Category: Food

Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto

by Rachel McCarthy

mushroom-asparagus-risotto

Mushroom and Asparagus Risotto

1 ½ cups Arborio rice

1 bunch fresh asparagus, cleaned, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
8 ounces assorted mushrooms (I used baby bella, shiitake and oyster)
½ medium sized yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
32 ounces chicken stock (I used no-salt added)
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
Salt and pepper to taste

Begin by heating chicken stock in pan over medium low heat. You want the chicken broth to be warm when you begin to add it to the Arborio rice. Sauté the yellow onion in extra virgin olive oil on medium heat, add minced garlic, season with salt and pepper; cook until onion and garlic become fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes to incorporate. Stir in Arborio rice to coat the rice in olive oil, onions and garlic. Continue to stir for 1 minute so rice does not stick to pan. Add chicken broth to the rice mixture 1-2 ladles at a time. Continue to stir rice until liquid evaporates. Repeat the 1-2 ladles step until the rice begins to look plump and you’ve reached your desired tenderness (it took about 10-15 minutes to become al dente and I used almost an entire package of chicken stock). When you think you have about 1-2 ladles of broth left, add asparagus to rice mixture. Remove from the heat and add the Parmesan cheese and stir until combined. Finally, add the butter and stir until combined and a creamy consistency is achieved. Garnish with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.

gourmet-mushroom-blend

** I found this mixture of gourmet mushrooms at Wegmans and was so excited to see something unique in the mushroom department! If you can’t find a gourmet mushroom blend, white mushrooms and baby bella mushrooms work perfectly! 

Rainy Day S’mores

by Rachel McCarthy
S’mores are an all-time favorite dessert of mine. I’ve tired “indoor” s’mores many ways — heating the marshmallow in the microwave or sticking the marshmallow on a kabob stick and toasting it over the stove-top — but something always seemed to be missing. These rainy day s’mores are so close to traditional s’mores, you will think that you are sitting out by the fire on a summer evening! 

rainy-day-smores
Rainy Day S’mores

1 king size Hershey’s Chocolate Bar
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
4-8 marshmallows, depending on the size of your dish
Graham crackers

Turn your broiler on. Place half of the king size Hershey Chocolate bar in the bottom of an oven-safe dish. Break into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle the semi-sweet chocolate chips over the Hershey bar pieces to completely cover the base of the dish. Lay the marshmallows on top of the chocolate. Place under broiler and watch carefully! Mine took only about 2 minutes. Dip your graham crackers in your rainy day s’mores and enjoy!

Breakfast for dinner

by Rachel McCarthy
One of my favorite dinners is breakfast — eggs, pancakes, bagels, waffles…the list goes on. Not only does breakfast food taste particularly good at dinner, it’s a fast meal. The Asparagus and Mushroom Omelette with Brie is so delicious. I pulled some bagels out of the freezer and we had a complete meal! Great for those long commutes home when you need to fix something quick! 

How do you feel about breakfast for dinner? What are your favorite breakfast foods that can act as dinner foods? Share your thoughts below!

Asparagus-Mushroom-Omelette-with-Brie-cheese

Asparagus and Mushroom Omelette with Brie

1 bundle asparagus, cleaned and trimmed and cut into about 1-inch pieces

1 package mushrooms (I used baby portobello)
1 yellow onion, diced
2-3 cups Eggbeaters (you can use regular eggs or egg whites, too)
1 package brie cheese, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Cooking spray
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat about 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and mushrooms; season with a little salt and pepper. After about a minute or two, add the asparagus. Once the onions are soft and the asparagus is a vibrant green color (about 10 minutes or so), transfer asparagus and mushroom mixture to medium sized bowl. Leaving the skillet on the hot burner, spray the skillet with cooking spray, making sure every inch of the skillet is covered! Pour your Eggbeaters/eggs/egg whites into the skillet; season with a little salt and pepper. Since the skillet will be very hot when the eggs go in, they will cook pretty fast. After about a minute, take a spatula and try to pull the egg away from the sides of the skillet (it will still be runny in the center, but the outside edges should start to become firm). Spoon the mushroom and asparagus mixture and a few slices of brie into the center of the skillet (where the egg is still runny). Wait about another minute and take the outer edges of the omelette and connect them in the center forming a pocket where the mushroom and asparagus mixture sits. FYI: mine wasn’t perfect, but I just flipped the omelette around a few times with the spatula and the eggs were cooked perfectly. Garnish with a few slices of brie on top or even the remaining vegetables.

Meatball French Bread Pizza

by Rachel McCarthy
A fun twist on pizza! A super-quick version of a traditional pizza with a shorter bake time. Perfect for busy weeknights!

meatball-french-bread-pizza

Meatball French Bread Pizza

1 French bread loafed, sliced lengthwise in half

10 meatballs (store-bought or frozen), sliced in quarters
1 jar pizza sauce (I used Classico Fire Roasted Pizza Sauce)
1 ball mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
3-4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Begin by slicing the French bread loaf lengthwise in half. Depending on how long the loaf is, you can slice the loaf into fourths, as I did in the above picture. (Try to find a loaf that is at least 3-4 inches in width so you have plenty of space for toppings!) Cook meatballs according to package instructions. Once the meatballs are cooked, slice them in fourths.

To assemble pizzas: Spread desired amount of pizza sauce onto each “pizza crust.” Place thinly sliced mozzarella on top of the sauce, followed by the meatballs and about a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese on each pizza. Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until cheese begins to bubble.

*As a side note, Classico makes some great pizza sauces! I love homemade sauce, but there always isn’t time to make the sauce from scratch, especially for pizza. Classico makes a traditional and fire roasted pizza sauce and they are both great! I went with the fire roasted for this particular recipe to give it some heat, but the traditional sauce is great too! 

Mexican Beef Tostadas

by Rachel McCarthy
I love making tostadas. It’s such a fun twist to the normal Mexican food. These were simple to make and (relatively) healthy, depending on how lean the ground beef is that your bought. The great part about this dinner is that the ground beef and zucchini filling will make a lot, so you can use the leftovers to make enchiladas or tacos for another dinner! Also, the yellow corn tostadas right out of the oven are not bad either 🙂

mexican-beef-tostadas

Mexican Beef Tostadas

1 pound ground beef
1 white onion, diced
1 zucchini, cut in bite-sized pieces
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can tomatoes with green chilies
Yellow corn tortillas
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder (or fresh)
Shredded red cabbage, for garnish
Mexican cheese, for garnish
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef. Season with a little salt, ground cumin, chili powder and garlic powder. Once brown, remove from the skillet and transfer to a small bowl, leaving some of the leftover grease in the skillet (depending on how lean your meat is). Add about 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (again, depending on how much grease is leftover) and sauté the onion and zucchini, season with salt and pepper if desired. After about 3-5 minutes, or when the onions and zucchini are starting to become soft, add the black beans and heat through, about 2 minutes. Transfer onion, zucchini and black bean mixture to a separate large bowl. Take your cooked ground beef and place it back in the skillet and stir in the can of tomatoes with green chilies. Turn the heat down to low and cook until the mixture begins to simmer, about 5 minutes. Add the ground beef and tomato mixture to your zucchini mixture; stir to combine.

To make the tostadas: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the yellow corn tortillas on a baking sheet. Spray each tortillas with cooking spray. Place the baking sheet in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove and flip the tortillas, spraying the other side of the tortilla with cooking spray. Bake another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt.

To assemble the Mexican Beef Tostadas: Place a crispy tostada on a plate and spoon the ground beef and zucchini mixture on top. Garnish with shredded red cabbage and your favorite Mexican cheese.

Caprese Pizza

by Rachel McCarthy
This is the perfect summer pizza! Friday nights in our house are always pizza nights, but with the warmer temperatures setting in, traditional pizza with a heavy sauce is just too much. This pizza is light and delicious — and a perfect use for all the ripe tomatoes!

caprese-pizza

Caprese Pizza


1 container cherry tomatoes, halved
1 garlic clove, minced
1 pizza dough, homemade or from the grocery store
1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons pesto
1 mozzarella cheese ball, sliced into thin pieces
3-4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Fresh basil, for garnish
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Set your oven to broil. While the oven is warming up, place halved cherry tomatoes, minced garlic clove and about 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil in a small bowl, stir to combine. Once oven is warm, place tomato and garlic mixture onto baking sheet Broil for about 3 minutes. To assemble pizza, first cover the dough with pesto. Then place slices of fresh mozzarella on top, followed by the tomato garlic mixture. Finish with Parmesan cheese and a little salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle entire pizza with fresh basil.

Fettuccine with Prosciutto, Peas and Mushrooms

by Rachel McCarthy
Fettuccine with Prosciutto, Peas and Mushrooms
Fettuccine with Prosciutto, Peas and Mushrooms

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, diced

2 15-ounce cans tomato sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Pinch of sugar

½ cup milk (I used fat free)

½ cup heavy cream

2 packages fresh fettuccine (cooked to package instructions)

1 package fresh portabella mushrooms

3-4 slices prosciutto, diced

1 package frozen peas, thawed

Basil, finely chopped, to taste

Fresh parmesan, to taste

Cook fettuccine according to package instructions. Reserve about ½ cup pasta water (in case sauce is too thick). Heat extra virgin olive oil in saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic for 2 minutes.  Stir in mushrooms and cook for another minute. Add both cans of tomato sauce, salt and pepper and pinch of sugar. Cook and stir occasionally over low heat for 20-25 minutes. Add diced prosciutto and peas. Cook for another 3-4 minutes until cooked through. Remove pan from heat and add the milk and heavy cream. Add parmesan and basil. Mix in fettuccine and any of the reserved pasta water if the mixture is too thick.

Enjoy!

xo,

Rachel

Deconstructed Gazpacho Salad

by Rachel McCarthy
Now with spring in full swing, I have been in the mood for fresh produce — more specifically, tomatoes. I love tomatoes — I have even considered eating a tomato like an apple!

At our local Wegmans (only the best grocery store ever), I found HEIRLOOM TOMATOES. This is like the epitome of tomatoes, at least for me. I’ve never actually seen them in a grocery store, so this was super exciting. Regular tomatoes will work too, and the majority of tomatoes I used were regular grape tomatoes.

This is such a simple weeknight dinner. And although it’s just vegetables, it’s a fresh and filling spring or summer meal. (Just be prepared for lots of vegetable chopping!)

deconstructed-gazpacho-salad
Deconstructed Gazpacho Salad

16 oz red grape tomatoes, halved
16 oz yellow grape tomatoes, halved
2 heirloom tomatoes, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1/2 cup fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Red wine vinaigrette dressing:

1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon whole grain Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

Start by halving the red and yellow grape tomatoes; chop the heirloom tomatoes (if using) into bite-sized pieces. Chop red and yellow pepper and cucumber. Rough chop spinach. Place all vegetables in bowl, with spinach on top. Season with salt and pepper.

To make dressing: mix red wine vinegar, mustard and honey in bowl. While whisking red wine vinegar mixture, slowly add olive oil. Once combined, add red pepper flakes and season with salt and pepper.
Toss vegetables with red wine vinaigrette dressing and serve.

Black Bean Veggie Burgers

by Rachel McCarthy
As long as you use the black beans, panko or bread crumbs and egg (and spices!), you can really add any vegetables you like to the burgers. I only used the zucchini because I had it on hand, but you could also add a red or green pepper, eggplant, or any other vegetable. It’s fun to experiment with different veggies!!

black-bean-veggie-burger

Black Bean Veggie Burger
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 baby zucchini
1 yellow onion
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon cumin
½ tablespoon chili powder
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 egg
1-2 cups spinach
Hamburger buns, toasted
Homemade or store-bought guacamole
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray. In a food processor, blend black beans, zucchini, onion, garlic cloves (I just cut them in chunks to help the food processor out a little!), cumin and chili powder until fully incorporated. Place black bean and zucchini mixture in separate bowl and mix in egg and panko bread crumbs. I used about 1 cup panko bread crumbs. Depending on how chunky your black bean and zucchini mixture is, you might need a little more or less of the panko, but you will be able to tell by the consistency. With an ice cream scoop, or ½ cup measuring cup, scoop mixture onto baking sheet and form into patties. Cook for 10 minutes and flip the patties; cook for another 10 minutes on the other side. Once the burgers are done, turn your oven to broil and allow the oven to heat up. Place the hamburger buns on a separate cooking sheet and place under broiler for about 30 seconds to toast. Garnish burger with spinach and guacamole.
Other topping options: feta cheese, roasted red peppers, jalapeños, red or green onions or sliced tomatoes!

Sweet Potato and Kale “Hash”

by Rachel McCarthy
A super quick, weeknight meal that’s much healthier than your traditional hash!

sweet-potato-kale-hash

Sweet Potato and Kale “Hash”

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 shallots, minced
1 red pepper, chopped
½ cup kale
1 tablespoon cumin
½ tablespoon chili powder
3-5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1-2 cups Egg Beaters
2 tablespoons goat cheese, crumbled
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil in saucepan over medium heat. Sauté sweet potatoes, shallots and red pepper. Season vegetables with cumin, chili powder and salt; cook until tender. After about 3 minutes, mix in kale (the kale won’t need as long to cook). Meanwhile, heat about 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil in separate saucepan and cook scrambled eggs, season with salt and pepper (I used Egg Beaters, but you could also use regular eggs or egg whites). Once the vegetables are tender and eggs are cooked through, assemble hash by putting vegetable mixture on plate and place scrambled eggs on top. Top with goat cheese, if desired.