Bite sized savory bundles of gooey cheese and meat contained in a juicy little fungus cup.  Great for appetizers, or eat like 10 of them to make it a meal.  They are quite popular, so I usually get a large family pack of mushrooms to stuff.  One day, while I was about to pick up a container of little guys, it finally hit me.  Instead of going through the trouble of preparing a ton of little mushrooms, I could just get several large portobello mushrooms.  Obviously.  Of course, these would not work well for your cocktail party, but for a quick and easy meal, BAM.  So genius.  I like mushrooms stuffed with all sorts of fillings, but my usual go to filling is sausage and cheese.

I picked up 4 portobello mushrooms at the grocery store.  I washed them and pulled their stems off.  Save those stems and mince them up because they are going into the filling.  That red mat they are sitting on is a silicone baking mat on top of the cookie sheet.  My friend Luci introduced them to me a few years back, and I really like them.  They are nonstick and can be used in temperatures up to 480°F.  Unlike aluminum foil or parchment paper, which only have a one time use, these mats can be used thousands of times.

I happened to have some leftover cheese filling from another dish I made last week.  If I remember correctly, it was about half a block of cream cheese, a cup of shredded cheese, a small onion minced, and minced shallots and garlic.  I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with those leftovers, so this worked out well.

I have here a 1 lb sausage roll.

I mixed the sausage, cream cheese filling, and minced mushroom stems up and filled the mushroom caps.  The sausage is pretty solid after being squashed into that little roll, so I used my fists to beat it up.  There is no need for additional salt since the sausage is already heavily seasoned, and the cheese is salty too.  Oh yeah, if you don’t have cream cheese, don’t worry about it.  I actually usually don’t add cream cheese, but I happened to have that mixture leftover, so I threw it all in.

You can add some chopped spinach if you want to feel healthier.  You should also sprinkle more cheese or put a slice of cheese on top so it melts into a golden crust (highly recommended!)  I was in a hurry and didn’t feel like digging around the fridge for more cheese.

Pop the cookie sheet into the oven at 350ºF for about 35-40 minutes, or until the sausage is cooked through.

Cheesy, meaty, slightly creamy really good stuff.  It’s so good already, but I really wish I took the extra few minutes to get a slice of provolone, cheddar, or monterey jack to melt on top.  Please do it, you won’t regret it!!

Sausage Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Ingredients
– 4 portobello mushrooms
– 1 sausage roll (1 lb)
– 1 small onion
– 4 oz cream cheese (half a block)
– 1 cup shredded cheese
– a few cloves of garlic
–  1 shallot
– more cheese for topping

Directions
– Wash the mushrooms and remove the stems.  Mince the stems up and place in a mixing bowl.
– Mince up the onion, garlic, and shallots.  Add them to the mushrooms.
– Mix in the cream cheese, sausage, and shredded cheese.  Fill the mushroom with the mixture.  Top the mixture with more shredded cheese or slices of cheese.
– Bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes, or until the sausage is cooked through.