24/7 Low Carb Diner: Stuffed and Stacked Portobellos

This dish is awesome. Unusual and not hard to make. Take a big mushroom cap, stuff it with ricotta and an awesome sausage and veggie mix. Then stack those layers again. The mushrooms are meaty and quite satisfying. A little like lasagna, but easier--much easier.

I took one to school today. A few finicky ones looked at me funny when I told them that I was eating a portobello mushroom cap. Who cares? These are people who somehow sustain life on ramen noodles and spicy Takis. Aah, youth!

The February issue of the Diner News is going out tonight. It features comforting foods for chilly weather. Let's enjoy cozy foods while the winter chill is still in the air. I do not mind winter at all. Maybe because I love a good bowl of stew or chili. I adore hot tea and coffee. I prefer oven baked casseroles to salads. So, I love winter! Of course, I also do not live in a super cold climate. As a teacher, I have not even been blessed with one snow day vacation this year.

Stuffed and Stacked Portobellos

Meat Sauce:

½ lb bulk pork sausage

14 oz canned diced tomatoes

½ cup water

1 yellow summer squash or zucchini

1/4 cup sliced bell pepper

1 tbsp cooking sherry

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp garlic powder

2 packets stevia

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

4 large Portobello mushroom caps

Olive oil spray

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

2 tbsp almond flour

Brown sausage. Roughly dice the zucchini, and bell pepper. Add the vegetables to the pot. Pour most of the liquid from the tomato sauce into the pot. Use an immersion blender to puree the tomatoes. Pour the tomatoes and water over all. Add spices and stevia. Simmer, covered, 30 minutes or until vegetables are very tender.

While meat sauce is cooking, prepare mushroom caps. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray caps with olive oil and grill 2 minutes on each side in a grill pan. Set the caps on a wire rack on a cookie sheet, gill side up. Spread half of the ricotta cheese on the mushroom cap. When sauce is finished, top each mushroom with tomato sauce. Add the remaining ricotta over the sauce. In a cup, combine Parmesan cheese and almond flour. Sprinkle over each mushroom cap. Bake for 15 minutes. Heat the leftover sauce to pour over the top when plating the dish.

Serves 4: 312 calories 11 net g carb