Happy Friday lovebugs!
Here are my favorite recipes this week!
Buffalo Bacon Blue Cheese Guacamole
c/o Lauren's Latest
Ingredients
4 slices hickory smoked bacon
2 avocados
1/2 lime, juiced
1/2 large garlic clove grated
salt & pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup diced tomato
2 1/2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese + more for garnish
hot sauce, to taste
Directions
Start by cooking bacon in skillet until edges are crispy. Transfer to paper towel lined plate. Chop into bite sized pieces and set aside.
Cut open avocados and scoop into large bowl. Mash together with lime juice, garlic, salt and pepper until chunky. Stir in cilantro, tomato, blue cheese, bacon and hot sauce. Stir until combined. Spoon into serving bowl and top with more blue cheese, hot sauce and cilantro. Serve as desired.
Sausage Stuffed Balsamic Mushrooms
Ingredients
26 large mushrooms, cleaned with stems removed and discarded
1 T extra virgin olive oil
3 T Balsamic vinegar
0.5 oz sundried tomatoes, packaged dry and chopped
2 links (about ½ lb raw weight total) hot Italian turkey or chicken sausage, casings removed
¼ cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped (or 1 tsp dried rosemary)
1 tsp fennel seed
4 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
2 ½ oz Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, divided
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan (baking sheet with a rim around the edges) with parchment paper.
2. Place the mushrooms caps in a large bowl and toss with oil and vinegar until well coated. Place the mushrooms onto the prepared baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, flipping them halfway through. This initial step will allow the mushrooms to capture the Balsamic flavor but also to release a lot of the water they are holding. This is great because it ensures you won’t end up with soggy mushrooms at the end!
3. Fill a small bowl with water and microwave it until hot. Place the sundried tomatoes in it and let them sit for about 5 minutes. Drain them and chop them up small.
4. While the mushrooms are in the oven, spray a large skillet with cooking spray and bring it over medium-high heat. Add your poultry sausage and break it up with a spoon while cooking until the meat is cooked through. You want it to be broken into really small pieces, so you may want to further break it up with a fork. Reduce the heat to medium and add the sundried tomatoes, onions, garlic, rosemary and fennel to the sausage. Cook for a few more minutes until the onions are tender.
5. Place the softened cream cheese in a large bowl and then pour the hot sausage mixture on top of it. Add about 2/3 of the grated Parmesan to the mixture and then stir it together with a fork, making sure it is well combined.
6. When the mushroom caps are done cooking, transfer them face down to a stack of a few paper towels to drain for 3-5 minutes. Dump out any liquid from the jelly roll pan, wipe it clean and line it with a fresh sheet of parchment paper. Increase the oven temperature to 375.
7. Lay the mushroom caps face up on the lined baking sheet and fill each one with the sausage filling. You can really heap it on there – they get stuffed! Sprinkle the reserved grated Parmesan cheese over the top of each filled mushroom. Place the mushrooms back in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes until the stuffing is golden.
Corn Risotto
Ingredients
2 cups frozen corn, thawed (or fresh, if in season)
4 cups chicken broth
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Kosher salt and black pepper
Directions
In a food processor, puree 1 cup of the corn until smooth. Heat the broth on the stovetop in a medium pot.
In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the shallot and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, 3 minutes. Stir in 1 cup of the chicken broth and the pureed corn. Cook, stirring, until the rice has absorbed the liquid, 5 to 7 minutes. Continue cooking with the remaining broth, adding 1 cup at a time and waiting until the liquid is absorbed before adding the next cup.
After the last cup of broth has been absorbed, let the risotto cook 3 minutes, stirring. Add the remaining cup of corn and thyme; cook 2 minutes more. Stir in the scallions, Parmesan, salt and black pepper to taste.
