Sausage & Lima Bean Stuffed Portabello Mushroom

Portobello mushrooms were just 1.99 per pound at the grocery store last week, so I picked up a couple, knowing how much I love them stuffed. Then I went and used the spinach I planned to stuff them with for something else and had this crazy idea I would try lima beans. I have some frozen lima beans from Harvest Share and thought why not? After all, lima beans are not super moist, so they might be great stuffing.

I preheated the oven to 350° F while I mixed the following in a bowl.

• 1 cup of lima beans (thawed in microwave for 1 minute)
• 4 links of half-cooked breakfast sausage, peeled and cut (I heated in microwave for 1 minute and drained off the fat, peeled off the skin and cut into small pieces.)
• 1 cup chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• stems from 2 large portobello mushrooms, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1 egg

Mix all this together and stuff into the cleaned caps of two large portobello mushrooms. I had some left over, I will use it with scrambled eggs.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

You can shred some parmesan cheese on top if you like, but it’s not needed. Lima beans are a great choice for stuffing as they don’t lose their shape or substance when cooked, so the stuffing does not become overly mushy. All the ingredients in the stuffing were chosen to remain their constituent selves while holding together. They worked. The stuffing was completely cooked, but not the least bit soggy or mushy…thanks to draining off the sausage grease and using ingredients with low water content. Paprika seems to be made for mushrooms and works well, too with lima beans and sausage. This is a very satisfying meal that takes care of all your umami longings while remaining relatively light and fresh. This makes two stuffed mushrooms which would serve two if accompanied by salad or soup, or one meal on their own.

Advertisement

Sausage, Rocket & Tomato Pasta

I heated a cast iron pan on medium low (3 of 10) and on another burner put a pot of salted water on to boil.

In the cast iron pan, I tossed in a pinch of fennel seeds, about 1/4 tsp or so and let them heat while I removed the casings from 3 breakfast sausage links. I added the sausage and, using a fork, smashed it up to little bits of pork. There was not much fat, but it was enough to cook this without any additional oil. I added 2 TBSP of diced yellow onion. Then I diced a small Roma tomato and added it. I let them cook.

I added 3 handfuls or 3/4 cup of dried egg noodles. I ended up with about 1 cup of noodles when it was done cooking.

I added 1/4 cup of sour cream to the cast iron pan, strained the pasta and stirred it into the sauce and then added a big handful, a cup or more, of fresh rocket. I stirred and removed from the heat so it just warmed but did not cook the rocket.

Grate just a bit of asiago or parmesan cheese on top.

This made one serving. It has a peppery flavor from the rocket, a bit of heat from the sausage and this wonder deep flavor coming from the fennel. The sour cream gave it a nice creaminess and added some fat that it really needed to soften the acidity of the tomatoes and the peppery rocket.

 

Asparagus Breakfast Tostadas

• 4 breakfast sausage links
• a dozen young asparagus spears
• 1/4 yellow onions
• 2 eggs
• 2 corn tostadas

This delicious breakfast was easy to make and so tasty. Preheat the oven to 450°.

Clean the asparagus and slice the onion into thins strips. Sprinkle with olive oil and kosher salt. Roast in the oven until they begin to caramelize.

Meanwhile cook the sausage links in a pan on medium high heat. Use a fork to smash up the sausage into small bits. You can use ground sausage, too, but I didn’t have any.

In a small egg pan, cook two eggs, over easy (or however you prefer) and season with salt and pepper.

Put the tostadas on a plate, add the sausage, then the egg and the asparagus and onions on top. Before you eat, use a knife or fork to poke the yolk so it begins to seep out over the sausage, etc. Definitely poke the yolk before lifting up the tostada and taking a bit so it does not burst when you bite and send egg yolk all over your face. This is the voice of experience.

This was delicious. The tostada gave it a great crunch and added a foundational flavor that the sausage and eggs combined with for this wonderfully satisfying umami flavor. The onions and asparagus brought some brightness and freshness, a great flavor combination. This makes one giant breakfast for this hungry person who skipped supper last night.