Creamy Mushroom Toast- Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!!!

 This creamy mushroom toast is an easy and a simple dish which the kids as well as the adults will enjoy. This will be a perfect lunch box dish or as an evening snack or as a breakfast dish. This is so easy to make and a dish which can be made with less ingredients. Instead of sour dough bread, you can also use thick slices of regular bread, ciabatta, country bread and so on.

This recipe requires only mushrooms, but as we like spinach and so added it. Using variety of mushrooms will increase the flavor and also gives great texture. Pan fry the mushrooms till it is browned.

In my house this is a hit and whenever we have mushrooms at home, this is one dish that is for sure to be made. Hope you all will try this and let me know how it turned.

Ingredients:

• Sour Dough Bread- 1

For Creamy Mushroom:

1. Mushrooms- 1 Cup (cleaned and chopped)
2. Garlic- 3-4 (chopped)
3. All Purpose Flour- 2 tbsp
4. Butter- 1 tbsp
5. Milk- 1/2 Cup
6. Oregano- 1 tsp
7. Red Chilli Flakes- 1 tsp
8. Salt- as required
9. Pepper Powder- 1 tsp
10. Chopped Spinach- 1/2 Cup

Method:

1. Slice the sourdough bread and toast the slices and keep this aside.
2. In a pan heat 1 tbsp of butter, add the chopped mushrooms, garlic and spinach, stir well for a min on high flame. Add little salt. Stir on low flame for about 5-10 minutes till the mushrooms are cooked. Transfer this to a bowl.
3. In the same pan add another tbsp of butter, add flour and stir for a minute till the raw smell disappears , add milk and whisk well till everything gets mixed well.
4. When it starts to thicken, add the salt, pepper powder, oregano and red chili flakes. switch it off and stir in the mushrooms and spinach. Mix well.
5. Place a spoon full of the creamy mushrooms on top of the toasted sour dough slice and enjoy a warm bite.

One Pot Mushroom Stroganoff

Mushrooms are a staple in our house. I try different varieties of dishes using mushrooms and one day when I was going through some instagram posts, I came upon my favorite chef "Healthy Living James"page and he posted a new recipe using mushrooms. The name looked familiar, stroganoff. I had chicken stroganoff before, but this one using mushrooms was new to me. The ingredients are also so easily available in our pantry and so I tried making it the same day. It came out perfect and super delicious. We had it along with brown rice for lunch and along with quinoa for dinner.

This one pot dish will be liked by all. This dish only requires minimum ingredients and is not at all time consuming. The mushroom gives a meaty texture, coconut milk gives a creamy flavor to the dish.

Coming to my favorite chef, James, who is a qualified health coach, with a healthy living. His recipes are so easy, simple, quick and healthy dishes. I have tried many of his recipes, one of recipes from his blog that I have posted was Quinoa and Potato cakes. A beautiful blog with amazing recipes. Hope you all will try this mushroom stroganoff . If you tried, please let me know how it turned.

Inspired From Gluten Free Mushroom Stroganoff:
Ingredients:

1. Mushrooms- 10-15 ( roughly chopped)
2. Onions- 2 (chopped)
3. Garlic- 1 tbsp
4. CoconutMilk- 1 Cup
5. Dijon Mustard- 1tsp
6. Red Chili powder- 1 tbsp
7. Lemon Juice- 1 tbsp
8. Olive Oil- 2 tbsp
9. Salt- as required

Method:

1. Heat oil, add the minced garlic, onions. When they turn translucent add the chopped mushrooms and stir till they turn soft.
2. Add the coconut milk, mustard paste, red chili powder along with salt. Add the lemon juice and let it cook for almost 10 minutes.
3. When done garnish with some cilantro or parsley and enjoy.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

It's slowly becoming cold during night time and a better way to enjoy cold weather is by making a warm, richer, creamier soup that will be liked by all in your family. This mushroom soup was rich without being heavy and delightfully earthy. I suggest pairing this with warm oven toasted bread. That's how I like to slurp my soup.

To make this delicious soup , I used 3 portobella mushrooms, they give nice flavor and the lovely color to the soup. This is a chunky soup, if you want your soup to be more pureed, just use the immersion blender and blend well. As the mushrooms are roasted along with garlic, it gives an amazing flavor to the soup.

I make this soup once in two weeks as my family loves it a lot. My daughter is a big fan of this soup and likes a warm soup after coming back from school. She is like me, I like mushrooms a lot. As a kid, I remember, my dad used to bring lots of tiny mushrooms on the way back home after a morning walk. He plucked fresh mushrooms from the woods that used to pop up after a rainy day. My mom makes amazing dishes out of them. Feeling very nostalgic. In my native, we see these mushrooms in our backyard. They grow after a stromy night. They are edible and are so tiny. They used to grow in a large groups.
Ingredients:

1. Mushrooms (chopped)- 2 Cups
2. Onions(chopped)- 1 no
3. Garlic (crushed)- 2 nos
4. Flour- 2 tbsp
5. Salt- as required
6. Pepper Powder- 1 tbsp
7. Dried Herbs-1 tbsp
8. Water/ Broth- 3 Cups
9. Cream- 1/2 Cup
10. Butter- 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Heat butter in a pan, add the crushed garlic, stir for a min on a high flame.
2. Lower the flame and add the chopped onions along with chopped mushrooms. Stir well and let this cook till all the water gets evaporated. Mix in between.
3. When the mushroom becomes soft, add the dried herbs, in another bowl mix the flour, salt, pepper powder and water. 
4. Add this flour mixture into the cooked mushroom, mix well till everything gets well blended. Bring to a boil, stir and cook until thickened.
5. Stir in the cream, simmer until the flavors are blended, approximately 15 minutes. Switch off the flame and enjoy with oven toasted bread.

Baked Chicken- Veggie salad with Creamy, Tangy Avocado Dressing

These days we are so much into salad that I would be searching for different salad recipes or dressings. One such salad which we all like is this chicken- veggies salad with a creamy and tangy avocado dressing. Tough this baked marinated chicken- veggie I usually make, this time I wanted a dressing that goes well with this salad and here is an easy and simple dressing that will be liked by all.  The left over dressing got finished like a dip with the nachos by my kids. Trust me this will be a perfect dish among guests and they end up asking for a second serve.

In the chicken- veggie salad, you can add any vegetables of your choice and nuts or boiled eggs and enjoy just like that but I found the dressing gets well blended with the salad and kids will enjoy the most. For kids, cut the chicken into bit sized pieces and mix everything and place it in tacos and serve them. Trust me, they wont leave till everything gets finished.

This avocado dressing is delicious, creamy and perfect to drizzle on all your salads. I love avocados in most of my dishes or in smoothies. They taste darn delicious and are very healthy and nutritious. This dressing is similar to guacamole, but this is little more runny and pour able.

This dressing is so easy to make just add all the ingredients in a blender or processor and processes till it becomes a creamy consistency. Hope you all like this and try it out.
Ingredients:
For Chicken- Veggie Salad:

1. Boneless Chicken pieces- 1 Cup
2. Salt- as required
3. Pepper- 1 tsp
4. Chili Powder- 1 tsp
5. Turmeric Powder- 1 tsp
6. Carrots(Cut into strips)- 1 no
7. Mushrooms (cut into 4)- 2 Cups
8. Corn- 1/4 Cup

Method:

• Rub the chicken with the spices and keep this aside for 30 min.
• In a cast iron pan, add the marinated chicken, corn, mushrooms, carrots, salt and pepper. Bake for about 20- 25 min in a pre-heated oven of 350 degrees F.

For the Creamy, tangy Avocado dressing:

1. Avocado (cubed)- 1 no
2. Garlic Clove- 1 no
3. Juice of lemon- 1/2
4. Parsley Leaves- few
5. Olive Oil- 1 tbsp
6. Salt- to taste
7. Greek Yogurt- 2 tbsp

Method:

• Blend all the ingredients in a blender and take in a serving bowl or mix it with above made chicken- veggie salad and enjoy.

Oriental Stir Fry

Oriental stir fry is one of the easiest dishes to make for dinner or is a perfect one to be enjoyed by guests. The sauce is made in advance and can be stored in refrigerator for few weeks.This Oriental sauce is the best stir fry sauce you've ever tasted, which is very enticing with chicken, veggies or any other meat. A secret weapon for a fast midweek meals. Just make it in a mason jar and store it. A super delicious  sauce that is well combined with veggies, noodles, meat or rice. I have paired this dish with quinoa, which was perfect. I served the kids rice and this stir fry veggies.

Heat the wok with little oil, add proteins or veggies and some noodles and at last add this stir fry sauce, which will do it''s magic on the dish. I read about this stir fry from one of my friend's Instagram post and so here it is today in my blog. We all liked it a lot and the kids were asking for a second serving.

Here in my sauce I have used freshly squeezed orange juice, you can replace it with store bought and also use as required. We like the orange flavor and so I added almost 1/4 cup. This recipe is so healthy and nutritious as a whole lot of veggies are added to this dish. Please try this recipe and let me know how it turned.

Ingredients:
For sauce:

1. Orange Juice- 1/4 Cup
2. Soy Sauce- 3 tbsp
3. Garlic (chopped)- 1 tbsp
4. Ginger(grated)- 1 tbsp
5. Sesame Oil- 2 tsp
6. Honey- 2 tsp

Method:

• Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl using a whisk. Keep this aside, till the veggies are done.

For veggies:

1. Capsicum( cubed)- 1 no
2. Onions(cubed)- 1 no
3. Baby Corn- 5 nos
4. Bok Choy(chopped)- 1 no
5. Boneless Chicken(cubed)- 1 cup
6. Broccoli- 1/2 cup
7. Mushrooms(sliced)- 1/2 cup
8. Garlic( sliced)- 3 cloves
9. Oil- 1 tbsp
10. Salt- as required

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan, add garlic, saute the chicken with little salt for a minute on medium heat. Stir and add all the veggies one by one and stir, adjust the salt.
2. Let this cook on low flame for about 3- 4 minutes, stirring in between. Once the raw smell of veggies disappear and when they turn crisp add the above made sauce and stir for 2 minutes on a medium flame.
3. When the veggies get coated well with the sauce, remove from heat and serve along with steaming hot brown rice/ quinoa/ noodles.

Stuffed Mushrooms

This delicious, tasty appetizer makes an ultimate party treat. Juicy mushrooms are stuffed with the onion-olive mixture, topped with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and baked till soft. These are perfect bite-sized appetizers and will be loved by all. This is an easy and elegant snack that can be assembled ahead of time. These are definitely a crowd puller.
When I was talking to my SIL, she said, for iftar, she made these stuffed mushrooms. I have heard about them before but never tried making them at home. I got curious and asked my SIL for the recipe, then I came to know that it's a very easy, simple snack which can be prepared within no time. For the filling she added chicken pieces, I made it veg and my kids loved it. It was our iftar snack which was made within minutes.

Mushrooms with stuffing...

Added Cheese and ready to get baked

In these stuffed mushrooms, the filling can be made with anything or any variety of your choice. We can even make sausage, meat, chicken, paneer filling. The mushrooms, which are perfect for this recipe are the white mushrooms or the cremini mushrooms. Just make sure that while choosing the mushrooms, make sure that they all are of the same size, for even cooking.
As I was having some extra filling, I stuffed it inside capsicum, which was an experiment and was very delicious.

These are so easy to make, just snap off the stem, stuff with the choice of filling, sprinkle with the cheese and bake till golden perfection and TADA!!!!!! The perfect, delicious, silky, smooth appetizer is ready within minutes. You can even fill the mushrooms and freeze it. For the surprise guests or for hungry kids, just take it out of the freezer and bake for an extra 5 minutes. Hope you all will like this and try it out quickly.

Ingredients:

1. Mushrooms- 8 nos
2. Olives- 5- 6 nos (chopped)
3. Onions- 1/4 cup (chopped)
4. Salt- a dash (as olives contain salt)
5. Cayenne Pepper Powder- 1 Tsp
6. Pepper Powder- 1 Tsp
7. Oregano- 1 tbsp
8. Parmesan Cheese- 5- 6 tbsp

Method:

1. Wash and drain the mushroom, remove the stem from all the mushrooms, leaving the cap whole.
2. Chop the stems finely. Heat oil in a pan and saute the chopped stems along with chopped onions and olives till the onion turns translucent.
3. Add the salt, cayenne pepper and oregano, saute well. Fill the mushroom caps with this mixture and then sprinkle each stuffed mushroom cap with a small amount of Parmesan cheese.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange the mushrooms on a baking tray and bake them for about 15- 20 minutes.
5. Enjoy warm.

Balsamic Chicken and Veggie Salad

Nowadays we are more into healthy salads for dinner. I was searching for some salad recipes and got this balsamic chicken salad which is a one pot salad that is very filling. As I had all the ingredients readily available in the kitchen, I tried it out. This dish is not only easy but a very delicious and appetizing.

With very fewer ingredients, we can make a healthy, protein-rich, nutritious dish by spending very less time in the kitchen. A perfectly balanced meal, with the choice of veggies.

In this, the chicken pieces and veggies are coated with balsamic dressing and baked till done. This dish is versatile and with full of flavors. Try this out and let me know.

Ingredients:

Adapted from here:

1. Boneless Chicken- 1 lb
2. Minced Garlic- 3 tbsp
3. Dried Thyme- 1 tbsp
4. Dried Oregano- 1 tbsp
5. Salt- as required
6. Pepper- 1 tbsp
7. Broccoli- 1 Cup
8. Carrots- 2 nos (peeled and cut into thin strips)
9. Mushrooms- 1 Cup (cut into half)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
2. Mix the balsamic vinegar along with minced garlic, dried thyme, oregano, salt and pepper in a bowl.
3. Pour this balsamic vinegar mixture in a ziplock bag along with chicken pieces and mix till everything gets blended well.
4. Keep this aside till the vegetables get ready.
5. Cut the carrots, broccoli, and mushrooms to the desired size and marinate them in a baking pan with the remaining balsamic vinegar mixture and toss well.
6. On top of the veggies place the marinated chicken pieces and bake for about 15- 20 minutes. Enjoy an amazingly delicious salad.

Healthy Rosemary Baked Chicken and Vegetables

Healthy, flavorful and tastier is what we call this simple and comforting dish which can be prepared within no time on a lazy Sunday. This dish is very filling and which is loaded with colorful veggies and packed with proteins.

In this dish, the chicken breasts and our favorite veggies are baked together along with a dash of spices and is fully flavored with the Mediterranean herb of rosemary. Last spring I bought a lovely plant of rosemary and it survived through this winter and as I love the flavor of rosemary in my salads or other dishes, I thought of using the fresh rosemary sprigs to this dish. I usually use the dried leaves of rosemary. The distinctive taste of rosemary has taken this dish to another level.

This is an incredibly easy and a satisfying meal, which can be prepared for lunch or dinner.

When you feel lazy to cook, try out some of these delicious and healthier one pot baked dishes rather than calling for a take-out. You can have this without chicken, just add all your favorite veggies and tada an amazingly delicious, the heavenly dish will be ready within minutes to enjoy.

Ingredients:

1. Boneless Chicken- 500 gms
2. Paprika- 1 tbsp
3. Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
4. Pepper powder- 1 tsp
5. Salt- as required
6. Garlic (crushed)- 5 cloves
7. Fresh Rosemary Sprigs- 1 no
8. Balsamic Vinegar- 1 tsp
9. Lemon juice- 1 tbsp
10. Mushrooms- 1 Cup
11. Capsicum- 1 cup
12. Broccoli- 1 Cup
13. Cucumber- 1 no
14. Spinach- 1 Cup
15. Salt - a pinch
16. Pepper Powder- 1 tsp
17. Balsamic Vinegar- 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Clean, wash and pat dry the chicken. Make slits and keep this aside.
2. Mix paprika, salt, pepper powder, turmeric powder, crushed garlic cloves, rosemary leaves, vinegar and lemon juice in a glass bowl. Spread this paste on the slitted chicken well on both the side. Keep this for about 15- 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile slice the capsicum, mushrooms and chop the cucumber, spinach, and broccoli into sizes. Smear little oil on top of the veggies along with salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar. Mix well.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking tray with a parchment paper and arrange the veggies as shown or mix everything together and place them on the parchment paper on the baking tray.
5. Line another baking tray with parchment paper and place the marinated boneless chicken pieces and bake both the veggies and the chicken for about 20- 25 minutes or until the veggies are cooked and the chicken gets tender.
6. When done, remove the vegetables and chicken from the oven. Slice the chicken to bite sized pieces and arrange the required amount of veggies and sliced chicken in serving plate, enjoy warm.