Monday, April 22, 2013

Portobello Lasagna Caps With Spinach Strawberry Salad and Garlic Toast

 
I debated whether I should post this dinner in one blog or  break it up into 3 separate posts.
See, Sue's daughter, Kenzie, and I made a tasty dinner for the whole family on the weekend and came up with 3 delicious dishes that ended up making a super de duper combination for dinner. 
I have decided to write one loooooong post and include all 3 recipes together just in case it might inspire you to attempt all 3 together too.
Of course, individually they are pretty great too! I've been eating the Strawberry Spinach Salad with Sesame Seed & Poppy Seed Dressing all week for lunch.
I think I will start with the salad to get things going:
 
 
Spinach Strawberry Salad with
Pecans and Sesame Seed & Poppy Seed Dressing
 
Ingredients
Salad
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
10 cups baby spinach
5 - 7 large strawberries, sliced
 
Dressing
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp onion, diced fine
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
 
Directions
In a skillet, toast pecans until fragrant and just starting to brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
 
 
Place spinach in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the sliced strawberries. Set aside.
 
 
Prepare the dressing: Whisk together all dressing ingredients until combined.
 
 
Assemble salad: Sprinkle toasted pecans on salad. Drizzle with 2 - 3 Tbsp of dressing and toss with 2 spoons to combine. Drizzle with more dressing to reach your personal preference. (Store remaining dressing in airtight container in fridge). Serve immediately.
 
 
And to make the Portobello Lasagna Caps:
 
 
Portobello Lasagna Caps
 
Ingredients
6 large Portobello caps, stem removed
1 Tbsp butter, melted
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup + 6 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese (part skim), shredded
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce
 
Directions
Preheat oven to 425. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Place mushroom caps, gill side up, on prepared cookie sheet.
Combine melted butter and minced garlic.
Using a pastry brush, brush garlic butter onto mushroom caps.
 
 
Roast caps at 425 for 10 minutes.
While they are in the oven, prepare your filling.
Mix together ricotta, egg, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, Mozzarella, and Italian seasoning.
 
 
Remove mushrooms from oven.
Top each with 1 Tbsp of spaghetti sauce.
 
 
Then divide the ricotta filling evenly amongst the caps.
Top each with 1 Tbsp of the remaining 6 Tbsp Parmesan cheese.
Place back in oven and cook another 10 - 15 minutes, until mixture is heated through and cheese is melted.
 
 
Serve hot.
 
 
Oooooh! Look at all that melty goodness.
According to Myfitnesspal ONE cap is worth: 180 calories, 8 carbs, 11 fat, and 15 protein.
Know what that means?
It means you can dive into all that melty goodness guilt free!
And, lastly, our recipe for the most garlicky garlic toast.
 
 
Garlic Toast
 
Ingredients
1/2 loaf French bread
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp dried chives
1 - 2 tsp Johnny's Garlic Spread (optional)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
 
Directions
Preheat oven to 425. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Cut French bread in half horizontally using a serrated knife.
Mix together butter, garlic, garlic salt, chives, and Johnny's Garlic Spread (is using). Spread generously on both halves of bread. Sprinkle evenly with the Parmesan cheese.
Place on prepared cookie sheet.
 
 
Bake at 425 for 10 - 15 minutes, until bread is toasted and cheese is melted. Remove from heat, slice, and serve.
 
 
As you can see, I put the bread on the same sheet with the mushrooms so I could get everything into my oven at the same time.
 
 
I have to say, these recipes combined very nicely! Overall pretty healthy - okay, except for the butter drenched garlic toast - but you have to have some indulgence!
I don't normally like fruit in my green salads but Kenzie created this masterpiece after piecing together a few recipes she found online (Sorry, she didn't keep track of which sites she visited!) and she may be bringing me around to fruit in green salads.
The lasagna mushroom cap was amazing! I am definitely making them again. So lasagna-y. You don't even miss the noodles.
 
Head over to Jam Hands and Feeding Big and The Velvet Moon Baker for some fantastic links!

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