Chipotle Beef Portobello Mushrooms

This is another Ellie Krieber recipe and, like her others, this is easy, uses easy-to-find ingredients and is really, really good.  It’s just a little bit spicy/tangy but not crazy and all the vegetables in it means it’s pretty low calorie.  It takes less than 30 minutes to cook, and stores & reheats really well.  

Ingredients:

• 4 large portobello mushroom caps (about ¼ pound each)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small onion
• 2 medium cloves garlic
• ½ small canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
• 1 pound ground beef (90% lean or higher)
• One 14-ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
• One 8-ounce can no-salt-added tomato sauce
• 2/3 cup corn kernels, from 1 ear fresh or thawed frozen corn
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• ¼ cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves
• 4 thin slices extra-sharp cheddar cheese (2 ounces total)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450F.

Brush the mushroom caps lightly with oil, using 1 tablespoon of the oil total, then sprinkle with a total of ¼ teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Place the mushrooms on a baking sheet, gill side up, and cook until tender and juicy, 7 to 8 minutes. When the mushrooms are done, remove them from the oven, keeping them on the baking sheet.

Meanwhile, chop the onion and finely mince the garlic and canned chipotle chile. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until they begin to soften, 2 minutes. Add the beef and cook, stirring and breaking the meat up with the spoon, until the meat is no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the diced tomatoes with their juice, tomato sauce, corn, chipotle, cumin, oregano, chili powder, and remaining ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens, 5 to 6 minutes. While the mixture is simmering, chop the cilantro.

Preheat the broiler to high.

Stir the cilantro into the beef mixture, then fill each mushroom cap with about 1 cup of it. Top each with a slice of cheese, then broil 4 to 5 inches from the heat source until the cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes.

Makes 4 servings

Serving size: 1 stuffed mushroom cap

Calories 430; Total Fat 24g (Sat Fat 8g, Mono Fat 9.5g, Poly Fat 2.7g); Protein 31g; Carb 23g; Fiber 5g; Cholesterol 90mg; Sodium 500mg