Low Cal Portobello Parmesan

Truly one of my favorite dishes to make. Its easy, quick and low in calories & fat.  This recipe is adapted from Giada De Laurentiis Mushroom Parmesan. I have made this dish dozens of times, with and without oil, with and without regular shredded mozzarella, with and without added veggies. After a myriad of variations I have come up with the my go to!! Here it is...

Ingredients

• Non stick spray, for the grill pan
• 4 large portobello mushrooms, I buy mine at Trader Joe's (2pk)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup marinara sauce (I use Trader Joe's Green Top $1.99)
• 1/2 cup lite shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup cooked spinach  or any veggie you like 
• (I use frozen spinach and/or the frozen eggplant melange trader joe's )
• 
  
• Directions
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. or Briol on high

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill and spray with non-stick olive oil spray

Sprinkle the mushrooms with salt and pepper and place on grill. 

Grill until the mushrooms are heated through juicy and tender, about 8-10 minutes per side.

while the mushrooms are cooking, microwave your frozen veggies until cooked

Spread 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Place the grilled mushrooms on top of the marinara and top each with the remaining marinara sauce. 

Spoon warm veggies into each mushroom and then sprinkle with the cheese. 

Bake until the cheese melts and the top is golden, about 15 minutes. Serve.

I like to serve mine with a side salad. Pictured here is a butter lettuce salad with beets and fat free feta cheese dressed with a light champagne vinaigrette. 

Going Banana's for Cancer Support Community

 The Cancer Support Community-Benjamin Center in west Los Angeles provides support groups, stress reduction classes, individual counseling, educational workshops, and social activities for people with cancer & caregivers - all free of charge! 


When my Mom was diagnosed with Cancer in August of 2009, I was an active member of the community participating in the caregivers's support group along with other programs. When my Mom died, 9 months later, I spent the following year processing through her death as a member of the bereavement group. Both groups proved to be invaluable to me. Two years later,  I am privileged to return to the community as an MFT Trainee, now co-faciliting support groups. 


So how do we go from a chapter in my book of life to bananas????? Often times, people will drop off fresh fruits or flowers at the community. This week some generous person dropped off a huge case of bananas. Just before I was getting ready to leave, I heard a community member say, "I wish someone could make banana bread out of these bananas".  It was music to my ears so I found my favorite banana bread recipe and have been going banana's all morning.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas and walnuts until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

All Dressed Up!

Coming back and cooking too!

So I have been gone for over a year and every month I say, "i'm gonna start blogging again"and then i never do. Not sure why but not going worry about it. I have ventured into the world of cooking and I have to say, I like it way more than I thought I would. What I love about baking is how precise and beautiful sweet treats are. What scared me about cooking is the lack of precision and structure. Looking at it from a psychological standpoint, it was lack of structure that scared me most about life. I suppose, wisdom and maturity married to letting go and trusting allowed me to release the fear and thus embrace the spontaneous artfulness of living and thus cooking!!

Here is an AMAZING summer salad to get back into the blogging of things!! We first had this salad while on a ski trip to Sun Valley. A special thanks to Uncle Bill and John for this yumminess.

2 Cups Fresh Spinach (washed and dried)
2 Cups Arugula
2-3 Fresh Avocado
4-5 Cuties
Brianna's HOney Mustard Dijon Dressing

I usually don't like honey mustard dressing but this one is worth trying with this salad!!!
1. Clean and dry the greens.
2. Slice the avocado into large chucks on top of the greens
3. Peel the cuties and top the salad with them
4. dress the salad. You can use any dressing you like.

Sun Valley 2012