Philly Mushroom and Cheese Subs

I picked up this recipe from one of the local vendors at my town's farmer's market and thought it would be perfect thing to make for one of my "no-meat" meals. I was really surprised it tasted just like a cheesesteak and was very filling. This is definitely on my keeper list!


2 Portabello mushrooms
1 medium onion, thick sliced
1 anaheim pepper, halved and seeded (or green pepper)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp grill seasonings
2 sub rolls
cheese

Brush both sides of mushrooms, onions and peppers with olive oil and season with steak seasoning. Place on grill (I used a George Foreman) and cook 5 minutes on each side. Remove peppers and mushrooms and slice thin. Place mushrooms, onion and peppers on foil and return to grill to keep warm.

Toast rolls. Fill rolls with mushroom mixture and add cheese.

Stuffed Peppers

One of my absolute favorite meals!

1 lb lean ground beef

green peppers - 4-8 depending on the size

large can of tomato sauce

instant brown rice

Cook beef over medium heat in a sauce pan and drain grease. Add a handful of instant rice and stir to combine. Add the amount of rice you'd like in your peppers. Clean and stuff peppers with beef mixture. Prick bottoms of peppers to allow juices to rise into the peppers

Arrange peppers in a large sauce pan and pour tomato sauce over. Cook on medium low heat for 30 minutes or longer.

Happy 1 Year!

Today's the 1 year anniversary of starting my blog. I can't believe it's been a year, but it's been fun being able to document my recipes. My husband still thinks it's weird that I need to take a photo of my dinner most nights before I sit down and eat.

Pineapple Zucchini Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Over the weekend, we stopped at my in-laws and picked up one of the largest zucchini's I've ever seen. I wish I would have taken a picture of it before using it for this cake and last week's muffins. It was the size of a baseball bat but as wide as a softball. Anyways...here's a yummy dessert that my coworkers got to enjoy yesterday. It's from the Tasty Kitchen's site.

Disclaimer: this is not a photo of the cake I made - I borrowed it from Pioneer Woman's site. I didn't get a chance to take a photo of my cake.

1 1/2 cup flour

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

nutmeg to taste (1/4 - 1/2 tsp) optional

3 Tbsp canola oil

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups grated (unpeeled) zucchini - drain well!

1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple, drain (reserve juice)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, sugar, coconut, baking soda, salt and spices in a large bowl and stir well with a whisk.

Combine oil, eggs, and vanilla, stir well. Stir egg mixture, grated zucchini and pineapple into the flour mixture. Batter will be stiff and dry but keep folding it and it will come together. If it seems too dry, just add a little splash of the reserved pineapple juice.

Spoon batter into a 13x9 sheet pan coated with cooking spray. Bake for 33-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

I used a can of cream cheese frosting, but here's a recipe for frosting from the original recipe. Next time I make this cake, I'm making the frosting.

2 Tbsp butter, softened

8 oz low fat cream cheese, softened

2 cups powdered sugar, approx.

2 tsp vanilla extract

splash of milk or pineapple juice, if necessary

Combine butter and cream cheese in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla just until smooth. Add a splash of milk or pineapple juice if necessary. Spread frosting over top of cake and garnish with chopped pecans or walnuts if desired.

Mushroom, Tomato & Shrimp Pasta

I made this the other night for dinner and it was good - but so much better as leftovers the next day. It's adapted from a Kraft recipe.

8 oz thin spaghetti

3/4 cup fat free italian dressing

2 cups fresh mushroom, sliced

1 lb uncooked cleaned shrimp

handful of cherry tomatoes

1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Cook pasta according to package. In a large skillet, heat 1/2 cup of dressing over medium heat. Stir in mushrooms, cooking 5 minutes until mushrooms start to cook. Add the shrimp and parsley. Cook 2 minutes or until shrimp are pink and mushrooms are tender. Toss in a handful of cherry tomatoes to warm through.

Drain pasta and add to the skillet. Mix ingredients and stir in the remaining 1/4 cup of dressing. Toss lightly.

Zucchini Muffins

We'll it's that time of year again...zucchini is in full bloom! The first treat of the season is some zucchini muffins that my daughter helped me with. She had such a great time and keeps asking to eat the muffins all day long - I guess I'll be making them many times this summer.

1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp lemon zest

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line or spray a muffin pan.

In a bowl, mix together the zucchini, sugar, egg and oil; set aside. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Stir in cinnamon and lemon zest.

Stir flour mixture into zucchini mixture until just blended. Fill muffin cups about 2/3 way full. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I've been wanting to try this recipe ever since my friend Shannon told me about it. It's originally from Allrecipes and it's OH SO GOOD!!!!

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

1 5/8 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup fresh blueberries

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup pecan chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 inch bundt pan. In large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and stir batter until just blended. Fold in the blueberries.

Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan. In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Sprinkle half the mixture over the batter in the pan. Spoon the remaining batter over the top and then sprinkle the remaining pecan mixture over. Use a knife to swirl in the top layer into the cake.

Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a knife inserted into the crown of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack. Invert onto a serving plate and tap firmly to remove from the pan. Dust with confectioners sugar just before serving.

Blueberry Crumb Bars

Last week we picked blueberries at my husband's grandfather's house and have been on the search for the perfect recipes to use up the blueberries. I stumbled on this crumb bar recipe from Smitten Kitchen and it looked so good! Make sure you come back, I'll be making lots of recipes with blueberries over the next couple of weeks!

1 cup white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

3 cups all purpose flour

1 cup cold butter (2 sticks)

1 egg

1/4 tsp salt

zest & juice of one lemon

4 cups of fresh blueberries

1/2 cup white sugar

4 tsp cornstarch

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9x13 inch pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup of sugar, flour and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Using a fork or pastry cutter, blend in the butter and egg. The dough will be crumbly. Pat half the dough into a prepared pan.

In another bowl, stir together the 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the berry layer.

Bake for 45 minutes or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely and then chill in refrigerator before cutting.

Creamy Chicken Cups

I've been making this recipe for a couple years for parties and it's always a great hit and takes about 20 minutes to make.

large can of chunk chicken, drained

8 oz cream cheese, softened

3 green onions, slices

handful of fresh parsley, chopped

salt & pepper to taste

2 boxes of mini phyllo cups

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shred chicken in a medium sized bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Fill cups with about a tablespoon of filling. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Enjoy warm out of the oven or at room temperature.