Stuffed Mushrooms

Looks scrumptious doesn't it?  Last week I was in the grocery store and I saw stuffed portabello mushrooms in the refrigerated section at the grocery store.  They looked so good, but I knew I could make them myself and that they would taste even better than those.

So, I made them and seriously they were AMAZING.  Everyone in my house loved them and we will absolutely make them again.  Here is the recipe.

Six Portobello Mushrooms
1 lb. spinach (I used fresh, chopped up)
2-3 cloves garlic
10 or so artichoke hearts (more or less depending on how much you like)
1/2 onion - chopped
1/2 pepper - chopped (we used red, but any color will be yummy)
tomatoes
basil
pepper
salt
mozzarella cheese

Preheat your oven to 350.  Remove mushroom stems and scrape out the gills.  Brush bottom of mushrooms with Italian dressing and place in a 9x13 pan, lined with foil.

Sautee onions and garlic in olive or coconut oil.  Add spinach and cook until it has wilted.  Then add artichokes, pepper, a few generous dashes of basil, some salt and pepper. 

Spoon into mushrooms, top with sliced tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes, until mushrooms are tender.  Eat hot and ENJOY!!!

I Love Vegetables...seriously, I do!

A little over 2 years ago we dramatically changed the way we eat at our house.  Jeremy and I both grew up in Meat and Potatoes kind of families.  Every night dinner had some kind of meat, some kind of starch and a veggie.  Salads were for special occasions and filled only a small bowl.  Vegetables were an afterthought when we went to the grocery store, and we only bought the veggies we needed for individual meals.  Our fresh food consumption was very typical of those who grew up in our generation.

It all changed when we read the book Eat to Live by Dr. Jay Fuhrman.  We became educated about what animal products do to our bodies.  We learned about how increasing our fruits and vegetable consumption could help us not only be healthier but be stronger too.

These pictures are a pretty accurate depiction of the salads we eat on a daily basis. Yes you read that right, I said daily.  We eat mostly fresh vegetables, beans, fruit and whole grains.  We try to have 90% of our calories come from those things and 10% can be animal products (meat, cheese, milk, yogurt).  This helps us to stay healthier and be in better shape.

Living in Utah however, our options for fresh produce are pretty limited.  We love the summer when we can plant a garden and shop on Saturdays at the local Farmer's Market.  We love the taste of fresh lettuce, spinach, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, edemame, peas...the list goes on and on and on. 

We have such a short growing season here, so most of the year we depend on getting our fresh greens from the grocery store.  This is not something we love, but something we do because we have to.

Recently, I was introduced to Field to Families.  It is a program that brings fresh organic produce to those of us who live in an area that is cold more than hot. 

Field to Families is the brain child of one of my favorite Farmer's Market vendors, Preston Parker and Parker Family Farms.  I accost Preston at his booth weekly waiting for the sunsugar tomato plants and then the sunsugar tomatoes.  His wife and I have bonded over a shared obsession love of these fabulous tomatoes.

Preston wanted fresh produce year round, so he teamed with a farm in California and Field to Families was born.

Here's how it works.  On Tuesday, the organic produce is picked in California and put on a truck.  It arrives here in Utah on Friday and on Saturday you can pick it up.  Pretty simple isn't it?  Last week we got romaine lettuce, spinach, oranges, cabbage, broccoli, and tomatoes.  All for just $15!

We have also gotten leeks, green onions, lemons, avocados and kale in the past.  The produce is amazingly fresh and tastes oh so good.  To have good lettuce in the winter is just...in a word...AMAZING!

Now I know that there are other programs in the area that do something similar to this, but here is where it is different.  In the summer, you get LOCAL produce.  So, you are supporting a local farm.  Also, it is all organic!

Really, you can't beat that.

So, if you want some fabulous produce, go on over to Field to Families and sign up today.  You really won't regret it.

Oh, and if you want to read another review about Field to Families that is MUCH funnier than mine, head on over to Mrs. Looneytunes and see what she has to say.

*I did receive 5 free pick ups of produce in exchange for a review.  And after having those 5 pick ups, I can't imagine my life without them, so I will be purchasing pick ups for the rest of my life!

Vegeterian Life - Day 3

This is the ultimate comfort food for our family. When it is cold outside, I instantly want Minestrone. When my Mom came out for Libby's birth, she made a lot of soups and put them in the freezer. This one freezes fantastically. We didn't freeze it with the pasta, just add it when we are heating it up.
Great soup, year round!!!

Minestrone

serves 4 to 6 -- but really a lot more than that!

6 C. Vegetable broth
1-2(15.5 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 T. olive oil
2 onions, chopped fine
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 C. dry pasta (we like orzo, but any small pasta will work)
1 (16 ounce) bag frozen mixed vegetables*
1/4 C. minced fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring broth, beans and tomatoes to boil in large saucepan.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in broth mixture and pasta and simmer until pasta is tender, about 10 minutes.
3. Stir in vegetables and basil and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy!

*I use fresh veggies for this a lot. Just whatever I can find - zucchini, squash, green beans, spinach, carrots -- you really can't go wrong. If you're going to do fresh veggies though, cook them a little with the onions and garlic first.