Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Spinach & Goat Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms


Confession time - one of my favorite foods are mushrooms.

I have always loved mushrooms. I remember being a little girl and eating my weight in stuffed mushrooms whenever I was able to. I had weird favorites as a kid, what can I say?

Whenever there'd be a family gathering or we'd go out to the Chinese food buffet, my first thought would be "I wonder if there will be stuffed mushrooms there..."

Not kidding. They felt fancy to me and they were just so gosh darn delicious!

Now, as an adult, I still love mushrooms and eat them on everything - pizza (always on pizza), pasta, stir fry, and by themselves, preferably stuffed.

Stuffed mushrooms are still my favorite way to eat them. You can stuff a mushroom with pretty much anything and that's so fun! A seafood and breadcrumb mixture (hello!), a tomato and mozzarella combo (so tasty!), or like these!

I bring you Spinach & Goat Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms! Que the angels singing!

As I made these, I also imagined the stuffing enveloped inside fresh raviolis and nearly fainted at the thought. In fact, this stuffing is so good, you could eat it on anything. Someone pass me a flip flop!


OK, I might have gone too far with that one.


The stuffing is very similar to one Rachael Ray uses for her spinach and mushroom stuffed chicken breasts. I made them for dinner one night and when I had a lot of leftover stuffing, this recipe came to be.


I added goat cheese to kick the flavor up a notch (it was a bit bland without it) and knew when baked in beautiful tasty mushroom caps, it'd be perfection in one bite.


So what are your thoughts on mushrooms? Do they gross you out? Make you smile?

Do you like any foods that make others cringe as you enjoy them?



Spinach & Goat Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms


Ingredients

  • 1 10z package frozen chopped spinach (thawed and squeezed dry)
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 24oz package portobello mushrooms, stems removed and chopped (you may or may not need all of the mushrooms)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 small shallot, chopped roughly
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese
  • 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
  • salt and pepper to taste
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Place nonstick skillet over medium heat.
  3. Once heated, add butter, chopped mushroom stems, garlic, and shallot.
  4. Season with some salt and pepper and cook for about 5 minutes.
  5. Transfer mushroom mixture into your food processor and pulse until ground up and combined.
  6. In a medium bowl, combine your spinach and all your cheeses.
  7. Add your mushroom mixture to the spinach and cheese mixture and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  8. On a greased baking sheet, line up your mushroom caps (tops down).
  9. Using a spoon, fill each cap with the spinach and mushroom mixture.
  10. Place into oven and bake for 14-16 minutes.