#stuffedportobello

fantastic low calorie main or side dish.  time to clean out your fridge and get creative.  add whatever you have on hand in the fridge such as fresh herbs, roasted veggies, cubed chicken, italian sausage or crumbled bacon...

yields 2 large entree sized mushrooms

2 large portobello mushrooms, cleaned, with stems & gills removed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large shallot (or 1 small onion)

2 garlic cloves

6 oz fresh baby spinach (regular spinach works fine, just roughly chop since they are larger leaves)

1/4 cup breadcrumbs (italian, regular or panko all taste great)

4 oz 1/3-less fat cream cheese (or vegan cream cheese or goat cheese - all taste great)

1 tablespoon lemon juice (juice from half of 1 small lemon)

1 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)

salt and pepper to taste (approximately 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper)

1 tablespoon breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon grated parmesan cheese (optional)

optional add-ins: fresh herbs (basil, for example, tastes great), roasted veggies, parmesan cheese (any cheese, for that matter, is fantastic), cooked & cubed chicken, cooked italian turkey sausage, crumbled bacon etc.  the possibilities are endless… 

Clean the portobello mushrooms by removing the stems and scraping out the gills with a spoon.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place the portobellos in a greased baking dish cap side down.  Set aside.

Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat.  Add shallots and cook until tender (about 5 minutes).  Then add the garlic and cook for another minute.  Finally, add the spinach to the pan and cook until just wilted.  Transfer this hot spinach mixture to a bowl where you add the next five ingredients (and any additional add-ins).  Stir until the cream cheese has thoroughly melted.  Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary.  Divide this delicious creamy mixture in half and fill up the portobello caps.  Sprinkle the tops with breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese.  Bake in pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes until the mushrooms are tender.

Weight Watchers: 6ppv per portobello