Portobello Mushroom Burgers

This recipe you have to marinade the mushrooms for at least half an hour. I marinaded it longer because why not have extra flavor? I was pleasantly surprised at how well these tasted. I would honestly just eat the mushroom by itself and be fine with it.

2-4 Portobello Mushroom Caps (just depends on the size of the caps)
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Chopped Rosemary (I did not have this so I didn't put it in.)
1 1/2 tsp Steak Seasoning (I used Montreal Steak Seasoning)

For the burger
Slices of red onion
Swiss cheese for each mushroom
Slices of tomato
Slices of avocado
Spinach (I also did not do this)
Buns (Or if you want to be extra healthy you can do it in a leaf of lettuce?)

In a large bowl or tupperware mix together the marinade, vinegar, soy sauce, oil, rosemary, and steak seasoning. Put in the mushroom caps. (I put mine in tupperware that way I could shake the marinade around the mushrooms every once in a while.) Toss with sauce and turn a few times. (Marinade 20-30 minutes at room temperature.)

Heat the grill. When hot add the mushrooms on the grill and keep the marinade for basting. Grill on each side for about 7 minutes or until tender. Brush the marinade on frequently. A minute before taking them off, add the swiss cheese to each mushroom and let it melt.  We also toasted our buns on the grill. A little bit of butter or mayo on the bun and then put them on the grill. Assemble your burger once your mushroom is cooked with bun, tomatoes, onion, avocado, and spinach.

Buttermilk Syrup

1 C buttermilk
1 C sugar
1/2 C butter


1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Bring the buttermilk, sugar, and butter to a rolling boil. Allow it to boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add the soda and vanilla. (The syrup will rise when you add this so make sure you have room in your bowl) Eat. So delicious on pancakes or anything really!

Shepard's Pie

This recipe needs time to cool down and set a little so that the layers don't mix together. I didn't read that and made the recipe with no time so I didn't let anything cool and it still turned out really good! The meat gravy is what is advised to cool down. The leftovers were really good too!

Meat Gravy:

1 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small onion, chopped

1 celery rib, chopped

1 C carrots, finely chopped

1 lb ground beef (original recipe called for ground chuck round, I didn't have it)

1/4 C white flour

1/2 C frozen peas

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained (any flavor)

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 3/4 C beef broth

1/2 C 100% grape juice 

1 beef bouillon cube

2 Tbsp Worcestershire

1 tsp dried thyme

Topping:

2 1/2 lbs potatoes (I used Yukon gold and they were delicious)

1/2 C heavy cream

1/2 C sour cream

6 Tbps butter

salt & pepper to taste

Pour olive oil in a large skillet. Add garlic and chopped onions and heat stirring often. Add the finely chopped carrots and celery. Cook until the veggies are soft. Remove veggies into a bowl. Add ground beef and cook until browned. Drain the excess fat. Add back the veggies. Add in the flour and cook for about a minute continuously stirring. Still on medium high heat add frozen peas, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, beef broth, grape juice, beef bouillon cube, Worcestershire sauce, and thyme. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Let it simmer for 25-35 minutes at medium heat, stirring every 5 minutes until the gravy is thickened. Remove from heat pour into a casserole dish and cover. Let it sit in the fridge until you are ready to bake it. (This is what I did not do and it still turned out great!)

Preheat oven to 350.  Peel then cube the potatoes in small chunks. Place potatoes in a large pot and add water to cover the potatoes. Add some salt and bring to a boil.  Let them boil until the potatoes are soft and you can poke easily with a fork. Drain the water and remove the potatoes into a bowl to be smashed. In the pot add heavy cream, sour cream, and butter. Melt on low heat and stir. Smash the potatoes with a masher and then add them to the pot with the cream. Stir to mix. Add salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 tsp). Add mashed potatoes on top of the meat gravy in the casserole dish. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the potatoes turn golden and the edges are bubbly. Broil on high for 1-2 minutes to get the top of the potatoes crispy. 

White Chicken Enchiladas

2 C cooked, shredded chicken
half an onion, chopped
2 C shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
1 clove minced garlic
3 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. corn starch
2 C chicken broth
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 C sour cream
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 (4 oz) can green chilies
1 tsp lime juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium size bowl mix chicken, onion, 1 C cheese, and garlic. Spoon some chicken mixture into each tortilla and roll the tortillas and place in the pan. In a sauce pan, melt butter and stir in the corn starch and cook for one minute. Add broth and whisk until smooth. Keep over heat until it bubbles and becomes thick. Stir in sour cream, chilies, lime, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Do not let it boil. Pour the sour cream mixture over the enchiladas and top with the last cup of cheese. Bake for 25 minutes.

Copycat Cheesecake Factory Louisiana Chicken Pasta

This is Jen's recipe and it is good! We have made it without the chicken and the pasta is still good by itself!

Chicken
4 Tbs vegetable oil
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3/4 C breadcrumbs
1/4 C Parmesan cheese grated
1 C milk
2 Tbs flour

Sauce
1 Tbs butter
1 small yellow pepper, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
3/4 small red onion
3 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/4 pints whipping cream
1 C chicken broth
4 Tbs fresh basil, thinly sliced
1 C grated Parmesan
12 oz bow tie pasta
1 C mushrooms, sliced

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the yellow and red bell peppers, mushrooms, and onion until they are tender. Add garlic and crushed red pepper and saute for 3 minutes. Add whipping cream and chicken stock. Add basil and 1 C grated Parmesan cheese. Stir all the ingredients together.  Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Reduce to low and let simmer. The sauce will reduce and thicken.

Meanwhile put oil in a fry pan and heat. Pound the chicken very thinly (the thinner the better). Mix the breadcrumbs, flour, and Parmesan cheese together. Put milk in a bowl for dipping. Dip the flattened chicken in the breadcrumbs, then in the milk, and back in the breadcrumbs. Place chicken in the fry pan and cook until golden and crispy. Make sure the chicken is cooked through.  Add more oil as needed. Remove and drain the chicken. Keep them warm.

Lastly, cook bow tie pasta in a pot of boiling water until tender, but still firm to bite. Drain the water. Add the sauce to the pasta. Toss the pasta until it is all coated in sauce. Place pasta on plate and top with chicken. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Spinach Shrimp Pasta

I have used precooked shrimp and just skip the first step of cooking the shrimp. I like it this way because then it isn't too shrimp flavored, but if you are a shrimp fan definitely use the raw shrimp.

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Tbs Olive oil
1 Tbs Butter
2 Cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1 1/2 C Milk
1 1/2 C Chicken Broth
8 Oz Fettuccine Pasta
4 C Spinach
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 C Parmesan Cheese, grated

Melt butter and olive oil in a big pan. Add the garlic and shrimp, seasoning with the salt and pepper. Cook until the shrimp is pink. Remove shrimp and keep warm. In the same pan, add milk, broth, and pasta. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the pasta is al dente, add the spinach, salt, pepper, seasoning, and cheese. Mix until the spinach is wilted. Add the shrimp back in and stir till everything is covered with sauce. Eat with extra cheese if you like.

Chili Verde-Nate’s recipe

Chile Verde

3 pounds boneless pork butt roast, trimmer and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 pounds tomatillos, husked
1 pound Anaheim chiles, stemmed, halved lengthwise and seeded
3 jalapeño chiles
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomoates
1 Tablespoon canola oil
2 onions, finely chopped
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon cumin
1/4 cup flour
4 cups chicken broth

In a 5 quart Dutch oven combine pork, water and salt. Cover and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover, increase to medium-high heat and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until all the liquid evaporates and the pork starts to brown. Tranfer pork to a bowl and set aside. Do not clean out Dutch oven. It will be used later.

While pork is cooking, line 2 cooking sheets with foil and spray with cooking oil. Arrange jalapeños and Anaheim peppers, cut side down, on one sheet. (They fit best if placed head to toe.) Place husked tomatillos on the other cooking sheet. Adjust top oven rack to 6 inches below broiler and bottom rack to the lowest position. Broil peppers on the top rack until the skin blackens and are soft, 15 to 20 mins. Rotate the sheet and flip over jalapeños half way through cooking. Put the Anaheim peppers in a ziplock bag and seal. Let them cool for 5 minutes. Broil tomatillos on the top rack until they blacken a little and become soft and begin to burst, about 15 mins. Watch chiles and tomatillos closely so you don’t burn them.

Heat oven to 325 degrees.

Remove the skins of the Anaheim peppers. Chop half of the peppers into 1/2-inch pieces and put in a large bowl. In a food processor, process remaining Anaheim peppers and all of the tomatillos u til smooth. Add those to your bowl of chopped peppers. Add tomatoes and their juice to the food processor and pulse 4 times until coarsely ground.

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook onions until lightly browned, 6 minutes. Stir in garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly add broth, bowl of peppers, tomatoes and pork into the Dutch oven. Make sure to scrape up any browned bit from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer. Cover Dutch oven and place in oven, on lower rack. Cook for 1 to 1 1/4 hours until pork is tender.

Once chili is done cooking, stem and seed jalapeños. (You can reserve the seeds if you want more heat.) Finely chop jalapeños and stir into chili. Season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste.

We like to serve the chili burrito style with rice and black beans on a flour tortilla.

**The chiles can be roasted and refrigerated up to 24 hours in advance**