Oh those lovely buttons!

I love, love, love mushrooms.  They are earthy and meaty and are just so lovely in stews, sauces and soups, without adding a lot of unneeded calories. But some days you want decadent and my ultimate favorite decadent way to enjoy mushrooms is stuffed. Stuffed mushrooms can get really over-dramatized, especially in the restaurant world. The other day I visited an unnamed establishment and the mushrooms came out to the table drowning in a puddle of oil. I was so sad I didn't even want to eat them. And for love's sake, hold the lobster and shrimp and oysters please. I like simple and quick and yummy.

Stuffed Mushrooms (Printable Recipe)

·         2 pounds of button mushroom (I like baby bellas)

·         1 pound low fat pork sausage (hot is my favorite)

·         1 – 8 ounce package of cream cheese (low fat or no fat is great)  

·         1 sprig fresh minced or 1 tablespoon of thyme

·         1 sprig fresh minced or 1 tablespoon of rosemary

·         1 ½ cups of crushed croutons (any flavor)

Preheat the oven to 350^OF.

Line a baking sheet with foil and mist with oil. Then pop the stems out of your mushrooms and place the caps on the baking sheet. Bake on the top shelf for 15 minutes.

Sauté your sausage in a pan on medium heat until it is browned and somewhat crisp. Remove to a paper towel to absorb any unwanted oil.

Then coarsely chop your mushroom stems with the herbs and sauté in a pan on medium heat until tender.

Turn the heat down to low, add the sausage and the cream cheese and stir until incorporated. Then turn off the heat and stir in the bread crumbs. 

Remove the mushrooms from the oven, and turn them over.  Scoop a bit of stuffing into each mushroom with a tablespoon.  Bake until the tops are golden.