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Drew31
Tue, Jun-12-07, 22:36
I'm a new guy and I'm not sure how detailed recipes are supposed to be here, but I'd like to throw this one out there for everyone who is not on a ZERO carb fix. Ok, let me begin by explaining a few things:

#1. I'm not hard-core ZERO carbs, I'm just starting in the low carb habit and I'm having some success and enjoying it.

#2. I have a decent background in professional cooking, so I do have the ability to just "throw something together" using imagination and a quick stop at the store. That being said, I very RARELY measure anything, I just kinda go by what I 'think' should be in there, and taste test often. If you are the type who needs measurements, my recipe ideas may not be for you. But...give it a shot anyway :)

#3 This recipe may not be in line with some peoples' allowance of carbs, but every ingredient is low carb on it's own merit. The combined total may be too much for some, and like I said...I don't measure, nor do I count, I just use low carb ingredients.

So, with that intro out of the way, I have been thinking about making a stuffed portabella to fit into my low carb life. I threw something together tonight and I was quite pleased with the results. I will list the main ingredients, in the amount that I recall using, and add in the 'extras' as I go along.

1/2 yellow onion
1/2 large green pepper
1lb 80/20 (cost vs quality) ground beef
5-6 strips of bacon (not the pre-cooked kind)
5 large portabella caps
1 block (1lb?) frozen chopped spinach (thawed) 'Fresh' spinach will require about a full bag.
3 heaping TBLS spoons minced garlic (from a jar)
2 hand fulls shredded mozz cheese
some beef gravy (from a jar)
ground black pepper (to taste)
Tabasco Chipotle sauce (to taste....optional, I like my food spicy)
Worcestershire sauce (to taste)
lemon juice (optional)
grated parmesan cheese (the pizza/pasta topping, not the $10/lb specialty stuff)
EVOO
I think that's it.

Heat skillet. Dice onion and green pepper and add to skillet, quickly followed by ground beef. Saute until browned. Drain grease. Meanwhile, in another skillet, cook bacon. Drain all but a little bacon grease. I added pepper to both skillets during cooking, as well as chipotle and worcestershire to the beef. once beef is browned, I stirred in about 1/4 of a 12oz jar of beef gravy. Add garlic to bacon grease pan and saute. Chop bacon and return to pan with garlic. Add block of (thawed) spinach to bacon and garlic. Saute.

Once beef mixture has reduced for a few minutes, add mozz cheese (enough to make it gooey). Remove from heat and allow to coagulate while you prepare the mushrooms. Preheat oven to 300.

Remove stems, paying close attention not to break curled edges of mushroom, as that is what keeps the filling in. Oil an edged cookie/baking sheet with EVOO with a paper towel, you won't need much. You need to use a sheet with raised edges, since there will be liquid from the mushrooms once they cook.

Place each cap top down on the pan. Squirt some lemon juice into the underside of mushroom (optional). Lay down a layer of the garlic/bacon/spinach mixture inside the mushroom. Then heap on the beef mixture, even it out between mushrooms depending on size. Top with parm cheese and throw it in the oven for 15-20 mins, or until mushrooms produce 'puddles'. Let stand for 5 mins and enjoy.

Like I said, I just used low carb ingredients, I have no idea what the net carb per mushroom is. If someone wants to speculate, feel free.

sperales
Wed, Jun-13-07, 18:24
This recipe sounds really good! I'm going to try it! Thank you for sharing! What's EVOO, by the way?

Jiggerz
Wed, Jun-13-07, 19:36
extra virgin olive oil (a rachael ray term)

glendarc
Wed, Jun-13-07, 19:39
Sperales - EVOO is extra virgin olive oil.

Drew31 - Thanks for posting your recipe - any chance you could adapt some recipes for those of us facing the challenge of cooking for people who will NOT eat cheese? NO cheese, not even cream cheese, and NO, not even cottage cheese either! I had a hard time convincing him the a product called "lemon cheese" (aka lemon curd) didn't have any real cheese in it!

Thanks, Glenda

Drew31
Wed, Jun-13-07, 22:43
Hmmm, no cheese... I guess you could thicken the beef mixture with some roux or cornstarch, but then it's adding carbs which kinda defeats our purpose. If there is a low-carb flour or cornstarch substitute with thickening capabilities, I guess it would work. I can't imagine it would taste as good as cheese though.

One of my favorite parts of the low carb diet is that cheese is a good thing. I love cheese and incorporate it most dishes I make. But if I do come up with something cheese-free, I'll let you know!

Drew31
Wed, Jun-13-07, 22:45
extra virgin olive oil (a rachael ray term)
The abbreviation for extra virgin olive oil has been around for hundreds of years before Rachael Ray, she has simply made it a household term.

tmatrocks
Wed, Jun-13-07, 23:33
If I may add my version of this, using white buttons (feel free to use whatever mushrooms you like). I'm no chef, just an improvisor, too!

I just LOVE stuffed 'shroom caps!

6 large white button mushrooms - caps only
6 stems from large white button mushrooms, diced fine
2 slicecs bacon, diced fine
1 jalapeno pepper, diced fine
4 cloves garlic, minced
butter to taste
seasoning to taste(*)
grated parmesan cheese

(*) I am using my own personal mix of black pepper, cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and kosher salt. I just improvised a combination and put it in a big shaker. Perect!

1. clean mushroom with damp rag
2. Sautee bacon, stems, jalapeno and garlic together until bacon is your desired level of done, adding butter just at the end
3. arrange caps in a small oven-safe containter (Pyrex, etc.) and sprinkly with seasonings
4. stuff caps with the sautee mixture
5. drizzle remaining dirppings from pan over the stuffed caps
6. season to taste
7. sprinkly with paremesan
9. bake at 350 for 20 (or more?) minutes or until they look done

Eat and enjoy!

Jiggerz
Thu, Jun-14-07, 13:58
The abbreviation for extra virgin olive oil has been around for hundreds of years before Rachael Ray, she has simply made it a household term.

oh....
:)

sperales
Fri, Jun-15-07, 05:26
Drew,
Do you have a good recipe for stir fry, beef or chicken?

Drew31
Fri, Jun-15-07, 11:40
I'll come up with something for you and try it next week, if it's good I'll post 'er up!

....hmmmmm, no rice....

rightnow
Fri, Jun-15-07, 14:45
ThickNThin is a substitute for corn starch / thickener in both hot and cold foods. You can probably find it netrition.com or with a web search.

sperales
Fri, Jun-15-07, 20:03
Thank you Drew! I look forward to it!

Drew31
Sun, Jun-17-07, 17:15
Had an idea today. You can switch the roles of the mushrooms and green peppers and make stuffed peppers with this recipe. Stuffed peppers without rice.

Instead of adding green peppers to the beef mix, add chopped mushrooms. Cut whole green peppers in half and clean them out. Add some low carb tomato or pizza sauce to the beef mix and shove it into the halved peppers, top with cheese and bake.

2 for one recipes, cant beat that!!!

KateRobFan
Fri, Jul-06-07, 12:32
To thicken my sauce or make a gravy, I use "Thick It Up"..u just need a SMALLLLL amount. I ordered mine from DixieDiner.Com It has only 1 gram of carb for 1/2 a tsp...(which u would prob use LESS for sauce for your WHOLE meal!).

http://www.dixiediner.com/product_info.php?products_id=288

Gravy Recipe (my own!)

roast drippings or meatloaf drippings
TBS of leftover coffee
1/4 of Thick It Up
garlic salt/pepper