Mmmm – mushrooms! I’m excited to be a guest in the Mushrooms Canada kitchen today sharing a “Blend & Extend” recipe featuring mushrooms and Ontario Beef. I’ve actually been mixing mushrooms with my ground beef for a while now – it’s a great way to add an extra serving of vegetables to dishes that tend to be meat-heavy (think meatloaf, tacos, burritos, meatballs etc…).
Finely chopped mushrooms look similar to ground beef so they blend in seamlessly – it’s easy to make classic ground beef dishes healthier (and tastier!) by adding mushrooms. Mushrooms and beef are also a powerful combination, providing important nutrients and antioxidants. One of my favourite “make ahead” meals is a layered tortilla pie – kind of like Mexican lasagna with corn tortillas in place of pasta. I’ve come up with a version using mushrooms and beef for the Mushrooms Canada blog today.
Want a slice?
Head on over the Mushrooms Canada blog to check out my recipe for beef and mushroom tortilla pie!
Let’s get kids excited about food on May 16th 2014 – Food Revolution Day! Check out all the details for how you can participate here.
This looks like an ideal midweek meal and I like the idea of using a little less meat and mushrooms are a firm favourite in our home. They are so versatile as you have shown here. Just popped over to see the recipe and it sounds so tasty. Thank you!
Yes it’s a great meal to make ahead of time!
This was a hit in the household.
It’s a bit heavy (as it looks) – but sometimes you really like that “comfort food” with a bit of heft, like a stew and things. Chasing away the last blast of this dreadfully long winter and Spring is valiantly trying to make an appearance – it was perfect.
I imagine it may work well as a vegetarian dish with no meat, just using mushrooms?
As we had a huge serve, I did a couple pairings.
Once I went lighter, with a Beaujolais-Villages from Louis Jadot. Great negociant, this is an everyday wine I just love. Not to heavy, not too high in alcohol, but with enough stuffing to pair well with the beef and pasta.
The second pairing was at the other extreme: an Aussie Shiraz. Poole’s Rock from the Hunter Valley, 2004. Luscious mulberry and blackberry, nice black pepper, and leathery nose. This had aged really well, and was drinking beautifully. Shame I don’t have another bottle. 🙂
Yes it would definitely work with just mushrooms but would need something to bind it together so it wasn’t too loose. But great idea!
YES! I want a slice!
Actually, as soon as I saw the title, I knew it.
And you are right about the finely chopped mushrooms: they are like ground beef. I recently went to a little lunch spot in Pointe-St-Charles called Café Bloom. Every day they serve a different lunch special, but they cater to flexitarians and vegitarians, and the day I went, they served spaghetti with “mushroom bolognese” with an optional side of meat balls. I ordered the dish, no meatballs, and was floored how similar it was to ground beef, if not better. I loved it!
LOVE the idea of a mushroom bolognese!
Looks awesome. I love how beautiful it turned out! Great pictures.
It looks a winter dish – hearty, filling and cold weather retarding.
Mr Neil’s pairing with the shiraz clinched i for me.
Yep you’d enjoy this very much!
That looks so good!
I’m on a real casserole kick right and this looks scrumptious! Love the suggestion of stretching the meat with mushrooms, too!
It’s such a great idea!
This recipe was such a great use of the blendability concept! I’m making it again tonight… such a hit! Thanks again for sharing Mardi.
This recipe was amazing!!!! I would 100% make again. 5/5 stars
Thanks for letting me know! Glad you enjoyed it so much!