There are significant benefits to being a vegetarian around Thanksgiving. I mean, yes, you have to say no to Turkey…and I do love Turkey, but…it’s license to gorge yourself on all of the yummy sides and apps and desserts available. I mean, sure, Turkey is great, but give me an excuse to stuff myself silly on mashed potatoes and mac & cheese and you won’t hear me complaining.
These stuffing stuffed mushrooms are going to be your new favorite thing to bring to every party or holiday or office pot luck. Planning a Friendsgiving celebration? Bring these mushrooms. Have an office lunch before everyone heads out of town? Bring these mushrooms. Going to grandma’s to celebrate with family? Bring these mushrooms. Basically, what I’m saying…you’ll want to bring these mushrooms pretty much everywhere. They’re a snap to make, simple to store and heat up beautifully in the microwave. What else could you want out of an appetizer? Perhaps the fact that it only takes four ingredients, all easily found at Walmart?
I used whole, small portobello mushrooms when I was making these because I love portobellos. White mushrooms will work just as well. These are such a perfect pop in your mouth size-just what you want from an appetizer.
If you don’t have a mellon baller, that’s totally ok. You can use a small spoon to clean out the center of the mushrooms. I liked the baller for creating a nice sized cavity for stuffing. Some of the mushrooms totally cracked. That’s OK. I found that they still held their shape pretty well. And save those stems! Brown them up the next time you’re making pasta. Yum!
- Whole Mushrooms
- 1 cup Philadelphia Cream Cheese
- 1 cup Kraft Shreds Parmesan
- 1 cup Stove Top Cornbread Stuffing Mix
- Remove stems form mushrooms. Carefully use a melon baller to create room to stuff the mushrooms.
- Combine cream cheese, parmesan and stuffing mix together in a bowl. Use hands to thoroughly mix.
- Carefully stuff mushroom caps with mixture. Hold tightly in the palm of your hand to keep the mushroom from cracking too much while stuffing.
- Bake at 350 degrees until nicely browned.
Mixing the stuffing and stuffing the stuffing in the mushrooms is best done by hand. (That’s a lot of “stuffing” in one sentence!) Sometimes spoons just don’t get the job done as well as your hands. This is one of those times. When you’re stuffing the mushrooms cup them in the center of your palm. That will help cut down on the cracking when you fill them. But, yet again, I feel the need to say that cracking is so not a big deal here. Do not stress it. The ugly ones, if there are any, are the ones you eat before you pack them up to take to your event. See? I’m always looking out for you.
The baking time will vary depending on the size, but you’ll totally know when it’s time to take them out of the oven. It will basically be at the point where they look brown on top, smell divine and you know that if you don’t get one in your belly within the next five minutes someone might get hurt. Just don’t burn your mouth eating them directly from the oven, OK? Totally not speaking from experience here.
