Fettuccine with Shiitake Mushrooms & Basil

This was our Halloween dinner. Norm cooked while I handed out candy to a paltry 21 trick-or-treaters. I was so disappointed! We've lived here for almost 3 years, and have never been home for trick or treat night. I was excited to finally be home to hand out candy...and then practically nobody came. Oh well! We had TONS of candy leftover. I took a big bucket of candy into work with me, and sent Norm to work today with 3 additional bags. At least it's all out of the house (except for the couple of kit kats and PB cups that I squirrelled away for myself...in case of an emergency) and I won't be tempted to eat my weight in fun size candy bars.

But I digress...about the pasta! It was delicious. Norm decided to make a couple of modifications that turned out to be fantastic....he added a little bit of white wine to de-glaze the pan after cooking the garlic and mushrooms. Speaking of the mushrooms, our grocery store didn't have just shiitake mushrooms, but had a nice 'shroom mix of cremini, shiitake and oyster that we used. Then at the end, added some halved grape tomatoes and a sprinkling of crumbled goat cheese. We finished every last bite, it was that good = )


Fettuccine with Shiitake Mushrooms & Basil
(Source: Eating Well)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced (1 1/2 cups)
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste Freshly ground pepper to taste
8 ounces whole-wheat fettuccine or spaghetti
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (1 ounce)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil, divided

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil for cooking pasta.

2. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over low heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant but not browned, about 1 minute. Add mushrooms and increase heat to medium-high; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.

3. Meanwhile, cook pasta, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 9 to 11 minutes or according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.

4. Add the pasta, the reserved cooking liquid, Parmesan and 1/4 cup basil to the mushrooms in the skillet; toss to coat well. Serve immediately, garnished with remaining basil.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 311 calories; 11 g fat (3 g sat, 6 g mono); 9 mg cholesterol; 44 g carbohydrate; 13 g protein; 8 g fiber; 307 mg sodium.Nutrition bonus: Fiber (28% daily value), Calcium (14% dv).2 1/2 Carbohydrate Servings