Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

February 4: National Stuffed Mushroom Day

Stuffed mushrooms are one of our favorite appetizers. We order them at restaurants before our main meal and eat (a lot of) them when they are served at social functions. Sometimes we also prepare stuffed mushrooms when company comes to visit us at our home. This particular recipe uses cream cheese instead of the usual bread crumbs in the filling and it is hearty and quite tasty. So try this version and stuff your faces with cream cheese stuffed mushrooms on National Stuffed Mushroom Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from AllRecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 12 whole button mushrooms, washed and towel dried
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced to equal 1 tablespoon
• 1 tablespoon oil (vegetable or olive)
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Line a baking sheet with foil and mist with cooking spray. Detach the stems from the cleaned mushrooms. Chop the stems finely. Saute the stems with the minced garlic and oil in a skillet. Fry until the moisture has evaporated somewhat. Set aside until cool.

In a bowl, stir the cream cheese until smooth. Add the mushroom stems-garlic mixture. Season with onion powder and the peppers. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and blend the stuffing well.

Divide mixture into 12 and spoon into the mushroom caps. Place the caps on the prepared baking sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer the stuffed mushrooms to a plate. Serve hot.

Notes

• Sprinkle parsley flakes on top of the cream cheese stuffed mushrooms and around the serving platter to add a more colorful contrast and presentation to the dish.