Mushroom Parmesan - Stuffed Portabella's

This week has been a week full of trying new recipes and I love that.  Today I'll tell you about last nights meal, Mushroom Parmesan.  It is the meatless version of Chicken Parmesan but less calories.  Instead of purchasing a jarred marinara it is just as easy to whip up one from scratch so why not do it.   This is a pretty quick dish, about an hour from start to finish.  I loved how my sauce turned out the only small regret was that I wanted a little crunch and my garlic bread didn't totally do it for me so next time I'll try one of three things, serve it with a salad, sprinkle it with toasted bread crumbs or maybe even dredge the mushrooms in flour/egg/bread crumbs before I grill them or sprinkle them with cooked crumbled prociutto.  I'm not saying they were not tasty it is just that the texture was all the same.

This week has also been a good week for meatless meals.  Going forward I'm going to start trying different stuffed portabella recipes, like one I saw that was stuffed with pesto and goat cheese.

MUSHROOM PARMESIAN
4 portabella mushrooms
Sprinkle of Kosher salt
Sprinkle of coarse black pepper
1 C. mozzarella
4 T. Parmesan
Marinara:
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
10 baby carrots, chopped
Drizzle of EVOO
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ t. Kosher salt
⅛ t. pepper
1 bay leaf

Preheat oven to 400°F. Chop onions and carrots, mince garlic. To a large saute pan add EVOO, onions and carrots. Saute till soft about 10 minutes. Stirring so they are not to brown. Add garlic, saute another minute.  Add crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Add lid and cook for 15-30 minutes to blend flavors. Meanwhile remove stems from mushrooms, brush clean, drizzle with EVOO, Kosher salt and coarse black pepper. In a hot grill pan add a drizzle of EVOO. Add mushroom caps, gill side up and grill for 5 minutes per side. To a 9x13" pan add half of the marinara, enough to cover the bottom. Top with the cooked portabella mushrooms, gill side up, fill with remaining marinara sauce, about 2 large spoonfuls. Top with ¼ C. mozzarella and a tablespoon of Parmesan. Bake 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Let sit 5-10 minutes.