spaghetti + summer squash = delicious!

Looking for something quick & healthy for dinner tonight?  Well my friends, you've come to the right place.  And did I mention the time involved would be minimal?  Add that one to the pro's.  Summer is winding down, and the last thing you want to do is waste lots of your precious play-time slaving away in the kitchen.  Am I right?  Of course I'm right.  So, don't let me take up any more of your time, either.  Take 20 minutes to make this dinner, and enjoy the bounteous fruits of your SLIM efforts.

Spaghetti with Summer Squash

A Get in the Kitch Original

Ingredients

12 oz. whole wheat spaghetti

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 small to medium zucchini squash, chopped into 1-inch pieces

1 small to medium yellow summer squash, chopped into 1-inch pieces

6 oz. button mushrooms, brushed clean & quartered

Your favorite pasta sauce

1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cook spaghetti as directed until al dente.

2. Meanwhile, saute vegetables in olive oil in a deep skillet until tender, about 5 minutes.

3. Drain pasta, then pour it into the skillet with the vegetables.

4. Add your favorite pasta sauce, and gently toss the pasta and veggies to coat them.

5. Dish up & top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Stuffed Zucchini

Are your fridge drawers overflowing with squash like mine are?  We don't even have our own garden, and they're coming out of our ears!  We are pretty lucky people to have such wonderful friends/neighbors/family to share the fruits of their labors with us, huh!  I know.  Hopefully next year we will be able to pay it forward.  For now though, you have someone else's green thumb to thank for this tasty dinner.  I've seen zucchini stuffed with a variety of things - meat, rice, veggies, greens, etc. - so I figured I'd just use what I had.  That's the greatest thing about recipes like these (aside from the fact that they're easy & pretty quick!) - you can substitute almost anything you've got in your fridge for something I used that you might be out of (or can't stand the taste of).  So, get busy making those little zucchini boats and set sail with stuffed zucchini for dinner tonight!

Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients

2 medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise & centers hollowed

1 1/2 c. cooked brown rice

1/3 c. sun dried tomatoes, roughly chopped

1/2 c. artichoke hearts, roughly chopped

1/3 c. button mushrooms, chopped

3/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

garlic & onion powder to taste

salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or tin foil and place zucchini halves rounded side down on the tray.

2. Mix together all other ingredients & spoon the mixture into the hollows of each zucchini halve.  Be generous with the filling!

3. Bake 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees, or until cheese in filling is just starting to brown & zucchini is tender.

Turkey-Mushroom Burgers

I'm a big fan of grilling, and barbecues in general, but since I don't do the beef thing and I'm a total hot dog -snob, I have to be a little creative.  Might sound like I'm complaining, but no.  I actually see this as a blessing because that means I get to experiment with delights such as this.  Some turkey burgers have a tendency to be a tad on the dry side, but the mushrooms in this one keep your patty nice and moist.  If that sounded at all dirty to you its time you get your mind out of the gutter and into the kitchen!  Bust out the grill, baby - you're gonna love 'em!

Turkey Mushroom Burgers

adapted from delish.com

Ingredients

1/2 - 3/4 c. quick oats

8 oz. white mushrooms, wiped clean & finely chopped

3 tsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. lean ground turkey breast

1 large egg

3 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill

1 1/2 Tbsp coarse-grained mustard

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. heat 2 tsp. oil in a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat.  add onion, garlic & mushrooms; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes.  add to the oats and let cool completely, 15-20 minutes.

2.  Preheat grill to med-high heat.

3. add ground turkey, egg, dill, mustard, salt & pepper to the mushroom mixture & mix well w/ a potato masher (definitely use the masher!  I wasn't going to, but did on a whim & it worked like a dream!).  With dampened hands, form the mixture into six 1/2-inch-thick patties, using about 1/2 c. for each.

4. Oil the grill rack.  brush the patties w/ the remaining 1 tsp. oil.  grill until no longer pink in the center, about 5 minutes per side (an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center should register 165 degrees). meanwhile, split buns & toast on the grill for 30-60 seconds.

***Don't forget to leave your comment HERE (before August 1st) to win the Wild Bill's Gourmet Seasoning Give Away!***

goat cheese - stuffed mushrooms

Being the cheese-lover I am, you'd think I'd have been all over the goat cheese scene for a long time, but no.  This dish was my introduction to the creamy, dreamy stuff.  And now I'm hooked for life!  Another little nugget:  Dick swore when we first met that he hated mushrooms. Hated them.  Fast forward to the day I made these babies, and he devoured those shrooms like it was nobody's business.  He's been a self-proclaimed mushroom-eater for about a year now, and there's no going back.  When we open our minds (& mouths) to new foods, the odds are that life will get much more delicious!  I baked these in the oven, but if you're trying to beat the summer heat you can always plop them on the grill!

Goat Cheese-Stuffed Mushrooms

A Rachel Smith original recipe

Ingredients

8 oz white mushrooms, wiped clean, stems removed

stems of mushrooms, roughly chopped

4 oz. goat cheese crumbles

2 green onions, chopped

garlic powder to taste

Directions

1. preheat oven to 375

2. combine chopped mushroom stems, goat cheese, green onion & garlic powder in a medium bowl.

3. place a heaping spoonful of the goat cheese mixture in the cap of each mushroom.

4. on a prepared baking sheet, bake mushrooms approximately 20 minutes, or until cheese is melty & slightly browning & mushrooms are tender.

Golden Mushroom Soup

Not too long ago, Dick and I went to a phenomenal local restaurant called Roosters. It's a brewery on Historic 25th Street here in good old Ogden, and we love it! Not for the spirits they brew, but rather for the grub. On this particular visit, we both got their Golden Mushroom Soup for our appetizers. I chose this because I thought it sounded delicious, but also it sounded a little magical. It ended up being both! We couldn't stop talking about it for days, so I ended up searching online for a recipe I thought might be comparable....and I found one! It was light and just a little creamy, but not like it came out of a can. And just the right amount of spice - it really has a great KICK to it! It didn't take long to make, and we both loved it. Which is saying a lot since we had such high expectations built up in our minds from our first experience! Dick has pretty much said since I met him that he "doesn't like mushrooms," but I'm pretty sure he's converted now. You will be, too, once you give this a try!

Golden Mushroom Soup

from RecipeZaar.com

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. butter

1 c. chopped onion

1/4 c. white wine (I used chicken stock)

1 lb. mushrooms, washed and sliced

1 Tbsp. Paprika

1 1/2 tsp. dried dill

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

3 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 c. vegetable or chicken stock

1 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. flour

2 c. milk (I used skim w/ great results!)

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

salt to taste

Directions

heat butter in a large pot, add the onions. cook over medium heat, until the onions are soft and just beginning to brown, ~7 min.

add white wine to pot. add mushrooms and spices. slightly lower the heat, cover, and cook 5 minutes, stirring often.

add the soy sauce and stock. cover and simmer about 10 minutes.

in a separate small pan, mix the 1 Tbsp. butter and flour to form a thick paste. cook, stirring constantly, for 1 min. then mix in the milk and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until steamy and slightly thickened.

add milk mixture and lemon juice to the soup. stir well, and serve.

>Portobello Mushroom Bake<

So, Dick claims that he's not a big fan of mushrooms, but I think deep down he really is. Maybe not raw mushrooms, but I'm not big on raw ones either, so that's ok with me. Anyway, I think I've just about got him converted after this dinner! He loved it, and so did I! I think next time I'll leave out the chicken and add more mushrooms to make it a vegetarian meal. The red peppers add so much flavor, and the parmesan cheese really puts the cherry on top! You'll love this one, too - it's the perfect dinner for an awesome Autumn day! We ate it with a spinach salad, and it was still delicious as leftovers for lunch at work the next day, too. This is one we'll add to our list of fave casseroles, for sure!

Portobello Mushroom Bake

From Prevention Magazine

Ingredients

8 oz. small rigatoni pasta

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1" pieces

2 large portobello mushroom caps, sliced

1 onion, halved & sliced

2 red bell peppers, cut into strips

2 cans (10 oz each) condensed cream of mushroom soup

2 c. chicken broth

2 Tbsp chopped fresh sage

1/3 c. grated parmesan cheese

Directions

preheat the oven to 375. coat a 13 x 9 baking dish w/ cooking spray.

prepare pasta according to package directions.

meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp of oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. add the chicken and cook, turning once, for 8 minutes or until golden. remove to a plate and keep warm.

heat the remaining Tbsp oil in the same skillet. add the mushrooms, onion, and peppers & cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, or until soft.

in a large bowl, combine chicken, pasta, mushroom mixture, soup, broth, & sage. spoon into the prepared baking dish. sprinkle with the cheese.

cover loosely with foil and bake 20 minutes. remove foil and bake for 10 minutes longer, or until hot and bubbly.