something different with those 4 chicken breasts you have in the fridge!

4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 slices mozzarella cheese
1 package fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup flour
2 or 3 tablespoons of butter (divided)


Take your chicken breasts and pound them into flatso's with a meat tenderizing tool. You're going to want to put Saran Wrap over the chicken before you do that so that chunks of salmonella don't go flying across the room.

After you flatso the meat, dredge it in the flour lightly and put it in the skillet with a little butter. Cook each side about 7 minutes or so depending on how thin the meat is, but definitely cook it until it's done.

Saute the mushrooms in butter (I like to also add worcestirshire)

Put the chicken in a casserole dish and put the saute'd mushrooms on top of the chicken, then top each breast with a slice of mozzarella cheese.

Stick that in the broiler long enough for the cheese to melt and serve!

Mushroom Chicken Deluxe

I was flipping through my "Taste of Home's Casserole Cookbook" because I love a casserole in case you haven't already noticed. And I found this recipe which I thought would be a little different from the ones I usually cook, and so I tried it out. My fam loved it and I have to say, it was different, sort of like a chicken lasagna. It was really good and creamy, packed with mushrooms and chicken and noodles.

Mushroom Chicken Deluxe

1 to 1 and 1/2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms
1 medium onion chopped (I had to use dried minced)
1/2 cup chopped green pepper (which I didn't have and didn't use but I know it would have been good)
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1 can cream of chicken soup undiluted
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped pimentos (didn't use, because we don't like them)
1/4 tsp dried basil
8 oz spiral pasta cooked and drained
2 cups small curd cottage cheese
6 oz shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese divided
3 cups cubed chicken


First, I cooked my chicken (I always buy the chicken tenders for casseroles, they are more tender and easier to shred) in a sort of sauce pan with a little bit of olive oil. I seasoned them with Cavendar's greek seasoning, but you can use whatever you like. When they were done, I pulled them out and set them aside. (I cubed them in the sauce pan and then took them out)

Next, I started boiling the spiral noodles. I cooked them according to package directions.

While noodles were boiling, I took the mushrooms and onion and sauted them in the butter (you'd put peppers in here too if you used them). Once tender, I added the cream of chicken soup , milk and basil to the mushroom mix - you'd also add pimentos here if you used them.

Then in a separate boil mix cottage cheese, cheddar cheese and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.

In a 9x13 greased pan, layer first the spiral noodles, on top of that put the cheese mixture. On top of the cheese mixture, layer the cubed chicken and then pour the mushroom sauce over chicken. Sprinkle remaining parmesan over it all and bake it at 350 until it's bubbly.

It really was good and it was good for left overs too. It used more pans then I'm use to using (I hate doing dishes) but none of it was hard to do. If you took the time and boiled the noodles before cooking the chicken, you could get away with using one pot and one bowl to mix the cheese in - and then of course the casserole dish.

Shredded Pork Barbecue Sandwiches

I love a good BBQ sandwich, there's just something about it that I can hardly pass up! But, I've never made one before Saturday because I just assumed it was one of those things that I wouldn't be able to duplicate at home. On Saturday my Grandfather drove 4 and a half hours with his girlfriend to come and visit me and my family. The night before he came, Jamie (my husband) and I stayed up until 4 a.m. pricing clothes for a giant yard sale at the multi purpose center here. We woke up at 5:40 and loaded up all of our stuff so we could have it unloaded and out to sell by 8. There were thousands of people there! We were swamped, and so tired. It was one of the most exhausting experiences of my life. Then, I rushed home to put Madelyn down for a nap and to prepare a meal for my sweet grandfather. I cooked 3 pork tenderloins to have the recipe I posted before this, pork sandwiches with spicy spread. I had so much pork tenderloin left over that I had to figure out what to do with it! It shredded so easily because of the way that I cooked it so it was clear what I had to do!! I'll pass it on in case anyone is like me and didn't realize how easy it was!!!!


Shredded Pork Barbecue Sandwiches

Pork tenderloin
marinade (I used soy sauce, lemon juice and garlic - you use whatever you like)

Wrap in tinfoil after marinating and bake at 375 for about an hour and 15 minutes (35 minutes per pound of meat) and then when it's through, turn the oven off but let it sit in there for as long as you can - but 2 or 3 hours really makes it tender. It should shred easily with a fork after that. Then you can mix it with the barbecue sauce.

for the sauce

1 cup of vinegar (I used white - some recipes said apple cider and a few said to use both)
2 tbspns brown sugar
1 to 1/2 cup of ketchup
Worcestershire sauce (I think about a tbsp)
1 tbsp ground mustard
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Add a little water if this is too tart

Mix it all together and mop it up with the shredded pork. It was so good and it made plenty! The sauce will be a little thin, but that's good because the shredded meat soaks it up really well and it doesn't get "gunky".

I served it with a yellow potato salad that I love but I just throw it together and I never measure anything, I just mix until it tastes good, so I couldn't give a proper recipe for it. But, I did just boil potatoes (I used yukon gold but I usually do red potatoes) about 6 of them and I mix in light mayonnaise, mustard, cubed dill pickles, (crumbled bacon and/or boiled eggs are good too but I didn't have any) garlic salt and if it isn't tart enough, I add a little of that juice from those spicy pickles from Vlasic, I think?

Anyway, I know this is a silly and easy recipe but if it inspires someone to use left over pork this way, then I guess it was worth posting!

Pork Sandwiches with Spicy Spread

This recipe is super easy, and so good. It's more of an appetizer then anything, it's a fantastic finger food. But you could make a meal of it if you wanted. I got it from a very dear friend of mine, whom I have known since I was in high school. She made it at one of our Annual Christmas get togethers and it has been a staple at every one since then.

Pork Sandwiches

1 or 2 pork tenderloins (this depends on how thick you slice the meat. Usually one will do just fine. And make sure you buy the tenderloin and not just the pork loin. I always get the ones that are packaged with the marinade in them. Teriyaki is the best for this recipe)

1 package of Hawaiian sweet rolls

1 or 2 spoonfuls of mayonnaise (I use light mayo)

1 or 2 squirts of sriracha hot chili sauce (this an asian chili sauce in a clear bottle with a green squirt top if you have trouble finding it)

I set my oven at 375 and wrap the tenderloin in tin foil (if you prefer, it is also good cooked on the grill). I set it on a cookie sheet and pop it in the oven for about an hour and 15 minutes. (35 minutes per pound of meat). Use a meat thermometer if you are uncomfortable telling when it's done.

After it's done, I turn the oven off but let the tenderloin sit in the oven for as long as I can - this really makes it very tender.

I slice the Hawaiian rolls in half and in a separate bowl, I mix the mayonnaise with the sriracha sauce. You want it to be sort of a light orange - taste it to make sure the spice is to your liking. If it's too spicy add more mayo, if it's not enough, add more sriracha.

Spread the sriracha and mayo mixture on the Hawaiian rolls and put in a slice of the tenderloin.


There you go, it's done. There is something about the mixture of salty from the pork, sweet from the rolls and spicy from the sauce that just makes this really unique and delicious. I hope you enjoy!

Roasted Garlic and Red Pepper, Feta and Spinach stuffed Chicken!

First, I want to apologize for the pictures here. My camera was in my car (still is actually) and the carpenter bees that are hovering around outside my garage seem like they are trying to deliberately keep me away from my vehicle. I'm terrified of those things and I tried several times to bravely run out there (with a broom so as to swat the bees) only to run back in screaming and launching the broom behind me hitting nothing but my car. Anyway, I had to take the pictures with my camera phone.....

EDIT: And now I can't get the pictures to do right at all on my site so, I can either post them randomly all on top, or I can not post them at all...we'll see!

I had all afternoon to prepare for this meal, so I just kind of took my time. I roasted my own red peppers and garlic but it is time consuming so if you don't have time, just use the jarred stuff.

Roasted Garlic and Red Pepper, Feta and Spinach Stuffed Chicken


3 to 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 (at least) red bell peppers
1 head of garlic
6 oz or so of chopped frozen spinach drained
1 tub of feta
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
pinch or sprinkle of cavendars greek seasoning - or whatever chicken seasoning you like
pinch or so of paprika (totally optional)


1. Okay, like I said, I had time on my hands and this part CAN take time, however it is still easy. And if you wanna skip it, then just by jarred roasted red peppers. But, I cut up my peppers and just laid them in fairly large junks "meat" side down and skin side up in a casserole dish (you can use a cookie pan) and I drizzled a little olive oil and broiled those suckers until the skin on them was totally black and blistered (this takes about 15 to 20 minutes with the oven on 525 depending on your oven of course).



Once roasted they looked like this, and even these could've been broiled a bit longer...


Okay, and once you roast the peppers (if you already know how to do this, please skip to the step where it's already done...)you have to throw them immediately into a ziplock bag OR tupperware with the lid on so as to let them"stew" until they are all cooled off. This blistering and sealing makes the skins sooo much easier to peal off .

So, then you peel the blistered skin off of the red peppers once they are cooled and voila, you have roasted red peppers. Set those thangs aside for tha moment.

2. I roasted my own garlic as well which is also totally optional. I just took a head of garlic and put it in some tin foil with a smidge of butter and stuck it in the oven for 25 minutes at 350 degrees and when I took them out they were perfect!


3. So, I had my roasted peppers and my roasted garlic and I mixed them in a bowl. I decided to chop mine just a smidge in my little mini chopper just to sort of make the garlic cloves smash around and chop the peppers up finer. You do what you like. After I got the consistancy I desired, I added the spinach that I thawed and drained, and the tub of feta which I love. Then I added the parmesan and stirred it all up. It wouldn't be a bad idea to salt this mixture a bit, but it's not necessary.



4. Flatten out your chicken breasts until they are total flatsos. (anybody read Junie B Jones?, well I have a 7 year old and so the term "Flatso" means almost as flat as it would be if you ran your car over it). Of course, you'll wanna put some saran wrap or wax paper when you're doing the meat pounding or else gross stuff will fly around the room each time you lift your meat tenderizing tool.....

6. Okay, so now you flatsoed your meat, so now you put a spoon full or two of the aforementioned red pepper, spinach, feta and garlic mixture in the middle of the flat chicken and either roll it or fold it in half best you can and stick a toothpick through that sucker.

7. Now, season your meat with cavendars and paprika or whatever poultry seasoning you deem acceptable and pop it in the oven at 375 and cook it until the meat is done which took me almost an hour.

Voila! You have a really complicated looking meal that may or may not have taken a lot of time but certainly wasn't that complicated. I had some of the red pepper mixture left over at the end and I spooned it on top of mine, but again, you do whatever you like there.

Hope you enjoy!!! This is actually my own recipe, believe it or not. So, I really, really, hope anyone who tries this enjoys it!
Ha!!