Zesty Cook » mushrooms

Kicked Up Barley Not in a Stew

zesty — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:30:15 +0000

Happy Monday! Hope you had a good weekend. I wanted to share with you a simple side dish that can replace your normal run of the mill grains such as rice or pasta. I find, for me anyway we tend to get in a rut of only choosing rice and pasta as our grains. I am trying to keep an open mind and use grains such as quinoa, bulgar, and barley. They are very simple to cook and absorb any flavor you throw at them.

For today’s post, I started with barley and follow the directions and boiled them in plain water. Then I added some sauteed mushrooms and corn, a little bit of butter and a hint of red wine. I let that reduce down before adding it into the cooked barley. Results were delicious and I must say, simple to make.

Ingredients

1/2 Cup Pot Barley
1 Cup Frozen Corn
1 Cup Mushrooms
1/4 Red wine
1 Tbsp. Butter
Zest of 1/2 Lemon
Salt and Pepper

Method

In a medium sauce pan, follow the instructions on the barley and cook accordingly.
In a larger pan, start by adding 1/2 Tbsp. butter and saute the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Once cooked down, about 4 minutes add the red wine and reduce. After most of the wine has evaporated add the corn.
Continue to saute the corn so that it starts to brown.
Set aside when cooked to your liking
In the barley, once all the water is evaporated, stir in the remaining butter, lemon zest.
Now add the mushroom and corn mixture. Toss gently and incorporate. test for flavor adjusting if needed.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Using alternative grains throughout the week will prevent boredom at the dining table. Something we all should aim for to keep our food interesting.

Monday is upon us. Another busy week in the hopper. I will pop back in on Wednesday for something else to eat. I hope you have a great start to your week.

Take care

zesty

Spicy Mushroom and Tomato Pasta

zesty — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:00:54 +0000

Happy Halloween!! Sorry for the rush in the day but i have 17 things to do this morning and only about 45 minutes to do it. Including getting my costume on for work. Depending how I look I may share a photo or two on Wednesday!

OK OK – the weekend is over and it is back to the normal weekday grind.

On Sunday morning I had some time to prepare lunch as the rest of the gang was out. I knew I wanted something simple cause we had to be on the move shortly after 1:00 so I came up with a simple pasta dish. Mrs. Zesty loves pasta and mushrooms - so what better way to use up some mushrooms than kick them up a notch with both some heat and some noodles. As I was looking around the fridge and pantry, I noticed some white wine that was begging to be finished as well as some fresh arugula and some button mushrooms.

My mind was made up and we were good to go.

Ingredients

1 handful Fettuccine
10 -12 Mushrooms ( chopped)
1 Tsp. Red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. cumin
12 Grape tomatoes
1/2 Cup white wine
1 Cup Arugula
2 Tbsp. Butter
1 Tsp. Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Parmesan cheese

Method

Bring water to a boil in a sauce pan; salt and add pasta. Cook according to directions and drain.
In a large pan, turn on medium heat and olive oil and half the butter. Add mushrooms and begin to cook down – 4-5 minutes
Season with salt and pepper, add red pepper flakes and cumin. Cook another 3 minutes
Add tomatoes and cook for about 5 more minutes.
With heat still on medium, toss in the white wine and cook down for 1 minute. Add remaining pat of butter and stir.
Toss in the arugula and let wilt for 2 minutes.
Add cooked drained pasta and toss gently. Shred Parmesan cheese before serving.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: For the sauce, if you are finding it too dry, add a little bit of the reserved pasta water before draining down the sink. This will bring a nice starchy salty flavor to the sauce and give it a nice balance.

OK there you have it. A simple yet rich dish great for a Sunday lunch or any meal throughout the week. Nothing special but a nice hearty dish to serve with a hunk of homemade bread and a tall glass of mil to battle the heat. I hope you have a super Monday and I will see you in 48 hours.

Take care

zesty

A Spinach Mushroom Pasta

zesty — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:00:58 +0000

Hitting you up wit a re post today as I am away from home for today and the weekend.

Some things will never change. I will continue to cook fun, easy and idiot proof recipes for you to “hopefully” enjoy and document them along the way with pictures to aide in your at home preparation. I think today will not disappoint. What do you get when you take roasted mushrooms with Parmesan cheese, pan seared chicken breasts with balsamic and orange reduction, fresh spinach and some whole wheat pasta?

Answer = YUM

This dish was actually quite tasty and as I was evaluating it last night – the one thing I would alter was the amount of sauce. I had very little as it reduced so much so in the ingredients below I will display what I did but you may want to increase the amounts if you are a sauce lover.

Ingredients

2 Boneless Chicken breasts ( sliced)
2 Cups Whole button mushrooms
2 Large handfuls of spinach
1/4 Cup Orange Juice
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
Parmesan Cheese
2 Cups Whole Wheat Penne Pasta

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Cook pasta according to directions
Line baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange mushrooms on sheet

Coat with one tablespoon of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and some Parmesan cheese; toss to coat evenly
Roast for 20 minutes turning occasionally

In a saute pan, turn to medium heat and begin to cook the chicken with the remaining tablespoon of oil. Once the chicken begins to brown toss in the roasted mushrooms, orange juice, remaining balsamic and let reduce for 4 minutes

Add spinach and cook until spinach is wilted

Add noodles, mix thoroughly and dress with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: For me this tip is all about balance. Use the balsamic and orange juice to balance themselves but be sure you have enough sauce. This was my only mistake in this dish. I feel it would have been even better with more sauce.

Tell me what you think of this recipe, what other recipes you would like to see, whether you would like to participate by doing a zesty post or if you just like stopping in here each day to check things out.

I am wide open and very flexible and there is nothing I will not answer. Have yourself a great Friday and weekend!

Take care

zesty