From The Muse Kitchen: Stuffed Mushrooms

Yes, Please

Any other mushroom lovers out there?  They are one of my absolute favorites. They are always on the grocery list. They're a given.

In consideration of this fact, stuffed mushrooms are on of my go-to appetizers for gatherings.  Last week, I made them for my night out with the bookclub/champagne ladies. 

Now, it's hard to hold me down to one recipe. I don't even really 'have a recipe' because it's the kind of thing you can wing every time, using whatever you might have on hand, but there are a few things that I do like to put in them if I've got them: scallions and carrots for color, garlic for flavor, and non-fat yogurt to keep them moist.

Dry doesn't make for a very good stuffed mushroom. At least not in my book. I hate it when all the stuffing is falling apart when you're trying to eat them.

This time, I made them gluten free, which really is no big deal.  If you want to go the super easy route, just use an all veg stuffing- if you still want something to replace breadcrumbs you can use gluten free corn crumbs, or gluten free bread broken up and crumbled.  For this recipe though, I went with brown rice.

They were delicious.  Of course, as I said, I am rather partial to them though.

'This Time Around' Stuffed Mushrooms

2  8oz packages or 1  16 oz package of button  mushrooms
(with mostly medium to large mushrooms in package)

stems from mushrooms, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped very small
(I do this with a knife so they are still a bit rough, but it can be done with a food processor)

4 scallions chopped small (including the greens for color)

1 cup of cooked brown rice (cooked according to directions, but using 2 1/4 cup of vegetable broth instead of water)

3- 4 oz of diced feta cheese

2 cloves of garlic, pressed or diced very small

1 tsp of fresh or dried rosemary
  

2 cloves of garlic, pressed or diced very small

1 tbs of melted butter

2 - 3 tbs of non-fat yogurt

preheat oven 350F

Clean mushrooms with a dry kitchen towel or paper towel, brushing away any dirt and gently breaking off stems.  Do not wash as it will make them soggy.  Set mushrooms aside. Cook rice in vegetable broth and set aside. Chop mushroom stems, carrots and scallions and place in mixing bowl. Add pressed garlic, rosemary, melted butter, yogurt and cooked rice.  Mix well.  Add feta and mix again.  Using teaspoon, press into cavity of each mushroom and place on baking sheet or in roasting pan with sides to keep them from moving around when putting in oven.  Place in oven and bake at 350F for 25-35 minutes.  Let cool 3 minutes, transfer to serving dish and serve hot.

 

As I said, I made these with what I happened to have on hand.  You can use whatever vegetable you have whether it's peppers, onions, or celery, etc. You can also change out the rosemary for a different herb or spice. Stuffed mushroom are as versatile as you want them to be.

Enjoy!


Snowed In

The snow is now literally over the top. We got even more snow starting yesterday afternoon into night.  We were supposed to get maybe 4 inches.

Try 12.

It was dumping for a few hours at about 2 inches an hour.  Dumping is what we call it around here, when the heavens open up and all you can see is snow.

So I thought I'd give you a peek at why cabin fever is starting to get the best of us in these parts.

In case you don't recognize them, that's our pool to the left, my patio table (which never made it to the basement) in the center, and our grill to the right.

Yeah. I know. We haven't been grilling too much this winter.

This is our cozy cottage looking west from one side of our driveway, after I finally dug the car out and moved it so our neighborfriend Tom could push some snow with his tractor.  That was after I had to climb through the passenger side of the car to push the driver's side door open because it was frozen shut.  The snow keeps coming so quick - storm upon storm, that we haven't even had time to rake the roof.

Thank God for neighborhoodlum Tom and his tractor. Truly. Thank you. This is out our side door this morning. I still haven't shoveled a path to the door yet. Poor Tom is starting to have a hard time lifting the snow any higher than it already is.

Tom plowed a path for Lucan, but he can't really go anywhere else at the moment.  The snow in the yard is up mid thigh on me, (and I know because I had to make my way through it this morning) so it's just too high for the old boy to climb through. Even Lucan looks like he has had enough.

Looking across to Tom and Joanie's pine trees toward sunset meadows.  That's how high the road embankments are at the moment.

Looking back across the street at our cozy cottage...................well, sort of.....since you can barely see it.

Our weathermen are getting ready to go on their own comedy tour.  They gently broke the news to us that we may get a couple more inches this evening.

We'll have to see about that. 

Reporting from The Bates Estate at Sunset Meadows...........I'm Pamela Bates. 

Make it a great day my friends, because it is indeed a great day to have.

Ciao for now,