Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms

A few weeks ago in a vain effort to be frugal, the hubby and I bought a four-pack of cream cheese. I think it went something like "Oh, I'm sure we can freeze it." So he said. However, when I defrosted a pack to use it on my morning bagel, it was really grainy and gross looking. Hubby said it tasted funny. I think it tasted fine, but the texture was less than appealing. So, instead of making a grainy cheese-cake (which I may do anyway, since I still have two more frozen packs), I decided to make a vegetarian version of these. If you like sausage in your stuffed mushrooms, feel free to head on over to the Pioneer Woman Cooks.


Ingredients:

1/2 Onion
3-4 Cloves Garlic
Olive Oil
6 oz cream cheese
12 ounces button, cremini, or baby bella mushrooms (I used BB)
1/3 c grated cheese
Italian seasoning
1 egg yolk


Start by popping the stems out of the mushrooms. Save half of the stems and chop them finely. Mince the garlic and dice the onion. Heat some olive oil in a small skillet. When it's hot add the garlic and onions. When they become translucent, add the chopped stems and sautee for a minute. Put them aside.

Take the cream cheese and mix with the egg yolk in a small bowl. Add a pinch of salt, and a bunch of shakes of the Italian seasoning. Then, dump in the sauteed stuff. Stir around and then add the grated cheese (I use this amazing Asiago with hot peppers in it that I found at Wegmans). Spoon this into the mushroom orfices. Hehe, I like that word. Anyway, stuff the mushrooms and put them on a jelly roll pan to bake.

Bake these for 30 minutes at 350.

Stuffed Squash

A friend of mine recently came to visit. He lives with his mother, who is a member of a CSA*, or Community-supported agriculture. CSA are great for buying local. They are good for farmers, because they have a guaranteed amount of sales before the season starts, and good for families because they get fresh local veggies (and sometimes fruit, eggs, or meat) delivered to their home or local farmer's market each week. At any rate, my friend's mother never manages to finish everything she gets from the CSA, because there are only two of them (many CSA's allow you to purchase a 1/2 share for smaller families or individuals). So, when he came to visit, he brought me some lovely veggies! I don't complain about such things.

Stuffed squash is something you can make with those absurdly large squashes you see at the farmer's market (or perhaps in your backyard). They are usually yellow or green squashes or zucchinis which are too large to sautee, and so large that the seeds have gotten thick and woody. So, instead, we scoop out the seeds as if it were a pumpkin, and stuff it.

Ingredients:

1/2 finely chopped onion (any kind, but I used a plain old yellow onion)
several diced mushrooms
2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs
1 large squash
2 tablespoons of butter
1/4 c grated cheese (I used Mexican cheese mix)

Preheat the oven to 375. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Layer 3/4 c breadcrumbs, onion, mushroom, and 1/2 butter in one half of the squash and cover with more breadcrumbs. Repeat with other squash half. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake for 30-40 minutes.


*To find a CSA near you, check out Localharvest.org