At my house, dinner is one of the favorite times of the day. My boyfriend, my two cats, Chicken and NeNe, and myself all come together to break bread and talk about the day’s happenings. It’s always nice to reconnect over a delicious homemade meal with my three favorite beings. However, the past few months my boyfriend and I have been in a rut, a food rut. We tend to make the same few things—over and over and over again. Our creativity has been lacking a bit in the kitchen. He is a salad-hating, French-fry-loving omnivore and I’m a veggie-worshiping vegan/vegetarian. I don’t buy meat for the house and he doesn’t want to cook something different than what I choose to make—you can see our conundrum.
We decided to whip out the old cookbooks and call the moms for some recipe advice. After a night of research, we decided each week we would create a menu for the following week with ‘meat-like’ options that are veg-friendly for me and yet, still enough food to fill up his man tummy. Needless to say, week 1 went pretty well! If you too have a partner, roommate or family member that isn’t the biggest fan of vegetables, try out this hearty recipe for some full bellies and big smiles. Happy Eating!
Quinoa Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
4 servings
½ cup dry quinoa, pre rinsed
1 cup water
4 large Portobello mushrooms
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
¼ cup red bell pepper/Anaheim pepper mixture, diced
¼ cup onion, chopped
¼ cup radishes, minced
¼ cup vine ripe tomatoes, diced
¼ bunch rainbow Swiss chard
¼ bunch collard greens
¼ cup vegan panko breadcrumbs
¼ cup green onions, chopped
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Add the quinoa and water to a medium pot, bring to a boil, cover and then reduce heat to low. Cook the quinoa 15 minutes, or, until most of the water has been absorbed. Turn off the heat, leave quinoa in pot to cool down.
3. Clean the mushrooms with a wet paper towel and set aside on a cookie sheet, open side up. Lightly brush the mushrooms with the olive oil and drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the gills. Season with salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste.
4. Cook the mushrooms in the oven for 10 minutes.
5. While the quinoa & mushrooms are cooking, add some olive oil to a large pan and then add your peppers, onion, radishes & tomatoes. Allow these to cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes.
6. Add the collards & Swiss chard to the large pan, mix all ingredients. Allow these to cook down, about 3-5 minutes, before adding the vegan panko breadcrumbs. Add the quinoa to the large pan and take off heat. Add salt & fresh cracked pepper to taste.
7. Take the mushrooms out of the oven and drain an excess liquid. Evenly divide the quinoa/vegetable mixture and place onto the open side of each mushroom.
8. Bake the stuffed mushrooms again for 5 minutes.
9. Take mushrooms out of the oven. Evenly divide the green onions and top each mushroom with these.
10. Bon Appetite!
Also by Alexandra: What Really Happens When You Go Raw Vegan
Related: Healthy Vegan Nachos
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Photo: Alexandra Sirocky
