I’m bringing you a bit of a change of pace today. No food, and not many words.
Springtime. It’s so special. Here is my attempt at capturing the beauty of it.
Springtime
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Tag Archives: Photos
Portobello Sandwiches + Oven Fries
I’ve got something a little different for you today.
I have two things for you. And I’m going to show you how I made them.
Balsamic portobello mushroom sandwiches with crispy onion, melty cheese and fresh tomato. Yes. And, baked french fries.
This super simple, quick and easy meal will amaze you!
I would say that neither of these are exactly recipes. They are ideas, really. Simple ideas. And two things that can become a regular weeknight meal.
For the easy oven fries, start with a potato (or two or three — this is very easily doubled, tripled, etc. for how many you need!)
Cut the potato in half.
And then cut the halves in half to make quarters.
And then again, cut the quarters in half.
Take the quarters, and slice them into fries.
Put the fries into a bowl and drizzle with some olive oil.
And then season those fries. I used salt, pepper, onion powder, paprika and garlic salt. Look below for specific amounts.
Toss those fries up so that they all get evenly coated.
And then, place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Lining the baking sheet with parchment paper is not completely necessary, but will make cleaning up easier!
While the fries are baking away in the oven, it’s on to the sandwich!
Start by prepping the ingredients. Slice a tomato, onion and some cheese.
Then take care of the onions. You are going to cook them in very hot oil to sort of flash fry them. Read below for detailed instructions. Here is what they will look like once they are done.
Then, take a nice, big portobello mushroom.
Pull off the stem and using a spoon, scrape out the black insides.
Heat a pan over medium heat with about 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, place the mushroom in the pan.
Let the mushroom cook for 3-4 minutes on each side. When it’s done, it should be soft and will have shrunk in size.
Once the ‘shroom is soft, turn up the heat to medium high. Pour some balsamic vinegar into the pan. And stand back. It may splash everywhere. You will have some cleaning up to do!
Let the mushroom cook in the balsamic for an additional 3-4 minutes and then turn off heat and place the sliced cheese on the mushroom.
To assemble, first, take a bun. Any bun. One that will make you happy!
Place the tomatoes on that bun. Some fresh, ripe, juicy, red tomatoes. I used two, sliced thick.
Then, the balsamic ‘shroom that now has melty delicious cheese on it.
Top that mushroom with crispy pan fried onion rings.
And there you have it, a portobello sandwich!
Smash down, cut in half, dig right in. However you prefer. Go for it.
It will be good. And it will be messy!
This is one of my favorite quick and easy meals. It takes no time at all and has few, simple ingredients that make for a not-messy kitchen after.
I hope that you will enjoy this meal as much as I do!
Ingredients
*For one. This recipe is very easily multiplied.
1 potato
Olive Oil
Salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, garlic salt
1 portobello mushroom
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
Sliced tomato
Sliced red onion
Cheese (I used fontina)
Preheat oven to 400*. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Start with the potato. Slice it in half. Slice the halves in half to make quarters. Slice the quarters in half. Then slice into fries. Add the fries to a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil. Add the seasoning. I used 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, a pinch of paprika and a pinch of garlic salt. Toss well to evenly coat the fries. Place on the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, flip and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
Clean the mushroom. Remove the stem and using a spoon, scrape out the black insides.
Heat a pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sliced onions. The key here is to make sure the oil is very hot before you add them. They will sort of flash fry and get caramelized and crispy, quickly. Once they are done (mine took about 5 minutes), remove from the pan and set aside.
Add a little more olive oil to the same pan and turn the heat to medium. Add the mushroom and let cook on each side for 3-4 minutes. When it’s done, the mushroom should be soft and have shrunk in size. Turn the heat to medium-high and then add the balsamic vinegar. Let the mushroom cook and additional 3-4 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the cheese slices to the mushroom.
Assemble the sandwich by placing the sliced tomato on a bun. Top with the mushroom that now has melted cheese on it, and then the red onions.
Take the fries out of the oven and enjoy the meal!
Week in Photos
What a beautiful week we had in Indiana. The weather was bright + warm all week with blue skies during the day and pink and orange sunsets every night. Spring is such a lovely time.
Here are six little things that made my beautiful spring week wonderful.
{This. A gift given to me. What can I even say. It was the greatest surprise and just so, so sweet.}
{This sandwich. My lunch on Friday. This burger + lettuce + tomato. So good.}
{This fruit. Lately, I just can’t get enough.}
{This smoothie. Pre-blend. Mango + blueberry + spinach. What’s your favorite smoothie combo?}
{This. Something I’m working on for class.}
{This sky. One of many from the past week.}
Enjoy your Sunday. 🙂
Eggplant + Zucchini Tomato Pasta
Last Friday, pizza. This Friday, pasta.
This pasta. Is so good.
I’ve been on a pasta hiatus for a little while. Not on purpose. It’s just not something I’ve been craving. Then this goat cheese pasta happened. And now this.
This pasta is fresh, it’s flavorful. It’s filled with veggies. It’s light. A big bowl of this won’t make you wish you hadn’t. It will make you happy!
Really, this pasta has been a highlight of my day the past few days. I’ve been looking forward to it. Once lunch has been over, I have started thinking about the big steamy bowl of this pasta I will eat for dinner. It makes me happy. 🙂
I don’t know what it is. Because this really is so super simple. Just (canned!) tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, kale, onions, some fresh garlic, basil and cheese. And great noodles. Great noodles are key.
I used little chiocciole noodles. I had never heard of them before. But I saw them. And thought they were cute. So I got them. And they are perfect. I cut the zucchini and eggplant the same size as the noodles so everything is just the same size and happy together. 🙂
If you don’t think you like eggplant, you should still try this.
It cooks up nicely in this dish. It’s not tough at all. It has the same texture as the zucchini in this pasta. It might be from the salting technique I describe in the recipe. Salting the eggplant and zucchini before cooking releases most excess water in the vegetables and helps them cook better.
Oh, and after I made this, I read that you should not cook tomato dishes in cast iron because it will break down the seasoning. Oops. You live and you learn, I guess. I re-seasoned mine.
One big bowl of happiness coming your way!
Ingredients:
1 medium yellow onion
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
Olive oil
1 medium zucchini
1 medium eggplant
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 – 14 oz. cans of diced tomatoes
2 cups chopped kale
14 oz. of noodles, I used chiocciole noodles
Fresh basil, for topping
Freshly grated parmesan cheese, for topping
Start this pasta by prepping the eggplant and zucchini. Thickly slice the eggplant and zucchini. Lay them on a baking sheet and generously sprinkle with salt. Let sit for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, you will see water droplets on top of the sliced veggies. Take a paper towel and absorb the water from the slices. Flip the slices and sprinkle the other side with salt. Let sit another 15 minutes and then absorb the water droplets from that side. You can read + see the method thoroughly here. This process will help the eggplant and zucchini cook better by helping them not release as much water.
While the zucchini and eggplant are sitting, put a pot of water on to boil for the noodles. Open your cans of tomato paste and diced tomatoes. Chop the kale and basil. Dice the onion. Shred some parmesan for topping. Cook the noodles once the water boils. Once the zucchini and eggplant process is done, chop them.
In a pan or pot, add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onion begins to get soft and slightly brown. Add the chopped zucchini and eggplant. Cook another 5-7 minutes, or until the veggies are soft and slightly brown as well. Add the tomato paste and stir. Add the 2 cans of diced tomatoes. Stir well, so that the tomato paste is completely incorporated into the other veggies. Cook for several minutes, until the sauce begins to slightly simmer. Add the chopped kale and stir. Cook for another 5 minutes, making sure that the kale gets soft and the the sauce thickens.
If you cook the sauce in a big enough pan or pot, stir the noodles right into the sauce and then serve. If your pan isn’t big enough to hold the pasta too (mine wasn’t), scoop some noodles onto a serving dish and then top with sauce.
Top the pasta with parmesan cheese and fresh chopped basil to serve.
Enjoy!
Peach + Cranberry Baked Oatmeal
Baked oatmeal, again.
This is the 63rd post on this little blog and the third time I made baked oatmeal for you. That’s one baked oatmeal every 21 days. Except that my first two baked oatmeal recipes were posted just 10 days apart.
I was going to take a break from making baked oatmeal until this past weekend. I ate it at a restaurant. And after the first bite, I knew I’d be making it for you soon.
This combo of peaches + cranberries was inspired by what I ate at Cafe 101. I’ve had the idea of peach baked oatmeal in the back of my mind for a while, but have been waiting for fresh peaches. Cafe 101’s baked oatmeal was so good though, and I’m pretty certain the peaches weren’t fresh, so I decided to go for it. What made my decision even easier was the can of Three Springs Fruit Farm peaches I had in my cupboard. With that, I had no doubt that canned peaches would suffice.
Even though this is the third time I made you baked oatmeal, this is the first time it doesn’t contain nuts. Or golden raisins. But it does have dried cranberries. Those are close to raisins. I really wanted to use fresh cranberries, but could not find them! I don’t think I realized fresh cranberries were a seasonal purchase. Definitely wrong about that.
And! I baked this in my cast iron skillet. Yes, I am obsessed. It’s the best.
This oatmeal is delicious. Not overly sweet, but for me, just the right amount. The cranberries get plump and the juicy peaches break right apart after they are baked. Sweet cinnamon and vanilla compliment the fruit perfectly.
Ingredients
2 cups oats (I used old fashioned)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups milk (I used almond)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter or coconut oil, melted + cooled
5 canned peach halves, diced
Preheat oven to 350*. Grease a cast iron skillet or a baking pan with butter or coconut oil.
In a bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and dried cranberries.
In another bowl, mix together the milk, egg, vanilla extract and melted butter or coconut oil. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix well. Fold in the diced peaches.
Transfer batter to the greased skillet or pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until oatmeal is set and slightly golden brown.
Enjoy!