Category: Appetizers
Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms with Cauliflower, Couscous and Greens
I am a big fan of recipes using something that can be stuffed. It opens up room for creativity and it’s pretty tasty too! I love stuffed mushrooms because it uses a vegetable as the base rather than carbs, making it a healthier option.
Some reasons why I came up with this stuffed mushrooms recipe:
-I love mushrooms
-Vegetarian
-Low carb
-Savory
-It looks fancy (great for parties)
-Can be an appetizer or meal
You can use either larger portobello mushrooms or small to medium sized depending on what you’re making them for. As a meal, I prefer to use the larger ones. The smaller sizes make great appetizers.
If there’s one thing that you MUST do in this recipe, it’s use REAL parmesan cheese. Please please please don’t use the kraft, perfectly manufactured into equal length pieces, fake parmesan “cheese.” Buy real parmesan in a block and grate it at home. It makes ALL the difference. If you’re vegan, then you can eliminate the cheese all together (so sad), and in that case I would add a little more seasonings/salt to make up for the flavor parmesan adds.
- 6 large portobello mushrooms OR 12 medium sized or a combo
- ½ head cauliflower (frozen or fresh)
- 1-2 shallots
- ½ cup couscous (cooked in water or vegetable broth for more flavor)
- 3 cups greens of your choice (spinach, kale, swiss chard)
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- Fresh rosemary
- S & P
- Garlic salt
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut out the stems and create a space for filling in your mushrooms. Prep a cookie sheet with sides with olive oil and brush olive oil on the mushrooms. Sprinkle garlic salt on the mushroom bottoms.
- Cook couscous according to the package (you’ll only need to cook ½ cup). This takes 5 min.
- Boil cauliflower florets in a pot until soft. Drain and puree in a food processor or blender with salt and 1-2 tbsp olive oil.
- Chop the shallots and greens into small pieces.
- Heat olive oil in a pan over medium/high heat and saute the shallots and minced garlic for a few min. Add in the greens and saute another 1-2 min, until the greens wilt.
- In a bowl, mix together the couscous, pureed cauliflower, and greens mixture. Season generously with salt and pepper, garlic salt and chopped fresh rosemary.
- Fill the mushrooms with the mixture and top with grated parmesan cheese
- Bake for about 12 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Top with more fresh rosemary and enjoy!
Traditional, Creamy and Mango Salsa
This gray and dreary day in Minneapolis has me craving all things bright and cheery. Food can be so pretty. Don’t you love when your food has all different colors and textures in it? Food is art. And salsa is so pretty!
I’ve come up with 3 different salsas: traditional, creamy and mango. Traditional salsa is pretty standard but SO good with fresh ingredients! Add more jalapeno if you likey da spicy. The creamy salsa is my favorite! It uses greek yogurt to make it smooth and creamy. All the other flavors take over the yogurt flavor so it’s awesome. Added bonus: extra protein! Mango salsa is a sweeter salsa. Substitute mango for strawberries if you wish!
I love making these for get-togethers. The colors mixed together are so pretty and salsa is ALWAYS a hit. These are pretty mild but you can add more jalapeno if necessary. Pair with tortilla chips, add to tacos or my personal favorite, pair with a margarita or two! 🙂
- Traditional Salsa
- 2 cups finely chopped tomatoes (about 5 small tomatoes)
- ¾ cup red onion
- 1 tsp chopped jalapeno
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 cup corn
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- Pinch of salt
- ½ tsp cumin
- Creamy Salsa
- 2 cups chopped tomato (5 small tomatoes)
- ¾ cup greek yogurt
- ¾ cup red onion
- 1 tsp chopped jalapeno
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ tsp cumin
- Mango Salsa
- 1 mango, coarsely chopped into chunks
- ½ tsp jalapeno
- Juice of half a lemon
- ½ cup chopped red pepper
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ¼ cup red onion
- Pinch of salt
- Chop ingredients and mix together! It’s best when it’s been sitting in the fridge for an hour or so before serving so the ingredients have time to blend together. Serve with chips!
Prosciutto and Parmesan Salad and Rosemary Focaccia
The punch salad. So simple but so good!
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stopped at Punch for a to-go salad that comes with that tasty focaccia! It’s nothing fancy, really. Which makes it easy to recreate at home 🙂 Here are the recipes for the salad and the focaccia. The salad is pretty spot-on and I couldn’t believe how simple the focaccia is! I’ve never made my own bread before and I think it turned out pretty decent. Of course that wood burning oven would have been nice to have! Some day 😉
- Punch Salad
- Ingredients
- 4 cups mixed greens
- 2 oz prosciutto (TJs has it nitrate-free)
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts (I buy them already toasted at TJs)
- ½ cup fresh finely grated parmigiano reggiano (choose an authentic one)
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. In a large bowl, add the mixed greens and prosciutto. Add the dressing and toss together until it is well coated. Finely grate the parmesan cheese and sprinkle over the top. Top with the toasted pine nuts and toss all ingredients together.
- Rosemary Focaccia
- 3 cups flour
- 1 package dry yeast (¼ oz)
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
- Olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- ¾ cup warm water
- Dissolve the yeast in ½ cup warm water and let sit 10 min until bubbly. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt and yeast mixture and remaining water. Mix well with a wooden spoon and then use your hands. Then knead by hand on a floured work surface for a few minutes.
- Put the dough mixture into a well oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit out for about 1.5 hrs until it’s risen to double it’s size.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Oil a baking sheet and form the dough into a circle or oval onto the baking sheet. Use a rolling pin to make it thin. Dimple the top all over with the tip of a utensil or your finger. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and rosemary. Bake for 15-20 min until it’s just starting to get barely golden. Careful not to overbake. Slice with a pizza cutter into 8 slices. Serve with the punch salad.
Bruschetta Bar
This one was SO much fun to put together! I love this idea of a bruschetta bar because it lets you get creative. When I think of bruschetta, I think of tomatoes on top of bread, but it is so much more than that! Think Italian. Think cheeses and meats. Think spreads and toppings. It can be whatever you want it to be. I used a large cutting board to lay out all of the spreads, meats and toppings. This is an awesome appetizer for entertaining a group of people. The girls and I thoroughly enjoyed it along with a few glasses of wine!
Isn’t it beautiful?! Below is my recipe for each homemade item of the bar. But I definitely encourage you to get creative and dream up something yourself!
- TOMATO BRUSCHETTA
- 2 cups chopped cherry tomatoes (as small as you can get them)
- ¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
- pinch of salt
- A good drizzle of both olive oil and balsamic vinegar
- Combine ingredients in a bowl
- WHIPPED FETA & CREAM CHEESE
- ½ package of cream cheese, softened
- 8 oz container of feta cheese
- Combine cheeses in a food processor and blend for a couple minutes, long enough for the cheeses to become almost more fluffy/whipped.
- SAUTEED MUSHROOMS
- 1-2 cups baby bella mushrooms, chopped
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- Sautee mushrooms in a pan with olive oil. Season with salt and garlic powder. They will shrink down quite a bit so start with more than you think! You can always use fresh garlic in place of garlic powder.
Click here for my recipe for fresh homemade pesto.
Crostini’s and Other Toppings
Choose whatever crostini’s or breads sound good to you. I used Raisin Rosemary Crisps from Trader Joe’s and Garlic crostini’s by Archer Farms. Fresh bread would also be delicious!
Arugula
Sunflower seeds
Other cheeses (parmesan, asiago, brie, goat)
Artichoke Antipasto Spread (From Trader Joe’s. I would recommend this!)
Olives
Meats
Prosciutto and Salami
To get fun recipes like this sent to your inbox sign up for my newsletter!
Asian Lettuce Wraps
What a good idea lettuce wraps are, right? A yummy mixture of meat, veggies, seasonings and garnishes wrapped up in lettuce…I wish I’d thought of it.
The warm ginger-y flavor of the filling + the CRUNCH you get from the lettuce + the fresh cilantro on top = delightful.
Lettuce wraps are typically an appetizer, but with a side or two I think they can be the main course. I made these when I was doing the Whole30 (no grains, no dairy, no added sugar) so I had them as the main course. Eat as many as you want when they’re this healthy, right? Nom nom nom.
My “sauce boss” aka Travis came up with the dressing for this one. Click here for the recipe. The link is also in the recipe box below.
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cups chopped baby bella mushrooms
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 2 cups shredded cabbage
- ½ cup chopped bell pepper
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 3 cloves garlic
- Salt and pepper
- Lettuce for wraps (I used whole romaine)
- Trav’s Asian Dressing
- Toppings: fresh cilantro, crushed cashews, chives, avocado
- Heat a little coconut oil in a pan. Add the chopped onion, bell pepper and garlic and sautee 5 minutes. Add the ground turkey and cook until browned. Add the rest of the veggies and seasonings and continue to sautee 10 minutes more. Peel apart the lettuce pieces, rinse and dry. Give yourself a hefty scoop for each lettuce piece and serve 2-3 on each plate. Drizzle some dressing on each one and add the toppings of your choice. Crunch away!