Portabella Muffa-Sortas

Happy Tuesday readers! Hopefully you're fairing far better than I. Last night I decided to try a new gym class and, excuse my French, it kicked my ass. It's called POUND and basically you are doing a series of squats/butt lifting exercises for an hour whilst simultaneously attempting to coordinate your body enough to keep beat using slightly weighted drumsticks. I have basically zero hand-eye coordination (thus why I participate in sports that don't require equipment) and I never did dance or cheer so I looked horribly off-beat the entire time but it was fun enough that I almost forgot I was doing squats for an hour. By minute 15 my quads were burning, by 45 minutes in everything else was burning. Today I am not very mobile, for obvious reasons. Fun, huh? I highly recommend the class though! Look for it at a gym near you!


Anyway, so after I took my poor aching body home I wanted something fast and substantial. My mind immediately went to the baby portabella mushrooms I had sitting in my refrigerator and my love for anything briny. What's briny and tasty? Muffalettas. Well, I assume they are anyway, I've never actually eaten one. Thus the "muffa-sorta".


Portabella Muffa-Sortas

6 baby portabella mushrooms, stems removed, cleaned and cut in half
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Sprinkle garlic powder
2 Tbsp pimento stuffed green olives, halved
1/4 C celery, diced
2 Tbsp Italian vinaigrette dressing (I used Newman's Own Lite)
1/2 tomato, sliced
2 slices provolone cheese
2 Hoagie rolls, for serving


Season your mushrooms with salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil and broil on high for 5 minutes, flipping them over halfway through.


In a bowl, combine olives, celery and salad dressing. Set aside.


After your mushrooms are properly broiled, place in the center of your hoagie roll with tomato slices, half the olive salad and 1 slice of provolone (I cut mine in half to get a more even cheesy coat). Repeat with remaining sandwich.


Broil on high for 5 minutes until cheese is melty and gooey and bread is toasted.


Voila! A delicious and tasty meal that took under 15 minutes to prepare. How great is that!? I was able to get 2 sandwiches out of the recipe (which I promptly devoured, did I mention you burn up to 500 calories per class?).


The mushrooms were tender and flavorful, the olives were briny, the celery and tomato added fresh elements and the cheese was glorious because hello, it's cheese. I have more ingredients in my fridge so I may partake in another muffa-sorta this week when I'm hungry (which is basically continuous).


Stay tuned for more great recipes, readers!


P.S. still waiting on that wine and comments!