Since I have a hard time digesting mushrooms, he also made some stuffed peppers and zucchinis with the same filling ... [read more]]]>

Since I have a hard time digesting mushrooms, he also made some stuffed peppers and zucchinis with the same filling and sauce. They all turned out incredibly delicious. I had one mushroom (one small mushroom won’t hurt my stomach), and I thought they were even better than the ones we had at Buca di Beppo.

Here’s what the veggies looked like before we covered them with the creamy pesto sauce:

They’re good plain, but the sauce not only dresses ‘em up, but it also adds a whole lot of flavor.

The prosciutto is great in these stuffed veggies, but I’ll bet they’d be just as good using some cooked, crumbled turkey bacon in them.

Speaking of bacon, what do you think about turkey and beef bacon compared to pork bacon? We both love turkey bacon and find it to be every bit as good as pork bacon. We’ve only tried beef bacon once. The meat department at Whole Foods had some so we tried it, and it seemed really dry and not nearly as flavorful as turkey and pork bacon. What kind of bacon do you buy?

Prosciutto and Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms, Peppers, and Zucchini with a Creamy Pesto Sauce

Inspired by: Buca di Beppo’s Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients for the Stuffed Vegetables:

• 3 small zucchinis
• 1 orange bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 6 baby portabello mushrooms
• 6 slices Prosciutto, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup Panko breading
• 2 green onions, finely sliced
• 1 egg, beaten
• handful of Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value Veggie Chips
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup goat cheese
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup salted butter, melted
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• parsley to taste

Ingredients for the Creamy Pesto Sauce:

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 8 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• prepared pesto to taste
• 2% milk
• salt to taste

Instructions for Making the Prosciutto Stuffed Vegetables with a Creamy Pesto Sauce

Step One:  Prep all the Veggies

• Wash all the vegetables.
• Cut the zucchinis lengthwise in half, and then core out some of the inside of the zucchini slices so you have a place to put your stuffing.
• Finely chop the cored part of the zucchini, and then place it in a medium sized bowl because you’re going to use that in your filling.
• Cut the peppers in half, and remove the stem and seeds.
• Remove the stems from the mushrooms.
• Finely slice the green onions, and then place them in the bowl with cored out part of the zucchini.

Step Two:  Make the Filling

• Grate the Parmesan cheese; set aside.
• Beat an egg in a small bowl, and then add the egg to the bowl with the cored out part of the zucchini.
• Crush the veggie chips, and then add them and Panko bread crumbs to the bowl with the egg, green onions, etc.
• Finely chop the prosciutto and then add it to the bowl with the other ingredients.
• In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, goat cheese, and feta cheese over low to medium heat, stirring frequently.
• After the butter/cheese mixture becomes creamy, add the stuffing mixture (bread crumbs, egg, prosciutto, etc) which is in the bowl to the butter/cheese mixture.
• Add olive oil until you get the desired consistency (so it can be easily shaped and/or molded).
• Add salt and pepper to taste, as well as 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Mix well.

Step Three:  Stuff the Veggies

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Grease a baking pan with olive oil.
• Stuff the vegetables with the filling and place them in the pan.
• Brush a little olive oil on the top of all the stuffed vegetables, and then sprinkle everything with a little black pepper and parsley.

Step Four:  Bake the Stuffed Veggies and Make the Creamy Pesto Sauce

• Bake uncovered until the stuffing is golden brown.
• While the stuffed veggies are baking, make the creamy pesto sauce.
• In a large frying pan, heat about 1/2 cup of canola oil on medium high heat.
• When the oil gets hot, stir in the flour with a wooden spoon.
• Stir constantly until the flour has blended nicely with oil and there are no lumps.
• Slowly add about 1 cup of milk  and some prepared pesto to the flour/oil mixture. (How much you use depends on how strong of a pesto flavor you want.)
• Stir constantly on a very low heat to combine all the ingredients.
• Continue adding more milk until you get the sauce the consistency you want. I made mine the consistency of a thin gravy.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Keep stirring until the sauce has thickened to your liking, and then remove it from the heat.
• After the stuffed veggies have turned golden brown, remove them from the oven and transfer to a serving dish.
• Cover the them with the creamy pesto sauce, and enjoy!
• Optional: Sprinkle a little freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top.

You can see a picture of the sesame olive oil crackers here. They’re on my plate with the split pea soup.

You just make the ... [read more]]]>

You can see a picture of the sesame olive oil crackers here. They’re on my plate with the split pea soup.

You just make the olive oil cracker recipe below and then top with whatever your heart desires. They’re very easy to make, taste great, and crunch beautifully! Top them, dip them, spread stuff on them, crunch them!

Believe me, I know all about crunching…it’s one of my favorite things to do. I love almost anything crunchy…something about that lovely sound is music to my ears. Okay, are you ready to crunch and munch? Get ready, get set, CRUNCH!!!!

Olive Oil Crackers (Recipe Source: Heidi Swanson from www.101cookbooks.com)

Note: I thought these homemade crackers would make a lovely gift during the holidays, especially if they were put in a holiday tin to make it look more festive; however, I’ve found out otherwise. They tasted good enough to give as as gifts, but I just had a pesto cracker with my coleslaw for breakfast, and the cracker lost some of its crispness after only 24 hours of being made. The olive oil sesame seed crackers were still as crispy 48 hours after making them as they were right after making them; however, by the third day, they were getting stale and loosing their crisp.

I think the pesto crackers lost their snap so quickly because the pesto topping is heavier and thicker than a light brushing of olive oil and a few sesame seeds.  I’m not sure why the olive oil sesame seed crackers didn’t stay fresh more more than 48 hours though. I’m disappointed in that.

I think the next time I make these I’ll cut the recipe in half since they don’t last very long. And in the meantime, I’m going to try a few more cracker recipes to see if I can find one in which the crackers stay fresh and crispy for a longer period of time.