Baked Potato with Mushrooms & Barley

One of my favorite things to eat is a baked potato.

They don't even have to be filled with butter and sour cream, which makes them very tasty, but not so healthy.

A baked potato stuffed with vegetables makes them a lot healthier.

My latest favorite stuffing is made with onions, mushrooms and barley.

The chewiness of the barley, along with the smooth texture of the mushrooms, combine nicely with the hot fluffiness of the baked potato.

Bacon bits (for your omnivores), sour cream and shredded cheese can be served as condiments on the side.

A spinach salad rounds out your meal.

This recipe serves a generous portion for about 6 large baked potatoes.

Make the baked potatoes as in the recipe for Twice Baked Potatoes.

Ingredients for the mushroom & barley filling:

2 large onions

1 lb. mushrooms

2 cups cooked barley

4 cloves garlic

butter

olive oil

1/4 cup sake or white wine

The sweet onions I like to use aren't readily available at this time of year, so I'm using Spanish onions.

Halve the onions and slice them.

Peel and mince 4 cloves of garlic.

Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter in a skillet with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Add the minced garlic and saute for a minute or so, being careful not to brown the garlic.

Add the onions.

Cook the onions over medium heat until they begin to caramelize.

The more the onions caramelize, the better the flavor.

While the onions are cooking, clean and slice the mushrooms.

Add the mushrooms to the skillet with the onions.

Add about a 1/4 cup sake or white wine.

When the mushrooms are wilted, add the cooked barley.

Add salt and pepper to taste and cook until heated through.

This is one of my favorite meals--it's very hearty--a good one to try if you have Meatless Mondays.

You can substitute any vegetables you like to go with the barley.

Itadakimasu!




***





Easter Bunny Update


For those of you that have been following along, I gave my mother a chocolate Easter bunny for Easter.

My grandfather, her father, gave us chocolate bunnies every year for Easter, so I thought it fitting to get one for her.

Actually, I gave her two.


The first one I got melted in the car.

It was still in the box, and I put it under her pillow.

She got a kick out of that!

She said she hasn't gotten a surprise in a long time, and it was sooooo nice!

She said she felt special--the bunny I thought was a good one--turned out to be "a special needs bunny, because someone ran over his ears," my mom said.

She said she felt special to be chosen to care for it.

She asked, "Guess which one we ate first?"

"You're right. The flat bunny. We put him out of his misery."

Love you, Mom and Dad!

No printable recipe for this one yet.

Peppers Stuffed with Barley & Quinoa

When I was a little girl, I didn't like stuffed peppers.

I remember only eating the inside, and looking for some way to get out of eating the outside.

Now, I love them!

I must have begun to like peppers when I started to have dinners with the Fujimotos, since grilled peppers are a staple item at their barbecues.

You can fill them with anything you like--

A savory bread stuffing, chile verde topped with cheese, pizza pot pie with a little fitted crust on top, or, like I'm making today, a barley and quinoa mixture.

Stuffed peppers are actually a good way to make something new out of leftovers, too!

Start out with some colorful bell peppers.

Having different colors really adds to the presentation and gives the dish a certain attractiveness.

It also poses the question:

Which one shall I eat first?

Here's what I used:

5 bell peppers

1 cup quinoa

2 cups barley, cooked

1 chopped onion

2 ribs celery, chopped

2 cups mushrooms, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Cheese for topping

Garnish with dried oregano or chopped fresh basil

Cut them in half, going right through the stem. 

Then cut away the inside, so you have a nice shell.

Do that to each one.

Place them cut side down onto a baking sheet.

Roast them in the oven at 325 degrees F for about 30 minutes until they're a little bit wrinkled.

My stuffing was already cooked, so I roasted the peppers, but if you're using a filling like a meatloaf filling that's uncooked, you can skip this step since that type of filling takes longer to cook.

Take them out and let them cool.

You can see they've started to wrinkle a little.

While your peppers are roasting, make the filling.

Start with a tablespoon or so of olive oil, and sauté some chopped garlic, onions, celery and mushrooms.

Sauté the vegetables for a few minutes and add the cooked barley.

I bought this quinoa at Nijiya Market.

I pronounce it "keen-wa", but in Japan, they say "ki-no-ah".

I know because I can read the katakana on the label.

I learned something in Japanese language school!

Add the quinoa, and if there's not enough liquid from the vegetables, add a little bit of water, so there's about a cup of liquid, or a little less.

Cover, reduce heat to low and steam for about ten minutes.

I made half vegetarian and half with meat.

I browned 1/2 lb. ground turkey with 1/2 pork sausage and mixed it with the barley/quinoa mixture.

Then fill the peppers.

I added a sprinkling of cheese on top.

That looks like more than a sprinkling, doesn't it.

Put the stuffed peppers in a 350 degree F oven for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the peppers are hot.

They make a great dish or side dish.

The peppers have so much water content, they're not dry at all.

Just in case you were thinking they might need some kind of sauce.

Chiffonade some basil and sprinkle on top. 

It always makes my eyes light up when I bite into a piece with basil!

Yum!

Itadakimasu.

***

Meet my parents.

Alice and Ted.

And their dog, Daisy.

They love Daisy.

I should say, they adore Daisy.

Whenever they go out, they always bring Daisy a treat to give her when they come home.

They're always thinking of her.

It never ceases to amaze me, how attentive my dad is to Daisy.

Good for Daisy.

But better for my dad.

The other day my parents went out to dim sum for lunch.

When I went to see them in the afternoon, my mom saved me a few tidbits from dim sum.

A sesame ball, an egg tart and a piece of rice noodle.

My favorites.

I must be special.

Just like Daisy.

No printable recipe for this one yet.