The Cook & The Coach Blog

Portabello Mushroom Taco Shells

5/21/2014

It's been a while since we have done a Weird Veg Wednesday. My inspiration kicked in tonight with some portabello mushrooms that we had in the fridge along with some other ingredients that we had in the house. I've done stuffed portabellos before, I've done portabello fries, but this was a new adventure for me. The attempt was to turn a portabello mushroom into a taco shell. I'm happy to say IT WORKED!!!

The rest of the dish was pretty simple beef taco meat using the homemade taco seasoning mix that we made a few months ago. The salsa was a roasted corn, black bean salsa. We topped it with a little guacamole and some cilantro and it made for a delicious taco. On side we made some Spanish rice with a little sauteed red onion and chili powder.

Ingredients

4 Large Portabello Mushrooms
2 eggs, beaten and used for an egg wash
1 cup Almond Flour
2 tbsp olive oil

Directions

Clean out the gills of the mushroom cap and remove the stem. You can chop up the stem and add to your taco meat.
Place flat on a baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes at 400 degrees. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. This will allow the mushrooms to be a little more pliable.
Remove from oven and place on paper towel to remove any moisture. Allow the mushrooms to cool so you can handle easily.
While the mushrooms are cooling prepare your baking sheet for making "taco shellls." I did this by folding up some aluminum foil. Then once you dredge your mushrooms you can form over the top of the foil. (See pic below)
Dredge mushrooms in flour, then egg wash then back in flour. This gives you the best coating and will create a crispier shell. After dredging place on the foil.
Bake the shells for 15-20 minutes at 425 or until golden brown.
Fill with whatever your favorite taco fillings are and ENJOY!!!

Aluminum foil forms to place shells on top of for baking

Cooked Shells

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Tomatillo and Black Bean Succotash with Blackened Cod

3/12/2014

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So we’ve had a couple of busy days but we did try out a new Weird Veg on Wednesday this week. We chose tomatillos which I guess we have used before but mainly in salsas. Tomatillos if you have never had them are an interesting flavor. Although they look like a small green tomato, they have more of a citrus type flavor. It really added a nice little zing to this dish.

Tomatillos are a great source of Vitamin C and potassium. For their calorie content they also have a decent amount of fiber. When buying tomatillos I like to try to find ones that still have some of the husk on them and they should have a nice firm texture. Sometimes when you are buying veggies that aren’t mainstream you need to check them to make sure they haven’t been sitting there for too long. Once you get them home, peel the husks and give them a good wash, the outer flesh tends to have a sticky residue on them. Enjoy this delicious and fun Veg!

For the blackened cod that was just simply, 8 oz cod fillets drizzled with a little olive and coated generously with blackening seasoning. Depending on thickness you will need to cook between 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees.

Directions

3 cups chopped tomatillos, should be 5-6.
1 red onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 large jalepenos, diced – feel free to modify depending on how spicy you like things
2 cups roasted corn
4 cloves of garlic, diced
1 can black beans, liquid drained
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Juice of one lime
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 cup cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil, for roasting and sauteing
Salt and Pepper to taste

Ingredients

If you don’t buy roasted corn, you can do it yourself depending on the season, I prefer to do it on the grill and just grill whole cobs of corn until they start to turn slightly black. Otherwise you can do it in the oven at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes.
After cleaning the tomatillos rough chop into bite size pieces, drizzle with some olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the same 425 oven for 6 minutes.
Meanwhile in a skillet, add 1 tbsp olive oil and sautee onion and garlic for 3 minutes, add red and jalepeno peppers and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients, including corn and tomatillos. Toss thoroughly and serve!!!

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Black Bean Brownies

6/7/2013

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I was skeptical. I almost didn’t make them. How in the HECK could brownies made out of black beans be good?

Well…they were better than good. They were AMAZING. I loved them…I really don’t think I’ll ever go back to normal brownies!! I topped these with a little pb2 sauce but they really didn’t need it.

We took these over to my hubby’s brother’s house for dinner and I thought it’d be hilarious to play a trick on them and not tell them what they were made of. They know me so well though…before I could even dish them up they asked me what kind of vegetable was in them. Seriously…who do they think I am??! I told them there were no vegetables but they knew something was up. I didn’t care though because they LIKED them!!

Recipe courtesy of @angelamccafferty on IG. Thanks Angela!

ingredients

1 scoop chocolate protein powder (about 30g – I used Chocolate Shakeology)
1 – 15 oz can of black beans
1/4 c baking stevia (didn’t have any so I used turbinado)
1/4c cacao powder or cocoa
1/4 c melted coconut oil
1/4 c almond butter (I used Justin’s maple almond butter)
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum (optional – gives better texture I guess…but I didn’t use any and thought it was fine)
2 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
1/4 c dark chocolate chips (optional)

directions

1) Preheat oven to 350.

2) Rinse beans off very well.

3) Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend well. You want the beans as smooth as possible.

4) Bake for approximately 20-22 minutes in an 8×8 pan sprayed with nonstick spray.

5) Store in the refrigerator.

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Portabello Mushroom Taco Shells

Ingredients

Directions

Tomatillo and Black Bean Succotash with Blackened Cod

Directions

Ingredients

Black Bean Brownies

ingredients

directions