Stuffed Mushrooms

“This is the best thing anyone could ever eat!!” — Elliott, 4 yrs

So, because I’m transitioning over to the world of vegetarianism, I’m experimenting with quick, easy recipes that I can make for myself while also preparing meals for the rest of the family. This afternoon’s experiment led to an instant favorite. They were so good, in fact, that the kiddos ate them out from under me. Great success!

Stuffed Mushrooms

10-12 shitake mushrooms

6-8 cloves garlic

6 green onions

1 stick butter (use a few tbsp of olive oil instead for healthier alternative)

1 bag baby spinach

3/4 c bread crumbs

1 c shredded mozzarella ( or freshly grated Parmesan or both)

dried parsley leaves for pretties

Preheat oven to 350.

Lightly spray the bottom of a casserole dish.

Thoroughly wash your mushrooms. If you’d prefer, you can use button mushrooms or even portabellos. When I sent my husband to the store with a list that said “mushrooms around 2 inches around”, he brought back shitake and they were perfect.

Cut the stems off and then cut the tough tips off of the stems. Mince up the stems and put them aside. (If you don’t care for the stems, you can buy a few extra mushrooms and mince up the caps instead. I did a little of both.

Then peel and chop your garlic. Mine was starting to sprout and is a bit green, but even more fragrant and delicious than ever.

Throw it aside with your minced mushroom.

In a medium-to-large skillet over medium heat, put in your stick of butter (or olive oil) and let it start to melt. Dump in your bag of spinach.

Toss it around until the leaves are coated and leave them to wilt while you chop your green onions.

By now, your spinach is starting to wilt nicely. Toss in your goodies: minced mushrooms, garlic and onions. Mix well and continue to cook until the spinach is nicely wilted. Use the side of your spoon to cut up any long, stringy pieces of spinach once it’s tender enough.

Remove from heat and mix in bread crumbs.

Place mushroom caps in baking dish and then stuff them full of your mixture. Of course, with the flatter nature of shitake mushrooms, they aren’t actually stuffed so much as piled. Either way, heap in/on the goodness.