Dairy Free Soups

Its been awhile since I have posted about Dairy Free food to make. I think I am over due.
I have 2 classic soups that most people love and you can normally find in most restaurants. Knowing that dairy free is a hard choice because of healthy or allergy.

Tomato Bisque. Now I know a few readers are allergic to tomatoes, so that being said; tomatoes can be substituted with Roasted Red Peppers. It will have more of a smoky flavor because of the roasting but still good.

Tomato Bisque
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup green pepper chopped
1 tbsp milk free margarine
3 med tomatoes, peeled and diced
1/4 cup of water
1 cube chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/4 salt ( taste before adding salt, bouillon can be salty)
1 1/2 cup tomato juice ( in substituting you would add more  water with chicken flavoring and add more red pepper)
*corn starch slurry to thicken if desired

Saute onion and pepper in margarine. Add tomatoes, water, bouillon cube, dill and salt. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Then let cool. Beat in blender until thoroughly combined. Add juice and blend one minute more. Pour in bowls. If using cornstarch to thicken, return to pot on stove and bring to a boil. Add cornstarch and boil for 2 minutes or until soup thickens.

Makes 4 servings

Most people like a good Clam Chowder. Dairy Free people can't have it. I found a way so that they can have a good Chowder..

First you need the Potato Soup base for all chowder recipe
3 medium potatoes, peeled and dice
2 cup chicken bouillon or chicken stock
Add potatoes to bouillon/ stock and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 25 minutes. Blend on high until it liquefy.


Clam Chowder
1 cup Potato Soup Base
Clam Juice
1 6.5 oz can clams, drain and rinse ( fresh is good too)
2-3 med potatoes, peeled, diced and par baked. ( meaning you cook them so they still have a little crunch left
Salt
Pepper
 1/2 lb bacon
1 bundle of thyme
2 bay leaves
* if using fresh clams 4 dozen little neck or cherry stone clams scrubbed
1 large onion cut into 1/4 " dice
2 tbsp flour*****

In a large skillet render you bacon down, slow and low heat. Just as it starts to get crispy pull it out and put your onion in there and saute until translucent. Add potato cubes and cook another 5 minutes.Sprinkle flour over potato onion mixture and stir to combine. Add clam juice. At this point add your Potato Soup Base, thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are cooked. About 10-15 minutes. Add clams. Taste and re season if needed. Add hot sauce if desired.
*** For Fresh Clams****
Place the clams and 1 cup of water in a pot  and cover. Cook over high heat and cook for 6-7 minutes. Uncover and remove open clams and continue to cook unopened clams.. Strain liquid through a coffee filter and reserve.

***** If there is a gluten allergy, follow all steps except flour and then if the chowder is too thin, add cornstarch to thicken

Happy Eating

Keep Moving Forward

"Keep moving forward" is a quote from Walt Disney. I love that quote and from time to time I have to remind myself that  everything happens for a reason. Having set backs and  a lot of them are life. Especially being a Military wife and mom.

Most recently, I had an amazing job interview lined up. Restaurant was everything that I have trained for in my culinary career. Downfall, it was 80 miles away, and that was just in one direction. I would have been driving 160 miles a day to and from work. Add that to a 12 hour work day and there is no time left for the kids and barely enough time to sleep. I was pretty upset. I had taken time and planned out the perfect courses of food to knock their socks off right down to the minute details.

Mom had always told me when one door closes there are bound to be more that open, I just have to look for them. After my pitty party last night, I started looking at other options. I found a few. I still have a couple local interviews to attend, I still have a few places I can call to look into renting for my make shift bakery. I also decided that maybe its time I finish my degree.

I have an associates degree in cooking, but looking at the growing job market, more and more people want a Bachelor's Degree. So I have decided to  go back and get my Culinary Management Degree. Then I can start working on becoming a Certified Pastry Chef. I needed to start setting goals for my self again.

I found that we are here another year in Wisconsin. So I must set goals not loose sight of why I became a chef or the goals. I became a chef because I love to cook, I love to share my experiences with people and I like to see people happy when they eat my food. I am proud of what I have cooked and created.

I wish my mom could be here to share the ever growing experiences I have. I know that she is watching me from above and supporting my choices.

Thank you all for listening.

Fettuccine with Bacon

In our house hold we have a pasta night. Trying different dishes all the time. There are so many ways to eat pasta. Also there are so many different kinds of pasta. I usually try to make the pasta from scratch but that doesn't always happen. Bacon is another favorite in the house so this recipe is a perfect mix.

1 (7oz) bottle roasted red bell pepper, drained
2 bacon slices, raw chopped
1 cup sliced onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup chicken broth
4 cups cooked fettuccine about 8 oz
2tbps grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Cut bell peppers into  1/4 in wides strips
Cook bacon in a large skillet. Cook until crisp. Then add onion and garlic, saute 1minute. Add bell pepper, peas and broth. Simmer 1 min. Stir in pasta, cheese, salt and pepper.

Serves 4 : serving size is 1 1/3 cup.

Happy Eating

5 ingredient fix dinner

Ever want a dinner that looks fancy but don't have the time to follow all the steps? I found  these chicken bundles look fancy but they are only 5 ingredients. When I make them, people always think I took a lot of time and put a lot of work into it. They take about 15 minutes to prepare and 20 to cook so if you have company coming over, this is a quick dish that you can put together and it looks good.

Chicken Bundles
4 chicken tenderloins
1/8 tsp each of salt and pepper
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1/2 cup spreadable spinach and artichoke cream cheese
4 slices Muenster cheese, halved
1 egg
1tbsp water

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, set aside. On a lightly floured surface roll puff pastry into a 14 in sq. Cut into 4 squares.
Spoon 2 tbsp of cream cheese mix in the center of each square, top with Muenster cheese and chicken
Whisk egg and water, lightly brush over edges. Bring opposite corners of pastry over each bundle, pinch seams to seal.  Place seam side down on a baking sheet covered with parchment. Brush with remaining egg mixture.
 Bake at 400 for 22 minutes until golden brown.
If you worried about the chicken temp it out.. Temperature for chicken should be 160 degrees. F

Happy Eating

Fish Friday

Midwest in known for its Friday night fish fry. I thought a fish recipe would be great for today. Taken from a West African themed menu. In West Africa these are called  boulettes de poisson. Fish balls can be made a head a time and then pulled out to cook.

2tbsp water
3/4 tsp chili powder divided
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 lrg. eggs slight beaten
1 slice white bread
1lb cod or white fish chopped
1tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
2tsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cocktail sauce

combine water, 1/4 tsp chili powder, salt, pepper and eggs in small bowl. Stirring well with a whisk.
Place bread in food processor,pulse until coarse and measures 1/2 cup.  Add 2tbsp egg mixture, fish, parsley and garlic. process until a thick dough forms. Shape into 16 (1in ) balls.

Heat oil in large skillet over med-high heat. dredge fish balls in flour and dip in remaining egg mixture. Add fish balls to pan and saute for 10 min, or until brown on all sides.
Combine 1/2 tsp chili powder and cocktail sauce. Serve with cooked fish.

Happy Friday and Enjoy your food.

Dinner in a Packet

As August is upon us, so draws the near end of Summer. Although if you ask the people around here, summer just showed up.  With days that its perfect weather for grilling. Why not have dinner in packet and be able to enjoy the outdoors while food cooks.

I found a couple recipes that are great for the grill. Most people love Chinese favorite Sweet and Sour Chicken. Now here is a healthy way to cook it and enjoy summer..

4- (6oz) Skinless boneless chicken breasts halves, or cut smaller
2 cups teriyaki marinade, divided
2 cups cubed pineapple
2 cups vertically sliced vidalia or sweet onion
1 1/2 cup yellow or orange bell pepper strips
1 1/2 cup red bell pepper
2 cup cherry tomatoes
 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Place the chicken in a large zip lock bag, add 1 cup marinade. Seal bag and gently toss to coat. Place pineapple, onion, and bell peppers  in another large zip lock bag and add 1 cup marinade, seal and gently toss. Refrigerate  for 2 hours.

Prepare grill

Remove pineapple from bag, discard mixture. Place pineapple mixture and tomatoes in a large foil cooking bag or pouch. Remove chicken from bag, discard marinade. Place chicken on top of pineapple mixture. Seal and cut 6 1/2 in slits  in top of cooking bag. Place bag on grill. Cook for 25 minutes or until chicken is done. Cut bag open and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve.

You can serve with a variety of sides. I would recommend a cold Asian pasta salad.

Stuffed Peppers

This recipe takes me back to being a kid. It was a dish that was served in my house at least once a week. Brings back memories of everyone sitting down at dinner time around the table with out TV or cell phones, having a normal conversation. Grant it, that it was mostly my mom and dad talking since I was the only kid but it still was happy memories for me. This would be one of my comfort foods that takes me back to a simpler time.

This dish is great because you can make them ahead and freeze them for future meals or you can make them a few hours a head and serve them for dinner that night. Its all contained in one.

I have found a way to make this vegetarian besides the meat. For a husband that is a meat and potatoe guy, he actually prefers the vegetarian version of this when I make it.

1- (3.5oz) bag boil in bag rice
4 red bell peppers
3/4 lb ground sirloin
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp all spice
2 cups tomato sauce divide. can use pasta sauce
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup dry red wine
 cooking spray

Pre heat oven to 450F
Cook rice according to package. Do not salt or add butter to it and set aside.
While rice cooks, cut the tops off bell peppers, reserve the tops. Discard the seeds and membranes. Place peppers cut side down in an 8 in square baking dish, cover with plastic wrap. Make sure the dish is microwave safe. Microwave for 2 minutes on high. Peppers should be a little tender but still crisp.
 Heat a large non stick skillet over med-high heat. Add beef and next 5 ingredients, cook 4 minutes or until beef is lightly browned, stirring to crumble. Remove from heat. Add rice, 1/2 cup pasta sauce and cheese to beef mixture and combine.
While beef cooks, combine 1 1/2 cups pasta sauce and wine in small sauce pan and bring to a boil.
Spoon about 3/4 cup of beef mixture into peppers. Place peppers in a 2qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray, add wine mixture to dish. Cover with foil.
Bake for 20 minutes , uncover and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until lightly browned.
Garnish with Pepper tops



For the Veggie version, I substituted the meat with black beans, garbanzo beans and corn. I used more cheese in the mix to hold it better. I also used bread crumbs and mushrooms. I would pulse all the veggies in a food processor so that they are a little chopped up. Using the spices of garlic, Salt and pepper to taste, and a little of Italian seasoning. If your going Vegan. Use Vegan cheese. I can't give you exact measurements for this because at the time I came up with the version I didn't measure. I just added until it tasted good.

Happy Eating.

A little info about Soy

I found this while looking for more recipes to test and to share. There are many people that choose to be vegetarians or not eat meat. Soy is a good substitute for some of that. Also there are people that can not have milk and soy is also another option for them.
The article says that consuming 25 g of soy protein a day in a low fat diet might lower the risk of heart disease. Now keep in mind that this article is 10 years old.

It did list some of the most concentrated sources of soy protein.
Tempeh                       1 cup = 32g
Tofu                             1 cup  = 20 g
Yellow soybeans          1/2 cup =14 g
Soy nuts                       1/3 cup  =13 g
Edamame                     1/2 cup  = 11g
Soy Milk                      1 cup  = 10g

Miso is also a form of soy that is used in many dishes

Here is a recipe for you all to share and use.

Miso Chicken Piccata
1/4 c fat free chicken broth
3tbps yellow miso ( soybean paste)
4 (6oz) skinless boneless chicken breasts
2tbsp flour
1tbsp olive oil
 1/2 c dry white wine
1 garlic clove
1/4 c fresh lemon juice
 2 tbsp capers, rinsed and drained
1/8 tsp ground black pepper


Combine 1/4 cup broth and miso, still well with a whisk until miso dissolves. Stir in 1/2 cup broth. Set aside.
Place each chicken breast between sheets of plastic wrap and pound flat, to 1/4 in thickness.
Dredge in flour.
Heat a non stick skillet over med-high heat. Add chicken cook 4 minutes on each side until browned. Remove chicken from pan add wine to pan scrape to remove bits. Use a wooden spoon .Reduce heat to medium stir in miso mixture and garlic. Return chicken to pan, cook 3 minutes or until done. Remove from heat, stir in juice, capes and pepper. Serve immediately.

Happy Eating

Graham Cracker Brown Bread

Being a chef, I like finding new recipes that use unusual ingredients. I found this one in one of the many cookbooks I have. Reading the title you would think that it would be sweet. It turns out that the bread is more savory and earthy. This bread will last for a few days at room temperature and up to a month in the freezer


Cooking spray
4tsp graham cracker crumbs
1 cup flour
1tsp baking soda
1tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
 1/4 cup butter
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 large egg
1/3 cup dark molasses
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup raisins

Pre heat oven to 350.
Coat an 8x4 loaf pan with cooking spray and dust with 4 tsp. graham cracker crumbs.
Lightly measure flour into a dry measuring cup and level it off. Then combine all dry ingredients in a bowl,except the graham cracker.
Place butter in a large bowl a  beat with a mixer until smooth, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup crumb until well combined. Add egg and beat 1 minute. Add molasses and beat until combined.
Beating at low speed add flour mixture alternating with buttermilk. Beginning  and ending with flour. Beat until just blended.Stir in raisins. Pour batter into prepared pan
Bake at 350 for 1 hour until wooden tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
Cool for 15 minutes in pan then place on wire rack and finish cooling.

Makes 12 slices.

Happy Eating

Make your own smoothie

I love smoothies. Especially in summer. Usually summer is hot and humid and nothing is better than a cold delicious fruit drink, bonus its healthy for you. I can't take credit for this. I was sent this by one of my friends.  It comes from the blog beautifulfrugallife.com . It is a great idea and that is why I am sharing it with you.

Working and not having time to chop everything you need to go into a smoothie. Here is a way to just grab a bag, milk and blend.  All the work is done ahead of time.

1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1 sliced banana
1/2 cup pineapple
4 Green Ice Cubes * see below
2 tbsp. flax seed

Directions:

Combine all above ingredients in freezer bags, seal and freeze. When ready to use pull bag out, put in blender and add 1- 1 1/2 cups of liquid. Blogger uses Almond milk. You can also add 1/2 cup of yogurt to the mix if you would like.  Blend and drink.. Makes 4-5 smoothies

Green Ice cubes  are spinach, kale, or chard that has been blended up and frozen in ice cube trays. These can be used for smoothies and other items such as soups and dinners as needed .


Happy Eating

Cheese and bacon Jalapeno Rellenos

Being a fan of Mexican food I like trying all kinds of food. I recently found a reciepe for Chili Rellenos that I am going to make this weekend. I thought that I would share this recipe with all of you.
Being that the end of summer also is usually Reunion time, this is a great dish to take with you to share with the family.

4 oz cream cheese softened
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
2tbsp finely chopped onion
2tbsp chopped cilantro
1 garlic clove,  minced
18 jalapeno peppers, cut lenghtwise in half, seeds and membranes removed

Heat oven to 375.
Mix all ingredients except peppers
Spoon mixture into peppers on a parchment covered baking sheet
Bake 10 minutes until cheese is melted.


Happy Eating

Enchiladas with a Twist

I love Mexican food. Here in the small town, there is one place I love to go to just for their burritos and enchiladas.  That being said, I am practical in the kitchen. I hate having to throw out left overs. I had made lasagna and tacos earlier in the week. I decided to combine the two. The  original recipe came from Sandra Lee. She does everything store bought and just combines it all to make a dish. I was using left overs to make the same dish. Family thought it came out pretty good. My kids had no complaints, which is great since its a fight getting them to try new food.

I am posting the original recipe from Sandra Lee, in case you don't have left overs in the fridge and want to make this. I was also able to make extras and freeze them for future dinner meals. That way I can just pull them out for lunches or quick dinners.

12 white corn tortilla
1.25 lb lean ground beef
1 container (8oz) sliced mushrooms finely chopped
1packet onion soup mix
1 tbsp parsley chopped
1.25 cup ricotta cheese
1 can(4.5oz) black olives chopped
4 oz cream cheese softened
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 jar (26oz) pasta sauce
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
 Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9x13in baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside
In a large skillet brown ground beef, stirring frequently to break into small pieces. Stir in onion soup mix and mushroom pieces. Cook for 4 min. Remove from heat, stir in 1tbsp parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, stir together ricotta, olives and cream cheese. Stir in beef mixture until well combined. Spread 1 cup of pasta sauce in bottom of dish. Spoon meat and cheese mixture evenly down the center of tortilla.
Carefully roll up tortillas and place on sauce in baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan Cover with aluminum foil.
Bake in dish for 35-45 minutes until enchiladas are tender. Garnish with additional parsley if desired. 

I grated lemon zest into my ricotta and added mozzarella cheese to it. I seasoned my meat with Italian seasoning. Those were some of my changes.
Happy Eating

Beer Bread

Doing my usual house cleaning I came a cross a quick bread recipe. I did some experimenting with it and came up with a way to package it and sell it. This will be one of the items I am putting my Etsy site.  Depending on the beer you use is how the taste changes. Ales give it a sweeter taste, darker beers give it a more earthy taste and I have yet to try using the fruity beers like the hard apple cider to see what the out come is.

This is the original recipe, not the one I modified for packaging and sale.
3 cup All purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp sugar
1- 12oz bottle of beer, room temperature
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1-2 tsp herbs (optional) suggestion: parsley, sage, rosemary o thyme

Pre heat oven to 350.
In a large bowl combine ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Don't over mix.
 Scoop in to a greased loaf pan 4.5"x8.5"
Bake for 1 hour until a tooth pick comes clean.

Serve warm .

Fast and easy Peanut butter cookies

I was organizing my recipes today and I came across this recipe. Benefit its gluten free. I know that that is the new trend coming out these days. Bonus is that they have chocolate in them.

Being a cookie house hold we are always up for trying new cookies.

1/4 tsp salt
1 lg egg white
1 cup chunky  peanut butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate mini chips

Preheat oven to 375
Place egg white and salt in a medium bowl and whisk until frothy. Add peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar and chocolate chips, stir to combine.
Divide dough into 20 equal portions. About 1 tbps. each. Place them 2 inches apart on a baking sheet covered with parchment. With a fork press the top of each cookie one way then the other to form a criss cross pattern.
Bake at 375  for 10 minutes.

Happy Baking and Enjoy

Spice Rubs

Along with the last post, I thought I would post some of the Rubs I use on vegetables, pork and fish.
I like my food a little spicy. You can substitute theses spices for something less mild. Depending on the meat or fish is if I leave it sit for 4 or more hours in the fridge or if I use it right away.

Cajun Spice- enough for 8 fish filets
2tsp paprika
2tsp ground black powder
1 1/2 tps garlic powder
1tsp red pepper flakes
1tsp dried thyme
1tsp dried oregano
1tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dry mustard

Vegetable Seasoning- enough to season 8 servings of vegetables
1tsp dried basil
1tsp dried chervil or tarragon
1tsp dried chives
1tsp dried marjoram
1tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried sage or rosemary
1/2 tsp dried thyme

Poultry Rub- makes 3tbsp enough to season a 4lb whole chicken or 8 pieces
1tsp kosher salt
1tsp ground black pepper
2tsp smoked paprika
1tsp garlic powder
1tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cayenne

Healthy Benefits of Spicing your food

In my years of working as a Private chef, I have come across clients that tell me not to put any kind of spices on their food to include salt and pepper. No spices? The first time I heard that I thought they were crazy and was just outraged. Now I know that they just do not know any better. It was something that their parents did and they just followed suit. Spices do so much more than what people think they do. For example Salt, will enhance the flavors of food bringing out the natural flavor more.  If you put smoked salt on chocolate it gives the chocolate a richer flavor. Its just a little bit. Your not dumping the whole salt shaker on the food.. I have known salt a holics that will salt all of their food before even putting one bite in their mouth.
It took me two year to teach my mom that  you need to taste your food before you salt it. She still put a lot of salt on her food but she learned. I also taught her the benefits of adding other spices to your food to help the flavors.

Some spices have health effects for the better. Its not a guarantee, I'm not a doctor I'm a chef. But listed below are the spices and what they may be able to help with.
Antioxidants are big these days in the health trends here are a few spices that have antioxidant properties.
turmeric
rosemary
oregano
basil
cloves
cinnamon
black pepper
paprika
ginger
garlic
To help lower blood sugar for diabetics:
cinnamon
garlic
ginger
basil
oregano
nutmeg
bay leaf
allspice
curry
Antibacterial properties
Garlic
Allspice
thyme
cinnamon
cumin
cloves
lemon grass

Looking at all of these they repeat. I think Asian food is on to something. Well food for thought.

Happy Eating.

Summer Salad

I hate waiting in doctor's offices. They always take so long to call you to do the basics the you have to sit and wait some more until the doctor comes in. Well during such visit I found a cooking magazine. Something that I didn't think I would find in a doctors office. I have been making a list of reciepes from this magazine that I want to try and tweak to my own liking.

This recipe looked like something that I want to put on that list and make. Its another meat less dish. But it is also healthy for your.

Summer Veggie Salad
4 - 4 in Portobello mushroom caps or you can use baby bellas
2 (1/2 in thick) red onion , slices
2 ears of corn, shucked
1 lg red bell pepper, seeded and quartered
1 med zucchini halved length wise then rough chop
1lg yellow squash, halved length wise
Cooking Spray
2tbsp Olive Oil
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. minced fresh thyme.
1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2oz Manchego cheese, shaved
1 oz pine nuts toasted

Pre heat grill to med high heat
Coat vegetables with cooking spray
Arrange on grill. Make sure to spray the grill before placing the vegetables on it.
Grill 5 minutes on each side, or until tender
Combine oil and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.
Cut kernels from ears and add to oil mixture. Cut remaining vegetables into bite size pieces then add to oil mixture. Toss gently to combine and top with cheese and pine nuts

If you wanted to add a little more body to it you could get Quinoa. Cook according to package directions the chop up green onions and dill and mix them into the quinoa.

Enjoy and Happy Eating

Meatless Dishes

I have been on a kick lately to try and eat healthier. My house hold is a meat and potatoes kind of place. I have found a two recipes that I am going to try and I will up date this blog as I post pictures of them .

Eating dishes with no meat can be just as filling as dishes with meat in them . This recipe is a spin from one of our favorite dips. Spinach Artichoke dip. It makes it a lot simpler and just as tasty.

Spinach Artichoke Rigatoni
3 cups large tube noodles or Rigatoni
1 pkg (10oz) frozen spinach
1 can (14oz) artichoke hearts, rinse, drain and quartered
2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. Pepper

Cook the noodles as package directs. Warm up spinach and set aside.
Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Return pasta to pan. Stir in artichokes, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, spinach, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.
Transfer to a greased 2 qt baking dish that is broiler safe.  Top with remaining cheese and broil 4-6 away from heat source for 2 minutes until cheese is melted.


The other is fairly simple its a Portobello mushroom on a burger bun with grilled tomato, a little olive oil, mozzarella cheese and Italian seasoning. Making it a Pizza burger with out the meat.
I love Portobello mushrooms they have a nice meaty flavor and are earthy. They make a great substitute for meat.  

Enjoy and happy eating