Italian Turkey Meatloaf

This healthy, veggie-stuffed meatloaf has an Italian accent. You could serve pasta on the side instead of mashed potatoes and think you're having spaghetti and meatballs!

2 T. olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced

6 oz. mushrooms, diced

1 onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1/2 t. salt

2 eggs

1 T. Balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1 T. chopped fresh parsley leaves

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. ground black pepper

1 lb. ground turkey

3/4 c. plain breadcrumbs

1 cup Roasted Tomato Sauce (or any chunky marinara sauce)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes or until mushrooms begin to soften. Add onion and red pepper and saute another 5 minutes or until all vegetables are tender. Season with salt and set aside to cool.

Whisk eggs, vinegar, basil, parsley, salt and pepper together. Add turkey, breadcrumbs and sauteed veggies. With your hands, gently mix just until combined. Press into a loaf pan and top with 1/2 cup marinara sauce. (Warm the other 1/2 cup of sauce and reserve for serving.) 

Bake for 45 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the middle reads 185 degrees.

Portobello Mushroom Parmesan

A big, juicy portobello mushroom takes the classic Chicken Parm. in a whole new direction, and it is way easier to prepare. In addition to giving it more of a steak-like quality, the underside of the mushroom cap forms a perfect bowl for holding lots of sauce and cheese. Serve it on top of pasta tossed in your favorite sauce and it's a filling dinner.

4 portobello mushroom caps

2 T. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup Roasted Tomato Sauce (or marinara)

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 lb. pasta

1 cup Pesto (or other sauce of your choice to dress your pasta)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium meat. Begin heating salted water to cook your pasta in.

Place mushrooms (gills up) in the pan and sauté for 10 minutes or until tender on the cooked side. Sprinkle the gills with salt and pepper, flip the mushrooms and sprinkle salt and pepper on the cooked side. Sauté another 5 minutes or until the gills start to soften and release the juices of the mushroom. 

Remove the pan from the heat. If your skillet is oven-safe, flip the mushrooms in the pan so the gills are facing up. Top each with 1/4 cup of tomato sauce, 2 T. mozzarella cheese and 1 T. Parmesan cheese. If your skillet isn't oven-save, move the mushrooms to a baking dish and dress the mushrooms in there.

Add pasta to boiling water. Place mushrooms in the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and starting to turn brown. Turn the oven broiler on and allow to broil for 1 minute before removing from oven.

Drain pasta (reserving at least 1/2 cup pasta cooking water). Add pesto to hot noodles, and toss, gradually adding pasta water until the noodles are all coated in pesto and your sauce reaches the desired consistency. Divide the pasta among four bowls and top each with a mushroom cap.

BEV NOTE: The pesto pairs well with a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio.

Risotto with Mushrooms and Peas

What makes risotto so creamy is the starch in the rice breaking down as you add your cooking liquid and continually stir. This is also why it has a reputation for being tedious to prepare. If you heat your chicken broth in advance, it will make the process go a bit quicker. The finished product is well worth the effort you put into stirring. Add a side salad and call it dinner!

6 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade

1 cup frozen peas

1/4 cup olive oil, divided

2 lbs fresh mushrooms, sliced (or 2 cups dried mushrooms)

1/4 t. dried thyme

1/2 cup chopped onion or shallots

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 T. butter

1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

2 T. chopped fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Heat chicken stock in a medium saucepan. If using dried mushrooms, boil your broth and add the mushrooms. Cover and let sit off the heat for 10 minutes or until reconstituted. Remove mushrooms from broth, press the liquid out and sauté them in less oil and for less time than if yo were using fresh.

Return the broth to the heat and keep it warm until you're ready to add it to the recipe. Add frozen peas to the broth to thaw them.

Meanwhle, in a large pot, heat 2 T. olive oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms and stir to coat in the oil, adding more oil if needed. Add thyme and cook mushrooms until they soften and reach desired brownness. Season with salt and pepper and remove mushrooms and their juices from the pan. Remove peas from chicken stock and add them to the mushrooms. Season the stock with salt, to taste.

Add another 1 T. of oil to the large pot and sautee onion for 2 minutes. Add Arborio rice and coat in oil. Cook for another 2-3 minutes to toast the rice. Add wine and stir to deglaze the pan. Continue stirring until wine is absorbed. Gradually add warm chicken stock (1/2 cup at a time), and continue stirring, adding more stock as it is absorbed by the rice (about 20 minutes).

Once the rice has absorbed nearly all of the stock, add mushrooms and peas and warm the mixture through. Remove from heat and add butter, Parmesan cheese, parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine and serve hot.

BEV NOTE: Enjoy with a buttery California Chardonnay

Vegetable Lo Mein

I never order lo mein at Chinese restaurants, but this is easy enough to make at home and I think tastes better than what you get at most restaurants. It does take a bit of time to make, so ordering take-out will definitely be quicker!

I've tried to minimize the amount of ingredients that I don't already have in my pantry. If there are ingredients here you don't have, either leave it out, substitute for something similar, or make the investment and just fix this lo mein a couple more times this year!

1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms (or fresh if you want to splurge)

3 eggs

1 t. sesame oil (can substitute or omit)

4 cloves garlic, minced

fresh ginger, peeled and minced, no more than the garlic (can substitute 1 t. ginger powder)

1/4 cup soy sauce (divided)

1 T. sugar

1 T. dry sherry or Chinese rice wine (substitute any sweet wine or omit)

2 carrots, cut into matchsticks

1 small turnip, cut into matchsticks (substitute other hard vegetable or omit)

3 cups thinly sliced cabbage

3 T. canola, peanut, coconut or other oil with a high smoke point

1 lb. lo mein noodles or whole wheat spaghetti

1/4 cup stir-fry sauce

In a small saucepan, boil 3 cups of water. Remove from heat, add dried mushrooms and cover to allow mushrooms to reconstitute (at least 10 minutes). 

Whisk eggs and sesame oil and season with salt if desired. Pour egg mixture into non-stick skillet over medium heat. As eggs begin to cook, move cooked parts to the middle of the pan to allow for uncooked egg to fill in the exposed edges, making an egg cake. Put a lid on the skillet for a minute to get any liquid egg on top to cook. Transfer to a plate to cool, and then cut into strips.

Drain mushrooms (reserving the mushroom water to add to a beef or vegetable broth in the future) and squeeze the liquid from them. In a small bowl, combine mushooms, garlic, ginger, sugar, 2 T. soy sauce, and dry sherry or sweet wine. Set aside, allowing to marinate for a few minutes.

Chop cabbage, carrots and radish. Heat a large pot of salted water to cook noodles. Heat 1 T. oil in wok or large skillet over medium-high heat.

When water boils, add noodles, cooking according to package instructions. Add mushroom mixure to hot wok and cook, stirring continually for about 3 minutes or until mushrooms are cooked and garlic and ginger are very fragrant. Remove from pan and add remaining 2 T. oil. Add cabbage, carrots and radish, stirring continually until vegetables reach desired tenderness (I like them with a little crunch still). Add a few spashes of soy sauce once vegetables begin to wilt to encourage them to steam.

Drain noodles and add to wok, along with mushroom mixture and egg strips. Stir in stir-fry sauce and toss all ingredients until well combined. Serve hot with soy sauce and Sriracha hot chili sauce.