{recipe} Baked Portabella Parmesan

If you are craving Italian but you don't want the heaviness of a baked pasta or chicken parmesan - THIS is the dish to make! I am currently obsessed with portebella mushrooms. I love making sandwiches with them, stuffing them, and putting them in salad. I would probably eat them for every meal if I could. I find myself sometimes choosing the vegetarian route lately. I love vegetables and sometimes I just want a light meal instead of a meat heavy meal.

You don't miss the meat here at all. I made my roommate chicken parmesan the same time as making the mushroom parmesan! So if you have family members or friends who don't like mushrooms or prefer chicken, you can easy substitute the chicken for the mushrooms. It is a quick delicious Italian dish - very romantic with some wine and candle light :)

I am so happy that it is Friday! This is my last weekend of freedom before my hell month of tests begin. I think I am just going to spend it having a relaxing night alone tonight, go hiking to a local waterfall tomorrow and watch FSU play USF, and then have a lazy Sunday making pumpkin pancakes and studying.

Enjoy! Hope you all have a fantastic Friday!! 

Do you have any plans for the weekend? 

Baked Portobello Parmesan

Recipe Credit: One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Italian-style bread crumbs

1 cup (3-oz.) freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided use

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1/4 cup fresh minced parsley, divided use

2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided use

3/4 cup egg substitute

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 teaspoon marjoram leaves

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon oregano leaves

4 large (5 to 6-inches wide) stemmed potobello mushrooms, brushed clean

1-1/2 cups (6-oz.) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1 cup commercially prepared "light" tomato sauce

Cooking spray

Directions:

1.    Position a baking rack in upper third of oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 17-1/2 x 11-3/4 baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place a 16-1/2 x 11-1/2-inch wire cooling rack inside the baking sheet. Mist rack with cooking spray. Set aside.

2.   Combine bread crumbs, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, 3 tablespoons parsley, paprika and 1 teaspoon salt in a shallow pan. Mix well. Set aside.

3.   In a separate bowl, combine egg substitute, remaining 1 teaspoon salt. pepper, marjoram, garlic powder and oregano. Mix well.

4.    Dip both sides of mushrooms into egg mixture. Dredge in crumb mixture until both sides are completely coated. Transfer, stem side down, to prepared wire rack. Spray tops with cooking spray and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender. Remove pan form oven.

5.   Reset oven thermostat to 450 degrees F. Meanwhile, carefully turn mushrooms stem side up. Cover each mushroom with 2 tablespoons of remaining Parmesan cheese, 1/4 of mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup tomato sauce. Spray tops lightly. Return to oven and bake until cheese melts and mushrooms are warmed through, about 10 minutes. Use a wide spatula to transfer mushrooms to a serving platter. Sprinkle with reserved 1 tablespoon parsley. Yield: 4 servings.

The BEST marinara EVER.

Jar Smar. DON'T DO IT. I know you are stressed, tired, poor and don't want to cook. I know you want to go to the store and buy pre-made marinara sauce thats BOGO.

I am telling you -this is not a short cut you want to take. I am all about staying in the merge lane until the last moment, ordering Net Flicks instead of driving to Blockbuster, and even making break apart cookies. I used to be a jar sauce girl. I tried once to make my own marinara sauce...lets just say lesson learned. It wasn't sweet and kinda tasted like rotten tomatoes. Not this one. This marinara sauce had my taste buds singing and asking for more!

The secret is...Tuttorosso Imported Canned Tomatoes. They are $1.87 at the grocery store. They are sweet and delicious. Trust me. You will never buy no name crushed tomatoes again.

Use this sauce to make this the next time you want to take a short cut.

Freeze it. Share it. Bathe in it? Make it!

Marinara Sauce

adapted from Gina's Skinny Recipes

Makes about 8 cups of sauce

Ingredients

2 cans Tuttorosso Imported Canned Tomatoes

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup carrots, chopped

1/2 large onion, chopped

1/2 cup fat free chicken stock

fresh basil

Directions

1. In a large pot, add olive oil, garlic, onion, and carrot. Saute until translucent, about 2-3 minutes on medium high heat.

2. Add tomatoes and chicken broth and simmer for about 45 minutes.

3. Add basil in the last couple minutes to avoid bitterness.

4. Make sure you taste your sauce. Sometimes it needs just a spoonful of sugar :)

Enjoy :)