Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms

Portabello mushrooms are exciting when you dumpster them. They're usually sealed in plastic wrap with very little wrong with them (if they're baby portabellas it might be because one or two are squishy).

Stuffed portabello mushrooms are a great addition to a barbeque or pot luck, and are extremely versatile. You can use regular sized portabellos, baby ones, cremini mushrooms for a different flavor, keep the recipe vegan, vegetarian, or ULTRA MEAT styled....plus, you can add pretty much whatever you have in the fridge that you've dumpstered recently. There are a million ways to make these, but they always come out delicious regardless because portabella mushrooms are so freaking good.

I'll give my favorite combination of ingredients...my co-worker and one of my BFFs Matt has an even better rendition of this basic recipe that doesn't use tomatoes, but he told me the recipe is an ancient Chinese secret. Basically, you only get to eat his version if you are at a BBQ he's attending. So, you'll just have to settle with my version:

STUFFED PORTABELLA MUSHROOMS


Ingredients:

- 2 portabella mushroom caps, de-stemmed (unfortunately - if they aren't de-stemmed, chop up the stems and add them in with the onions)
- Handful of diced red onions
- 12 Cherry heirloom tomatoes, quartered (any tomatoes will do, though)
- Shredded mozzerella cheese (would have preferred Parmesan in there, but whatever)
- 2 slices of bacon, crumbled (optional for vegetarians)
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tsp fresh rosemary
- 1 tsp fresh sage
- 1/2 tsp fresh thyme
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp lemon juice (preferably fresh)
- Fresh ground pepper, salt, and red pepper flakes to taste
- Sprinkle of fresh parsley
- 2-3 tbsp unsalted butter or earth balance
- Italian seasoned bread crumbs (you can make them yourself from dumpstered bread if you're feeling adventurous - recipe forthcoming)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Make bacon. Set aside on paper towel to be crumbled once dry.
With bacon grease still in the pan (or butter), sautee onions and tomatoes on medium-low until soft. Throw in the garlic for the last 30 seconds so it keeps its flavor.
While that's cooking, mix the olive oil, soy sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, pepper, rosemary, sage, thyme, and red pepper flakes in a bowl thoroughly. Brush the mixture onto your portabella mushroom caps (or marinate them in it if you have time to let them sit).
Once the tomato/onion/garlic mixture is done, put it aside in a bowl.
Add butter to your pan, turning the heat to medium.
Cook your portabellas, brushing your liquid mixture onto them frequently until they are mostly cooked (you can also do this on the grill for better flavor). Once you're finished this part, put them on a baking sheet with tin foil.
Stuff the caps with your tomato/onion/garlic mixture. Add your bacon bits, then top it off with a liberal amount of shredded mozzarella cheese and bread crumbs.
Melt 1-2 tbsp of butter down in your pan, then drizzle it over the breadcrumb top of your mushrooms.
Throw in the oven for about 7-10 minutes until your cheese melts.
Turn your oven to broil (550 degrees) and keep a close eye on your mushrooms - take them out once the tops begin to brown. BEWARE - they will burn quickly!
Take them out, sprinkle with parsley, and you're done!

Items not dumpstered or donated: Bacon, garlic, rosemary (from garden), sage (from garden), thyme (from garden), parsley (from garden), mozzarella, butter, olive oil, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, pepper & salt

SO MANY POTATOES AND ONIONS

It's really hard to turn down free stuff. We all know it. So, when a dumpster is full of potatoes and onions for the taking, I figured "why not just take most of them? I can get inventive."

1 month later, I still have a full bag of potatoes and at least 20 onions (the good news is that both of these ingredients don't spoil easily).

The lesson learned? When dumpstering, you need to exercise a lot of restraint. Free stuff is free stuff, but overestimating what you'll eat is unfair to other folks who dive your dumpster and ultimately makes you just as wasteful as the stores you're scavenging from.

That said, sometimes you end up with a surplus of a few things. For me, potatoes and onions are my most prevalent dumpster finds. Potatoes can get pretty BLAH after a while, so you have to find ways to spice them up.

In case you needed some inspiration, here's a long list of potato and onion-related dishes and two potato recipes:

- Smashed Potatos (best w/ red potatoes - boil, smash with fork. Stir in butter & salt). Stir in homemade pesto to spice it up.
- Mashed potatoes (best with Yukon Golds. Boil, blend with milk, butter, & salt)
- Roasted potatoes (best with red) Coat bottom of a tin-foil covered pan with olive oil. Cut up potatoes into 1-inch pieces, put in the pan & coat with oil. Cover in salt, pepper, fresh rosemary, and whole garlic cloves (or garlic powder). Bake in the oven at 375 degrees until the potatoes are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside.
- Potato Latkes - perfect combo with homemade applesauce (recipe forthcoming) & sour cream.
- Potato Chips
- Hash browns - diced or shredded (for variety)
- Making soups heartier
- Baked potatoes (w/ sour cream, bacon, chives)
- Potato salad
- Gnocci (seems hard to make but is actually pretty easy - it just takes a little time to get ratios right)
- French fries (you can make them in the oven - you don't need a deep frier)
- Potato skins
- Veggie kabobs

GRUYERE POTATOES

My dad travels a lot for his work. So, he's eaten at a LOT of restaurants. A long time ago, he got into the habit of carrying around a food journal whilst voyaging. If he likes what he eats at a restaurant, he asks for the recipe so he can make it again for himself.

When I went off to college, he started sending me one of these recipes with each letter.

So, this recipe is from somewhere in France and is uber-yummy.

Ingredients:
Potatoes (Yukon golds or equivalently large baking potatoes are best)
3-4 cloves of garlic
Butter (unsalted)
Salt, Pepper, & ground nutmeg
Gruyere Cheese (and any other cheese if you'd like)
1-1.5 cup Beef bouillon or stock (if you don't have it or are vegetarian, you can use water)

Get a pyrex baking dish (or equivalent). Peel enough potatoes to fill half the dish. Carefully slice the potatoes so that they're paper-thin.

Peel and cut your garlic cloves in half and rub the garlic all around the bottom and sides of the baking dish, then take a stick of unsalted butter and coat the bottom and sides of the dish.

Next, put a layer of potatoes, some salt & pepper, ground nutmeg, and pats of butter over all the potatoes, followed by a liberal portion of grated Gruyere cheese. Repeat the layering process until you're out of potatoes, making sure the cheese is the last thing you put in the dish.

Pour boiling beef bouillon over the mixture.

Put the dish in an oven at 400 degrees. The dish will be done when the cheese on top turns golden brown - but don't let the cheese burn. If the potatoes aren't fully cooked, turn the temperature down to 300 until they're soft.

POTATO & ONION SOUP

Ingredients:
4 slices of bacon, diced (optional)
3 onions, chopped
3 tbsp butter
1/2 leek, chopped
6(ish) potatoes, peeled (I used Yukon golds)
Garlic powder, salt, black pepper, & cayenne pepper to taste
Water (approx. 6 cups)
2.5 tbsp flour (or more to thicken)
1 sprig basil

Cook bacon until brownish in a large pot.
Add butter.
Throw in chopped onions & leeks on medium heat until they're soft.
Put in the garlic powder, salt, & pepper.
Add flour slowly, sprinkling in.
Add water slowly, continuing to stir. Bring to a high boil to thicken the soup a bit.
Once it cooks down, add the potatoes and let them soften. Smoosh them with a spoon or potato masher to unleash their starch. This will thicken the soup a little more. At this stage you can add a cup of red wine and/or a few cups of (soy) milk or cheese. Don't use vanilla soy milk, though. It will taste disgusting. You can also throw in some rice, quinoa, pasta, or kale to make it more hearty.
Add one chopped potato at the end while the soup is simmering to add some textural variety.

Makes 2-4 bowls.

Items not dumpstered or donated: Butter, spices, bacon, flour, basil (from my window garden), (soy) milk