Ever since
Foodie Girl posted her
stuffed mushroom recipe I have been dying to try them. Bought the mushrooms and the cream cheese, since I already had the other ingredients I figured it was a go. Not so, I am such a procrastinator I hadn't gotten around to them yet and was afraid that they would soon fall the way of the Monkey Bread that never seems to get made.
Tonight, I decided to steal her recipe and as I always do, I doctored those babies up a little. Being that I am not one of those people with super-human self control, who choose not to eat bacon, I added some crisp, crumbled, food of the gods bacon to the stuffing mixture. Then, since there was already a part of one in the fridge, I added some finely chopped, red pepper. Since I had no onion powder, I switched in some finely chopped, green onions. Finally, because I had a recently discovered recipe contest on my mind I topped the little, filled mushroom caps with some grated, double smoked, cheddar. They were incredible, they taste even better than they look.
Kelly's Magical Stuffed Mushrooms, the Moonlit Knit Way
20 whole fresh button mushrooms(I bought 24, but 4 vanished)
1-2 tablespoons finely diced sweet red pepper
3 slices bacon, fried, cooled & crumbled
1 teaspoon bacon drippings
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
6 oz cream cheese, softened(I could have probably gotten away with 4)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese(I used 1/2 Parmesan, 1/2 Romano)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 green onions, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/4 cup grated smoked cheddar
Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.
Heat oil & bacon drippings in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, chopped mushroom stems and sweet red pepper to the skillet and fry until moisture has disappeared. Set aside to cool.
Stir in cream cheese, Parmesan(and Romano) cheese, green onions and spices with fried mushroom, pepper and bacon mixture. Combine well. Fill mushroom caps generously, using small spoon or butter knife. Arrange the mushroom caps on cookie sheet and top with grated cheddar.
Bake for 12-18 minutes or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.
If you're like me and forget to add the cayenne, you can sprinkle it on the mushrooms just before slipping them into the oven, or while they're in the oven, if you're a lot like me.
