Stuffed Mushroom Caps

Tonight we had friends over again for pizza and games. This time, I made an attempt at stuffed mushrooms! Every time I've ever had stuffed mushrooms, they have been stuffed with crab or lobster or some kind of seafood. And I love crab stuffed mushrooms so much but because of Hubby being vegetarian, I wanted to find some kind of vegetarian option for appetizer mushrooms. So when I found this recipe, I couldn't help but want to try it out!

There almost weren't enough mushrooms! I would have made a dozen so there was enough for three caps each, but my package of mushrooms came with only eleven (c'est la vie). But they were so good, it was beyond difficult to share! I think I'll be making these again very soon. They were fairly easy to assemble and I luckily had most of the ingredients around the house. When I make spinach artichoke dip, I always end up having leftover frozen spinach and I also had leftover cream cheese to use also. Really, all I needed to pick up from the market were mushrooms.

These actually make me think of spinach-artichoke dip in mushrooms instead of on a tortilla chip. Of course, they don't have artichoke hearts in them, just spinach and  cream cheese. But if you're into spinach dip, I know you'll be into these mushrooms too! They're so good and I just know you'll love them! Enjoy!

What You Need:

• 12 large mushroom caps with stems
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 1/2 cup packed chopped spinach
• 1 Tbsp. garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. breadcrumbs
• 1 Tbsp. parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp. granulated garlic
• 1 Tbsp. parsley

How to Do It:

Clean mushrooms and remove stems, chop the stems finely. Heat a skillet with about 2 teaspoons olive oil and cook the stems for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the stems reduce to about half the size.

In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, spinach, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, scallions, cooked mushroom stems, salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, granulated garlic, and parsley.

Arrange the mushroom caps on a lightly greased baking sheet, cavity side up, and spoon the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over each mushroom and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake on 400°F until the mushrooms are tender and the filling is heated through and golden on top, or about 12 minutes.

Original Recipe