My friend Christi issued a challenge to her Facebook friends: Take stock of what's in your freezer, and use only ingredients you find in there to make your dinners - for a month! Wow, I would be impressed if someone could do that! My freezer is mostly filled with bread and chicken breasts. But I did move things around, look in the back for items that needs to be used soon - and I found a tube of faux sausage meat. You know what I mean - the soy stuff vegetarians eat instead of animal flesh. I do try to eat lower on the food chain and will occasionally give a new brand of meat substitute a try. I guess this one didn't inspire me right away so I tossed it in the freezer. Time to use my resources!
I ate half of it - sautéed with onions and butter - in breakfast burritos. Not bad! Now I had another 6 or so ounces to use. Inspiration struck - stuffed mushrooms! I love one-bite appetizers, so I decided to take this recipe for a spin.I imagine it would be better with real sausage meat, removed from its casing and browned, but for non-animal-based protein, this was a keeper. Next time you have a vegetarian coming over for dinner, whip some of these babies up!
Cute, neat, and tasty - the best kind of appetizer! |
Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces button (white) or cremini (brown) mushrooms
- 1 teaspoon butter or oil
- 4 - 6 ounces vegetarian sausage "meat", or use real sausage, removed from its casing
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 4 green onions, minced
- salt and pepper
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray or brush lightly with oil.
- In a saute pan over medium heat, cook the sausage in the butter, breaking it up into small chunks. Cook for 5 to 8 minutes until hot and brown. Let cool for a few minutes.
- In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese and green onion, and season with salt and pepper. Add the sausage and stir well to combine.
- Clean the mushrooms by brushing off any dirt with a damp paper towel. Remove the stems. Spoon a teaspoon or more of the sausage mix into the mushroom cavity, mounding it up as necessary. Place stuffed mushrooms on baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the mushrooms are hot and cooked through and the stuffing is browned.
That's it! These little bites went fast (even the kids liked them) and would fare well at a buffet or cocktail party.
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