Cheese & Spinach Stuffed Portobellos and Roasted Asparagus & Garlic

Wow, I outdid myself tonight.  Jon and I went overboard at the grocery store this week.  We bought things that we usually don't purchase because it's so expensive.  I did this with some ideas in my mind.  My sister gave me this portobello recipe from her friend and I was craving asparagus so I bought some.  I told Jon that he was getting a surprise dinner tonight.  It was a hit!  I also combined it with some corn on the cob for the summer feel.  We ate it on our fancy schmancy china that was just given to us as a wedding gift from my mom.  I highly recommend this recipe!

4 servings | Active Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 large portobello mushroom caps
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
• 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 cup finely chopped fresh spinach
• 1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped kalamata olives
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 3/4 cup prepared marinara sauce

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
   
2. Place mushroom caps, gill-side up, on the prepared pan. Sprinkle with salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Roast until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
   
3. Meanwhile, mash ricotta, spinach, 1/4 cup Parmesan, olives, Italian seasoning and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Place marinara sauce in a small bowl, cover and microwave on High until hot, 30 seconds to 1 1/2 minutes.
   
4. When the mushrooms are tender, carefully pour out any liquid accumulated in the caps. Return the caps to the pan gill-side up. Spread 1 tablespoon marinara into each cap; cover the remaining sauce to keep warm. Mound a generous 1/3 cup ricotta filling into each cap and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan. Bake until hot, about 10 minutes. Serve with the remaining marinara sauce.
   

Original Recipe found here:  http://www.eatingwell.com/print/7573

Ingredients

• 9 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 3 cups diagonally sliced asparagus
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
  

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.  Tear off 6 large pieces of foil. Divide garlic, olive oil, wine, asparagus, and thyme and arrange them on each piece of foil. Fold over each foil packet to seal. Place the packets on a baking sheet and roast for 20 to 25 minutes until the asparagus is tender, but still a little crisp. Carefully open packets and serve asparagus with juices poured on top.

I slightly modified the asparagus recipe, please click here for the original recipe.