Patrica Jane [Designs] : Quinoa Stuffed Portobello

I love my portobello's! Yet another way to stuff these tasty 'shrooms and they're ALMOST completely vegan. If I didn't top it with the goat cheese it would have been. Haha. So the goat cheese is completely optional!

I had to use up the last of the goat cheese since I won't be able to have any starting tomorrow when I start my cleanse. :(

For this stuffed portobello, I chopped up half of a leftover red bell pepper

and 6 asparagus stalks.

(By the way, I stuffed only 2 portobello mushrooms. One for me and one for my mom)

Next, I added about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and sauted about 3/4 cup of chopped up onions and 1 tbs. of crushed garlic (Trader Joe's kind) until the onions were translucent. I then added in the asparagus and red bell pepper and cooked them for a few minutes until they were almost tender but still crisp. Reason for this is you'll be baking/cooking the portobellos in the oven and you don't want the veggies to become too soft and mushy.

Once the veggies were tender yet still crisp, I'd say about 3-5 minutes over medium heat, I added in about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of leftover cooked quinoa (I eyeballed it). Stirred to combine and seasoned with salt, pepper, dried basil and thyme to taste. Always taste the food you are cooking!

Took the quinoa mixture off the heat and set aside. I got my portobello's ready by wiping with a damp cloth (or paper towel) to remove any dirt, cut the stem off and scraped the gills out. I layered the bottom, or insides, with chard leaves and then stuffed them with the quinoa and veggie mixture!

Topped them with some goat cheese, again completely optional, and popped them in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes or until the outsides of 'shrooms were soft.