Planning by the Pound:Pre-Sautéed Mushrooms
Confession: While many of my daily decisions revolve around my next meal, I can get pretty lazy by the time making supper rolls around. I’m pennywise enough not to go running for the takeout containers but I’ll admit that I have to be diligent about stocking my fridge on the weekends for items that can be “repurposed” for Monday- Thursday.
I’m making an effort though. Last Sunday I bought a pound of regular white button mushrooms, pre-sliced (2 8 oz containers for $4!).
I then sautéed every last one in a bit of extra virgin olive oil (about 2 TB of olive oil for 16oz of mushrooms). And of course once I got started, I couldn’t help but mince a garlic clove or two and add that to the mix. Then a splash of the white wine that had been opened for Sunday dinner and a healthy pinch of sea salt with ground pepper. Suddenly the house smelled amazing and I was all smiles knowing that I was bestowing little treasures on myself for the days to come. After sneaking a couple bites on the side, I did the right thing and sealed them up in a Tupperware container and put them in the fridge. And then I plotted.
Over the next five days, my mushrooms made the following appearances:
- Breakfast for Dinner Night- Two Egg Omelet with Mushrooms, Spinach and a teaspoon of goat cheese. The whole thing was seasoned with a pinch of Herbes de Provence and took about 10 minutes total.
- Lazy Linguine- As pasta goes, I lean toward the thick stuff- linguine for the day-to-day and paparadelle if I’m feeling fancy. It was Wednesday. I was not feeling fancy so I simply cooked my noodles and added 2TB of olive oil, 1 tsp of lemon juice, the tiniest pinch of cinnamon, a handful of mushrooms and a good bit of low fat feta. The fanciest thing that happened in that 11 minute meal was when I tore a few leaves of flat-leaf parsley off the bunch in my fridge and sprinkled them over the top of my dinner for a little color. Delicious.
- Breakfast for Breakfast- Up with the sun so why not make coffee and something healthy for breakfast? Southwestern-style egg substitute with mushrooms and low fat cheddar cheese added in, salsa on the side. I wish I were enough of a weekday morning person to do this more often as I was in a good mood for the whole day. I’ll dedicate that to the D.
- Impress the Guests- I love entertaining. Love it. I am never happier than when I have a full house with full bellies. That said, it can be tricky on a Friday night after work, so I do my best to prep ahead of time and choose things with minimal ingredients.
I learned this puff pastry pizza recipe at our team’s get together in January and I have to say, it’s as delicious as it is easy to put together. Even easier as I didn’t have to spend extra time with a sauté pan (I sautéed half of a sweet yellow onion the night before). One sheet of rolled out puff pastry brushed with olive oil and pre-baked at 350 for 8 minutes. It is then topped with thin slices of goat cheese, chopped spinach (I just thawed and drained a frozen 8oz box), sautéed mushrooms, sautéed onion slices and then more goat cheese if you’re feeling indulgent. Indulgent is my default weekend setting. Salt and Pepper to taste then back in the oven till the crust is golden brown- about 10 minutes.
So there you have it, a bit of a long post but that’s appropriate given the mileage I managed to get out of a $4 pound of my favorite fungi. Mushrooms have the ability to dress up anything while being one of the single easiest vegetables to prepare. How are they going to make your life easier next week?
