Cook Lisa Cook: May 2015

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Chipotle Stuffed Mushrooms

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Summer is here and there’s nothing better than sitting out on our dock on a warm evening, enjoying an adult beverage and a few appetizers. Honestly we sometimes make appetizers our meal during the summer as it’s laid back, easy and seriously, who wants to spend time in the kitchen over the stove or have the oven running for hours. Fun-finger-food followed by marshmallow kabobs (roasted marshmallows) for dessert sure sounds perfect in our minds. Yes, just call me Mrs. Flax.

So with summer here, our search this month for our Secret Recipe Club had us looking for appetizers. Our blog assignment this month was Andrea’s Adventures in all Things Food. A few of her recipes caught our attention, including her Lamb Stew 'en Papillote', also delicious looking was her Thai inspired Chicken Patties with Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce, and her Fast and Flavorful Pineapple Mango salsa, which probably will be making an appearance on our table this summer, but as I said, we really wanted an appetizer. In the end it was her Chipotle stuffed mushrooms we chose to make and enjoy.

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Andrea’s blog shows her life with her children, there are lots of home and craft ideas and books, as she really seems to love reading. Of course there are lots of recipes too and along with those recipes she does a lot of product reviews, endorsements and giveaways. In this recipe she used Chipotle flavored Tabasco sauce. We didn’t have the sauce and chose not to purchase it just for this recipe, so instead we used chipotle powder to get that nice spicy, smoky kick which was a wonderful contrast to the creaminess of the cream cheese. The other change we made to the recipe was we chose to leave out the panko, to make the recipe lower in carbs and we also left out the egg yolk because in truth, we just forgot to put it in…oops! All-in-all, the mushrooms were wonderful and they held together well and will be made again and again as we enjoy our summer appetizer meals.

Chipotle Stuffed Mushrooms (Adapted from here)

1 TBS. olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced finely
48 oz. of button mushrooms, stems removed and chopped finely
6 garlic cloves, minced
16 oz. natural pork sausage
3/4 tsp. Chipotle powder
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 c. Parmesan cheese, shredded (NOT the powdered dry grated)
extra shredded Parmesan for topping

Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.
Heat 1 TBS. olive oil in a large skillet. Sauté the onion until golden, add the chopped mushroom stems and sauté until soft. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up until no pink remains.. Add the chipotle powder and stir to combine, cook for a bout 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and add the cream cheese and stir to combine. Add the Parmesan and stir to combine.   Cool slightly. Fill each mushroom cap with filling and top with a little more Parmesan cheese. Place the filled mushroom caps on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the mushrooms are softened and the filling has turned golden brown.
Plate and serve immediately.
Enjoy!
My previous Secret Recipe Club Recipe Posts:

Sriracha Deviled Eggs
Grilled Pizza Sandwich
Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper Mascarpone Soup
Hearty Bacon, Turkey & Vegetable Frittata
Chicken Satay with Sunbutter “Peanut” Sauce
Asian Pork Chops
Mango Salsa
Pomegranate Molasses Salad Dressing
Beef Keema
Roasted Grape Tomato, Garlic & Poblano Ragu
Mexican Feast: Cream of Ancho Chile Soup, Roasted Poblano Burger with Chile de Arbol Guacamole & Pork Crusted Baked Poblano Fries
Zesty Zucchini Skillet
Garlic Seafood in Coconut Milk
Lamb & Eggplant with Chiles
Fijian Ceviche
Carrot & Sweet Potato Pancakes
Chicken Burgers with Spinach & Mushrooms
Paradise Mango Curried Shrimp
Laura Goodenough’s Apple Coffee Cake
Loaded Potato Soup
Lemon Almond Biscotti
Creamy Mints
Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken
Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings
Fried Green Tomatoes
Chicken Satay Noodle Salad
Double Chocolate Mousse Cake
Candied Popcorn
Fruit, Nut & Poppy Seed Chicken Salad
Broiled Sushi
Health(ier) Peanut Brittle
Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites
Texas Chicken with Lime Butter
Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens
Thin Mint Irish Coffee
Levain Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
Welsh Cakes
Nutella Crêpes
Cilantro Lime Chicken
Holy Guacamole
and
Home Style Chicken Curry
Check out the new SRC blog for more exciting recipes from past reveals

An InLinkz Link-up

Monday, May 11, 2015

No-Bake Energy Bites

It seems like forever ago, a friend, Alison, posted a recipe on Facebook for these No-Bake Energy Bites and we thought they would be a hit with Maisie. That thought was immediately confirmed when Alison shared some of the ones she made with Maisie and she begged to make them that very night! We have made these bites numerous times and they’re still a requested favorite. They are simple to make and hold up well in her lunch and gym snack bags.

The original recipe came from Maggie’s blog, Smashed Peas & Carrots, where she states “You can substitute almost anything for any of the ingredients to work around food allergies, special diets, etc. Soybutter, almond butter, cashew butter, sun butter, etc all works in place of peanut butter. You can use creamed or liquid honey, or agave nectar or even maltitol syrup in place of the honey. If you do not like or cannot eat coconut try some type of crushed cereal, wheat germ, whole wheat flour, granola, cocoa powder...the possibilities are really endless. If you cannot find ground flaxseed you can buy it whole and grind it yourself in a coffee grinder or magic bullet or you can substitute any other dry ingredient in it's place. Yes, the mini chocolate chips can be regular sized or carob or you can use raisins, cranberries, goji berries, or crushed nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts, whatev) of some kind.” We have stuck to the recipe below because it’s a winner in Maisie’s book but if you try other options, let us know what you did and how they turned out!

No-Bake Energy Bites (from here)

1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)
1/3 cup honey
1 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup mini chocolate bits
1 tsp vanilla

In a medium bowl, mix everything above together until thoroughly incorporated. Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour. Once chilled, roll into balls. Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Enjoy!

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Sriracha Deviled Eggs

We can hardly believe that it’s May already and Maisie’s summer break begins in just 2 weeks!! One of our favorite appetizer items which always seems to show up at summer parties, are deviled eggs. We have made them on a few occasions but honestly, they were never any good. For some reason other people’s eggs always taste wonderful and ours have been just bland and nothing special. Well all that has now changed since we found Sid’s recipe for Sriracha deviled eggs aka Tates Hell on her blog, Sid's Sea Palm Cooking. This month for Secret Recipe Club we were assigned Sid’s blog and let me tell you, she is one lady that loves to cook and entertain. She host’s monthly Tapas nights, cooks for her boat club and prepares numerous senior lunches, all in addition to just general cooking.

When we first perused her blog we really were drawn to a number of her Danish dishes, including her Frikadeller with ground turkey, Kro pork with grapes and Rødgrød med Fløde. Then there were a few recipes, also Danish, which we’ve set aside to make for the holidays when we allow some special treats into our diet. Check out these tasty treats which we’ve tucked away, kringle weinerbrod, mazarin tarts and adorable marzipan fruits. In the end though it was the deviled eggs which called our name and we’re delighted that they did as this recipe is kick-a$$ fabu! We really love not only the wonderful flavor of the eggs but the nice hot spiciness too. No more will we be limited to enjoying deviled eggs only when others chose to make and share them, now we can enjoy delicious Sriracha Deviled Eggs anytime we desire.

We buy local free-range eggs, which are often just gathered minutes before we purchase them, aren’t the colors just gorgeous! Unfortunately super fresh eggs aren’t good to hard boil as they’re near impossible to peel, no matter what trick or techniques you employ. So, since we make hard boiled eggs every-single-week, we always try to have an extra dozen or two on hand as working with week-old eggs makes for wonderful and easy peeling.

Sriracha Deviled Eggs (adapted from here)

18 eggs
3 TBS. Sriracha Sauce
5 TBS. mayonnaise
1 tsp. Sambal Oelek, or more to taste
fresh ground pepper
Himalayan salt

In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Carefully add the eggs to the pot and bring the water back to a full boil. Allow the eggs to boil for 30 seconds. Cover tightly and reduce heat to low so that it’s just at a simmer. Cook for 11 minutes. Using a large slotted spoon, remove the eggs from the hot water and place in a bowl of ice water. Allow the eggs to cool for at least 15 minutes before peeling under cool running water.

Once the eggs are peeled, slice in half and remove the yolks to a bowl and place the hollowed out whites on a platter. Using the tines of a fork, mash the yolks. Add in the Sriracha, mayonnaise and Sambal Oelek. Combine until smooth, adding more Sriracha and Sambal Oelek to taste. Place the yolk mixture in a piping bag or ziplock bag fitted with a star or round piping tip. Fill each egg white with the yolk mixture. Place a dot of Sriracha on the top of each egg and dust with freshly ground pepper and salt. Serve cold.