Mushroom, Spinach, and Pinto Bean Enchiladas

 

 Meal Prep Magic: Time-Saving Tricks for Stress-Free Cooking, a Weelicious Cookbook by Catherine McCord is a new release (April 4, 2023) from Abrams Books, and well worth investigating. Aside from the tips on fridge and pantry organization, there are some darned good recipes. This one (as so many Mexican and Tex-Mex recipes tend to do) caught my eye. I was surprised at how quickly this dish came together. Quicker than I had imagined, actually, and it was incredibly satisfying and delicious. I used portobello mushrooms and a bit of Montreal steak seasoning, so mine had a very woodsy and meaty flavor. For me, one enchilada by itself, made a meal. This is a recipe that I plan to revisit often. 

 Mushroom, Spinach, and Pinto Bean Enchiladas
Slightly adapted from Meal Prep Magic by Catherine McCord

2 T. olive oil
1 lb. mushrooms, sliced*
¼ t. Montreal Steak Seasoning
½ t. garlic powder
1 t. onion powder
½ t. ground cumin
½ t. kosher salt
2 c. loosely packed fresh spinach
1 15-oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 ½ c. shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 12-oz. can enchilada sauce**
6 large flour tortillas

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a 9” x 11” baking dish with PAM; set aside.

Heat the oil in a 12” sauté pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, steak seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and salt to the oil and sauté, stirring occasionally, for four minutes or until the mushrooms start to turn golden. Add the spinach and stir until wilted, about one minute. Remove the mushrooms and spinach from the heat, stir in the beans and 1/2 cup of the cheese.

Spread half of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of your prepared baking dish. Place the tortillas on a work surface. Scoop 1/2 cup of the mushroom mixture onto the half of the tortilla closest to you. Roll up the tortillas and place them on the top of the enchilada sauce. Top with the remaining enchilada sauce.

Cover the enchilada pan with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil, top with the remaining cup of cheese, and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes and serve.

Garnish as you see fit.

*I used Melissa’s portobello mushrooms

**I made my own enchilada sauce

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 Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Abrams Books as a member of their Abrams Dinner Party 2022-2023.

Cream of Broccoli Soup with Mushrooms

I don’t know about you, but sometimes one of my produce bins gets a bit more full than the other. So, when I came home from the store with a 16-ounce package of whole mushrooms, it was impossible (Curses, you kohlrabi and celeriac!) to put it in the vegetable bin where it belonged. So, just for the moment, I put it into the fruit bin that had dwindled down to virtually nothing other than a withered piece of citrus, so old and so shriveled, as to be unidentifiable. Fast forward two weeks later when it was time to wash out those bins and I found the mushrooms. Gasp! A pound of mushrooms, looking the worse for wear, and me with no clue as to why I’d bought them. Sure, I have a lot of recipes that call for mushrooms, but I know, at the time that I bought these, I was thinking of something in particular. Well, it’s too late now, I need to use these up and fast. So, this is going to be the Week of the Mushroom! Four different recipes will be coming to you, all using mushrooms. Get ready to be bowled over by fungus!

First up is Cream of Broccoli Soup with Mushrooms (yeah, yeah I had put the broccoli in the fruit bin as well), a surprisingly tasty, decidedly summer soup that pairs nicely with a tossed or fruit salad, crusty roll or slice of nut bread.

Cream of Broccoli Soup with Mushrooms

8 oz. fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2 Melissa’s shallots, finely diced
1 large onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
16 oz. chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup whole milk
Pinch of nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a large saucepan, sauté mushrooms, shallots, onion, and garlic in butter over low heat until mushrooms and onions are soft and all of the liquid has evaporated. Add wine and cook until evaporated. Stir in flour, and cook and stir for one minute. Add broth and broccoli, and bring to a simmer and cook for two minutes. Add milk and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Add seasonings to taste and serve. This tastes equally good cold as it does warm, so consider it a soup for all seasons.

 

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One of my favorite broccoli soups is this copycat of St. Louis Bread Company’s.

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Reader Tip Tuesday

Tuesdays with a Twist

The Scoop

Dream, Create, Inspire

O My Heartsie Girls Wonderful Wednesday
 Wow Us Wednesday

Wine’d Down Wednesday

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Campanelli with Mushrooms, Bacon, and Parmesan

For me, pasta is the ultimate comfort food. Pasta, and cheeseburgers, I love cheeseburgers. And a steak, a nice medium-rare Filet Mignon. Oh! And lobster bisque, sweet and succulent lobster bisque. Where was I? Oh yes, pasta. I find pasta to be the ultimate comfort food because it's easy to put together, and so warm and soothing to consume. It doesn't take a whole lot of effort to make a truly wonderful pasta dish that can work equally well as a starter, or main course.

Finding my fridge with more mushrooms than I needed, and wanting to make good use of them, I decided to create this dish. It was absolutely delicious, and so easy. It's important, in this case, that you use the Campanelli, because those little scroll-like noodles hold onto so much of your delicious sauce.

Campanelli with Mushrooms, Bacon, and Parmesan

4 ounces Campanelli pasta
4 pieces thick bacon
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 ounces mushrooms, sliced
2 Melissa's organic shallots, minced
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon thyme
A glimmer of freshly grated nutmeg*

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 1/2 tablespoon salt. Cook pasta according to package directions, about 10 minutes to al dente; drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water; set aside.

While pasta is cooking, rough chop bacon and cook over medium heat in a 10-inch sauté pan until crispy, about eight minutes. With a slotted spoon remove bacon to a plate. Drain all but 2 tablespoons bacon grease.

To the pan in which you cooked bacon, add garlic and shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots are soft. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, another 3 to 4 minutes until mushrooms are tender. Return bacon to the pan.

Reduce heat to medium-low and pour in heavy cream, stirring continuously. Slowly add Parmesan, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, and nutmeg, stirring all the while. Allow to simmer 2 to 3 minutes until it reaches desired thickness. If the sauce needs thinning, stir in reserved pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached. Add pasta and stir to coat. Serve immediately.

This makes two main course or four starter course servings.

*There is, of course, no official measurement called "glimmer." Considering a single grating of nutmeg to be just that.

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Wow Us Wednesday

Wine’d Down Wednesday

Full Plate Thursday

Foodie Friday & Everything Else

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Simple Saturday Blog Hop

A Bouquet of Talent

Paula's No Rules Weekend Blog Party

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Mushroom Brie Soup

I am a nut for soup, you all know that I am.   As I mentioned on the O-P Facebook page the other day, in this household we actually have a Soup du Jour.   Today it was Mushroom Brie Soup, a recipe that I adapted from one that appeared in the St.  Louis Post-Dispatch a couple of weeks ago, and is served at a restaurant called The Daily Bread in Kirkwood, MO.   I added twice as much of the leeks as called for, and pumped up the dry sherry just a bit.   It only made four servings, so the next time I make it (and I will!) I’m going to double, or maybe triple the recipe.

Mushroom Brie Soup

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter

½ cup chopped leek, white and light green parts only

1 teaspoon minced garlic

¾ cup chopped portobello mushrooms (excluding stems)

¾ cup chopped button mushrooms (including stems)

1/3 cup dry sherry

¼ cup flour

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 cups water

1 ½ cups whole milk

1 ½ cups half-and-half

1 tablespoon chicken base (such as Better Than Bouillon)

2 1/8 ounces brie, rind removed, cubed

In a large pot, melt butter on medium heat.  Add leeks, garlic and mushrooms, and sauté until mushrooms shrink to half their size.  Add sherry (it will sizzle) and cook down until mixture reduces by a third.  In a small bowl, whisk water into flour, salt, and pepper to form a slurry.  (Strain out any lumps, if needed.)  Slowly pour slurry into the pot, whisking all the while.  Add whole milk, half-and-half and chicken base and bring just to a simmer over low heat.  Remove from heat, stir in brie until melted.

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Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Asparagus, Mushroom and Artichoke Quiche

Tonight’s dinner was the delicious result of trying to get rid of the seemingly massive amounts of fresh vegetables clogging our fridge.  You see, my husband loves to shop.  When he does, he buys lots of fruit, lots of vegetables, lots of yogurt, and jams it all into the fridge.  He never has anything particular in mind for these purchases, mind you, he just figures that I’ll “come up with something” to justify his many bargains.  Not a lover of fruit – I’ll take a green bean over an apple any day -- I do tend to use up all of the vegetables.  Here is the result of my latest endeavor.

Asparagus, Mushroom and Artichoke Quiche

1 tablespoon butter

6 ounces button mushrooms, sliced

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 bunch (1 pound) asparagus, tough ends removed, thinly sliced on the diagonal (save some whole spears to decorate the top, if desired)

½ can artichoke hearts, thoroughly drained and quartered

2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese (8 ounces), divided

4 large eggs

1 1/4 cups half-and-half

¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1 deep dish pie shell

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat and sauté mushrooms until tender.  Remove from heat and allow to cool. 

Place pie crust on a rimmed baking sheet.  Once the mushrooms have cooled, place them in the bottom of the deep-dish pie crust, and top with a third of the shredded cheese.  Place artichokes on top of the cheese and press down lightly.  In the same skillet that you used for the mushrooms, sauté asparagus until tender crisp, about 6-8 minutes; season with salt and pepper.  Allow to cool. Layer cooled asparagus on top of the mushroom-cheese-artichoke-cheese mixture and top with last of the cheese.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, ¼ teaspoon salt (more or less to taste), gratings of freshly ground pepper to taste, and nutmeg.  Carefully pour egg mixture over the top of the vegetables and cheese.

Bake until center of quiche is set and golden, 50 to 60 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

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Foodie Friday

Facing Phyllo Fear - Wild Mushroom Bites

When I made the very few New Year's resolutions that I did, I also resolved to tackle them during the first month of the year so I could coast the rest of the time.  Here's another to check off my list - working with phyllo dough. Yes, I know a lot of people use it routinely, but I've always found those gnat-wing-thin sheets to be daunting.  Frankly, now having worked with it, I still can't say I find it any less daunting, but having successfully made close to 40 appetizers this afternoon I will say that I wouldn't hesitate to work with it again, and the results were wildly successful (if you'll pardon the pun).

This recipe is an adaptation of one I cut out from Colonial Homes magazine back in 1995 (yes, I've been in denial for that long).

It's very easy to put together and once I got the hang of the flag-style folding of the dough I got to be pretty fast.  I could not, however, work fast enough to prevent the dough from drying out.  Nor could I work fast enough to keep the dull ache in my lower back from turning into a searing pain crawling up between my shoulder blades from standing at the counter at a perfect 45-degree angle for what turned out to be close to an hour.  (Next time, I'll sit down, or enlist help.)  And I couldn't help but think while I was first carefully folding each piece into a perfect triangle, then later into rather reckless triangles, and watching them grow from the size of a bite-size snack to that of a sandwich to that of a small Buick in an effort to use up filling that never seemed to deplete, that perhaps this recipe was a bit advanced for a rookie like me.  On the other hand, just think how great I'll do when I select something MUCH simpler next time!

Wild Mushroom Bites

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 pound portobello and/or shiitake mushrooms, chopped

About 5 ounces regular white mushrooms, chopped

1/2 cup chopped green onions (3 to 4)

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons dry white wine

1 tablespoon flour

1/4 teaspoon dries thyme

12 sheets (about 13 x 9 inches) phyllo dough

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Rough chop mushrooms and scallions.

In a 10-inch skillet heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat.  Add mushrooms, green onions, and salt. 

Stirring frequently, cook 5 minutes or until mushroom liquid is released.

In small bowl, stir wine and flour together until smooth; gradually stir into cooked mushrooms. Cook until mixture is thickened and smooth, stirring constantly.  Cool mixture to room temperature or refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a large cookie sheet.  Unwrap phyllo dough, unroll, and remove 12 sheets. Place dough on dry countertop; cut phyllo sheets lengthwise into four 13-inch by 2-1/4 inch strips; cover with waxed paper and a damp towel.

For each triangle, place 1 strip phyllo on work surface and brush lightly with melted butter.  (Keep remaining sheets under waxed paper covered with a damp towel.)

Place 1 teaspoon mushroom filling on one end of strip.

Fold end of strip over filling at a 45-degree angle.

Aligning end of pastry with edge; continue folding, keeping edges even, to make a triangular package; brush with butter.  Repeat with remaining strips, butter, and filling.

Place triangles on greased cookie sheet.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve hot.

Makes about 48 hors d'oeuvres.

The dough that I couldn't use before it dried out. 

Obviously my husband and I couldn't eat all of these, as tasty as they were, so I opted to try freezing them.  I'll let you know how that works out.

Adapted from a recipe in Colonial Holmes magazine, December 1995.

Savory Crescent Chicken Squares

It's frantic, shopping-and-lunch filled days like these that make me ever so thankful I had the foresight last fall to make meals ahead and put them into the freezer.  Tonight, after a day of doing my holiday shopping and helping my parents out with theirs, I was so glad to come home to a warm, dry house, and a meal I could just pop into the oven.

This is a relatively easy dish to make and, with the possible exception of the crescent rolls, you probably have everything in your pantry to do so right now. The recipe makes four of these little gems, and if there are just two of you at home, as in my case, then you are in luck, as the two that remain can go into the freezer and will reheat (at 350 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes) to absolute fresh perfection.  The sauce will freeze and re-warm just as well.

This recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, St. Louis Days, St. Louis Nights, that I've mentioned here before (and will undoubtedly mention again and again!).  Here's the annotated recipe. 

If you can't quite make out the sauce, here's the recipe:

1 can cream of celery soup

1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules

3 tablespoons sour cream

1 tablespoon dry sherry

Whisk ingredients together.  Heat over a low flame until steaming.  Spoon generously over the top of the baked squares.

This is linked to Foodie Friday.