Best Stuffed Mushrooms

For me, I often think about the person or people I'm cooking for when I make a particular dish. That's where the love comes in.

Certain recipes always make me think of a certain person. For instance, I always think about Ethan Pride when I make Buffalo Chicken Dip in a Bread Bowl. I think about Shannon Deane when I make ribs. I think about Mike Deane when I make mini Pigs in a Blanket. Peanut butter stuff and shrimp things make me think of Frank Locke. Jalapeno Poppers make me think of Gary Schlageter. I could go on & on. You get the idea.

When I make these Stuffed Mushrooms, I always think about Bonnie Locke. (One of my closest friends and Lauren's "Ahh Bee" (Aunt B).

These babies contain no meat so they're vegetarian-friendly. I made a boo-boo today & forgot to add the chives to the cream cheese mixture so they got sprinkled on top. And this time I used Progresso Italian Panko Bread Crumbs instead of regular bread crumbs. I love those Panko crumbs! I think Bonnie will be happy with the results when she tastes them tomorrow. :-)

Here's a trick to clean a large quantity of mushrooms. You've probably read that you shouldn't get fresh mushrooms wet because they absorb the water. Wrong!!! They are not little sponges! Here's what I did today: removed the stems from the mushrooms. (Just rock the stem back & forth gently until it separates from the cap.) Then I put the mushrooms in a cheapo plastic bag, added several cups of water & kinda tossed them in the water. Like a mini mushroom washing machine set to gentle cycle. Dumped them into a colander to let them drain a little. Then laid them out on a kitchen towel (opening side down) to dry them off after their bath. They fit on half of the towel so I covered them with the other half & lightly dry off their tops before putting them on the baking sheet.

The thing that makes these Shrooms so great to me? You see that cayenne pepper in the recipe? It'll give you a nice little unexpected bite on the back of your tongue. Try 'em, you'll love 'em!


Best Stuffed Mushrooms

16 ounces whole fresh mushrooms (to 20 ounces)
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 8-oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1/4 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 Teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 Teaspoon onion powder
1/4 Teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 Tablespoon chives
Italian bread crumbs

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350º.

Clean mushrooms & discard stems. Set aside.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic & lightly fry, taking care not to burn it. Turn off heat.

Add remaining ingredients to garlic & stir until well mixed. When mixture is cool enough to handle, place it in a zip-loc bag.

Arrange mushrooms on baking sheet. Cut off small corner of bag - make hole just large enough to squeeze mixture into mushroom caps. Fill each cap. Sprinkle with bread crumbs.

Bake for 20 minutes or until mushrooms are hot & tops are starting to get lightly browned.

Toldja the photos were bad!

Crispy Kale

If you're a health nut, this is the recipe for you! Just be warned: "healthy recipes" will be few & far between here. :-)

This is another recipe I found thru Chowhound. This has to be one of the most simple recipes, yet I think it's by far one of the most messy things I make. By the time I'm done there is kale everywhere! All over the counters, the stove, the sink, the floor.

I took a few photos but they didn't turn out well. I was trying to show what the kale looks like before and after. You all know what fresh kale looks like, I guess. When it's done, it's a dark, dark green color - almost black.

During my leisurely stroll thru Super WalMart this morning this huge bag of triple washed kale was calling my name so I decided to include this recipe as one of the things I'm bringing for our monthly Fellowship meal tomorrow. The meal tomorrow is a true Pot Luck so we have no idea what we're going to end up with. That's the fun part of it!

On to the recipe: you will need cleaned & DRIED kale. It's important that it's as dry as possible. If you use whole kale leaves, get rid of the tough stem and tear it into pieces. Not too big or it will take too long to cook & not too small or it will crumble into tiny pieces.  Maybe the photos will give you an idea of the size of the pieces. Keep in mind that the kale will shrink down more than you can imagine.

You will also need some oil - vegetable or olive. And some salt or other seasoning. I used Trader Joe's sea salt today.

Preheat your oven to 250º.

Use the biggest baking sheet you have. Place a rack on top of it. I tried to be lazy & not use the rack on my 1st batch. Bad idea!

Toss the kale with just enough oil to barely coat it. The oil is only there to make the seasoning stick. Sprinkle it with salt or the seasoning of your choice. Spread some in a single layer on the baking rack. Again, I tried to be lazy today & do it quicker by doing more than a single layer. It took more time & made more of a mess. Slow & easy does it.

Put it in the oven for 15 minutes. Take it out & toss it around. Put it back in the oven for another 10 to 20 minutes. You'll know when it's done when it's crispy & crumbles to pieces if you manhandle it. It's crunchy like chips but it's delicate so be gentle with it until you get it into your mouth.

This has been compared to a highly addictive drug. It's good but it doesn't really do it for me. A lot of people seem to really like it. It's certainly different than most snacks. A novelty, if you will. And then there's that healthy aspect...

A word to the wise: after you eat this stuff, check your teeth in the mirror before you smile at anyone! ;-)

In The Beginning

I was hoping to start this blog on 01/01/10 but I just couldn't seem to get to it. Now that I'm officially unemployed again, I have the time. 

This blog will get better in time. Right now I'm taking photos w/my phone therefore the quality is not good, shall we say. Also I'm not exactly sure how I want to do this. I want to make it as  useful & easy as possible for anyone reading it. But enough about that. Let's get this thing started! 

Today's breakfast came from a recipe I found on Chowhound.com. It easily moved to the top of our favorite Breakfasts list. The fresh spinach makes me think it's semi-healthy! I halved the recipe since it's just the 2 of us now.

I always used to use Brown & Serve sausage links. Recently I tried a couple new (to me) brands: Jimmy Dean Heat & Serve and Armour Sizzle & Serve. The Jimmy Dean was very good but we really liked the Armour brand so that's what I'll be buying in the future.

Spinach and Feta Scramble

By Kate Ramos

TIME/SERVINGS
Total Time: 15 mins
Active Time: 15 mins
Makes: 4 to 6 servings

INGREDIENTS
10 large eggs
2/3 cup crumbled feta
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 pound baby spinach
INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine eggs, feta, cream, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and whisk until eggs are broken up and mixture is thoroughly combined. Set aside.
2. Heat butter in a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat. When it foams, add spinach and cook, turning constantly with a rubber spatula, until wilted, about 5 minutes. Add spinach to reserved egg mixture and stir to coat.
3. Return the pan to medium-low heat, add spinach-egg mixture, and cook, stirring occasionally, until eggs have reached desired doneness.