The kick

...if you watched football today or heard anything about the first game... you know what kick I'm talking about... Let's just say that it felt like I was leaving a funeral when the game ended... Poor guys! They were so into it and the game was intense!

On a brighter note... everyone loved my stuffed mushrooms! I didn't realize how easy and versatile the recipe is, and I'm looking forward to experimenting with the ingredients.



Stuffed Mushrooms: (Vegetarian)

• 1 pack of mushrooms


• 1/2 yellow onion


• 3 garlic cloves


• 1/2 red bell pepper


• 1/4 cup dry quinoa


• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese


• garlic powder, ground pepper, Italian seasoning, and salt to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400F.


2. Cook the quinoa according to instructions on the package. Here is my method. Prior to cooking: Soak the quinoa in water for ~10 min, then drain off the water. To cook: For 1/4 c. dry quinoa, use 1/3 c. water (or, whatever the amount of quinoa, use slightly less than 1:2 ratio). Bring to boil, add a drizzle of olive oil and salt. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 15 min. Do not uncover at any time! After 15 min, turn off the heat and allow to stand for 5 min. Now you can uncover :)


3. While quinoa is cooking: Clean the mushrooms by gently rinsing or wiping with a wet cloth. Remove the stems and set aside for the stuffing.


4. Lightly oil the baking sheet and bake the mushroom caps, stem side down, for approximately 10 min. Remove from the oven and pour off the juice.


5. While the mushroom caps are baking: dice and sauté the mushroom stems, onion, garlic, and red bell pepper. Saute until all of the juices evaporate.


6. Combine the quinoa, sauteed veggies, parmesan cheese and seasonings and mix together.


7. Now stuff the caps! You can add more grated cheese on the top!


8. Lightly oil the baking sheet, arrange the stuffed mushrooms, and bake for ~15min.

I prepared the stuffed mushrooms but baked them at our friends' house so they could be served right out of the oven! Yummm!

*****

Before heading out to meet up with M and friends, I decided to have a small lunch/snack since I knew I would be eating mostly finger foods during the game. My grandma surprised me with Sirniki - Russian pancakes made with cottage cheese! They are like the super healthy version of cheesecake. She also defrosted blueberries and brought them to a boil with a little bit of brown sugar to make fresh bluberry preserves. Double yummm!



*****

When I got home many hours later, once again a beautiful meal was waiting for me! Salad, roasted sweet potato slices, and Salad Olivier (Russian version of potato salad made with potatoes, canned peas, red onion, hard boiled egg, dill pickle, miracle whip/mayonnaise and bologna, tuna, or calamari).



Food Should Taste Good giveaway is here.

And that's it folks! What a day! Let's go Giants!!! :)

xoxo. Veronica