Mushroom Pizza Bites

I love finding inspiration on Pinterest. I pin my diet food on a board called, I'm On A Diet. Me and my low carb dieting phases...  I ran across a pin called Mushroom Pizza Bites. Inspiration! I thought, I can put whatever I want in a mushroom and call it a pizza. Sweet! Fresh marinara like my husband's grandmother taught me to make, salami, and full flavor mozzarella cheese were going into my mushrooms.

The original author at MyP90Xnutritionplan.com uses marinara, low fat mozzarella, egg white, and turkey pepperoni to fill the mushrooms. The site gives a more detailed recipe including measurements (I just eyeballed it.)


These were really delicious and not terribly difficult to make. The hubs liked them, so that's a huge win for me. Also, I loved making these because there's no real measuring that needs to be done. You can make these however you'd like. Enjoy!

I bought these at Trader Joe's. I think other mushrooms could work too but these are a really nice size. Two and a salad make a decent portion dinner. 

After you wipe the tops of your mushrooms, cut out the stem and then scrape off the gills with a  spoon. Throw these on a lined baking sheet and bake at 400 for 8 minutes. 

After their 8 minutes in the oven, top them however you would top your pizza.  Back in the 400 degree oven for about 5 minutes or until your little pizzas are melty and brown.

YUM. I thought they could use a little more cheese. I topped them again and back in the oven they went until the cheese was melted. 

Dinner is served! 

Mitch's Seafood on Shelter Island

My husband has been frequenting Mitch's for some time now with his coworkers. He's been telling me how amazing their fish tacos are and they are such a good price, $3 each. "We need to go for Taco Tuesday!" Ok ok, let's go then. Last weekend we took the boy to Shelter Island to play on their swing set and slide for a couple of hours. After we wrapped up, we took the short drive to the famous Mitch's. My husband asked me where I wanted to sit, inside or outside. Duh! Look at the view.

You can order the tacos grilled or beer battered and fried. The mister assured me that grilled is just as good. So maybe next time I'll order them that way. For my first time, I ordered the fried. It was delicious and my husband (I'm so tempted to start referring to him as Mr. GoodLife) was right to bug me about trying this little Shelter Island jewel. If you are reading this, do yourself a favor and plan a trip to Mitch's. Mr. GoodLife (hahaha, it might stick) says that they also have a really good hamburger. However, it'll be a while before I order something that's not a fish taco from this place. The batter was so perfectly crunchy and light and nicely seasoned. I'm dreaming about it.

Please, go now! Order the beer battered fish tacos and sit on the patio and love your life in San Diego. If you're not a resident of America's finest city, visit soon!

It's tough to beat the views in San Diego. 
This is from the patio, looking out into the marina.
Sit here.

This is the combo meal. You get two tacos, chips, salsa from heaven, and beans. I recommend dipping your chip in salsa and then beans or the other way around. Nevertheless, eat it all in one perfect bite over and over again. 

Close up. You can closely inspect that pico de gallo goodness on top there.  The mister won't eat pico anywhere else. (He's such a weirdo.) It's that good. 

Marina Kitchen Restaurant and Bar

Recently I had the pleasure of staying at The San Diego Marriott Marquis and Marina. It was a great experience from the moment the car was valeted till the moment we departed. The weather was a perfect 79 degrees and in the middle of February no less. Ya gotta love San Diego. Of course I was poolside the entire afternoon! We ordered margaritas and pina coladas and beer. And to eat we had albacore fish tacos and a chicken quesadilla. This was all from Tequila Bar and Grille. The food was excellent, especially the salsas and pico de gallo that came with it. Delicioso.

After a wonderful afternoon of lounging around, we headed to Marina Kitchen for dinner. I will definitely be back. The bar area had a gorgeous view of the hotel's famous pool which was perfectly lit. The dining room had a view of the bay, also beautiful. Our server was delightful, as was the hostess and the manager, who brought us a couple of glasses of Spanish prosecco.

Now let's get down to the food. Important information here. Below you'll see that we feasted like kings. Seriously. We decided to order from every section of the menu to really live it up, appetizer, drinks, desserts. Yes, plural desserts. Don't judge me. Anyhow, check out the menu and you'll see that it's stepped up American comfort food. The breakfast menu also looks great. We planned on dining at Marina Kitchen the next morning but we woke up still full from this meal. We'll have to go back for brunch one of these weekends.

Charcuterie plate. It's three artisan meats & two cheeses served with grainy mustard and buttery toast. 

This right here is the soup of the day. Oh man was it rich and delicious.  It's a cauliflower and potato soup with vanilla poached LOBSTER. If this soup is being offered, you better not pass it up. 

Rib eye steak served with Brussels sprouts and mac n cheese.  Take note of that crunchy top on the macaroni. As I write this post, and look over the online menu for reference, this is not on the menu. (That's what I get for waiting a month before writing this.) That's ok, there's a different rib eye which comes with bone marrow, another fave of mine. 

This is the Daily Roast. It's an herb roasted prime rib with a twice baked potato. 

Here my friends are the TWO desserts we ordered.  Maybe we finished them and maybe we didn't. Don't worry about it. I had the Oreo cheesecake and I loved every bite. The mister ordered the brownie sundae. Of course Mr. Chocolate ordered a brownie sundae. He wasn't disappointed.  I did try his and I liked mine better. So, there.