Gutted Mushrooms with Bacon and Spinach

The Snacking Dead, p. 14

6 strips bacon

½ red onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, freshly chopped

20 large button mushrooms, stems removed

1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed

½ cup cream cheese, softened

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

You can use a little paring knife to help with the mushroom stems, but usually they just twist out by themselves. 

Preheat the oven to 400F.

In a large skillet, cook the bacon until browned and crisp. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to cool. Spoon off all but 1 tablespoon bacon fat from the pan. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and remove from the heat to cool completely.

Wipe the mushroom caps clean. Crumble the bacon. Put the spinach in a sieve, set it over the sink, and using your hands and a death grip, squeeze out as much liquid as you can.

In a large bowl, smash together the spinach, bacon, cream cheese, red onion mixture, salt, and pepper. 

This is delicious all by itself. How do I know? Because there was some left after I stuffed all the mushrooms and I ate it right out of the bowl with a fork.

Fill the mushroom caps with the mixture and set them on a baking sheet. 

Make sure you get sizable mushrooms for this - otherwise there's not much payoff in terms of stuffing.

Sprinkle the Parmesan on top.

Bake until the cheese is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Serve warm.

Served with some Ground Round Vegetable Soup!

My Rating: 5/5 "These are PHENOMENAL. The stuffing is truly a perfect blend of flavors. The mushrooms add a nice earthy mellowness and crisp texture to counterbalance the insides and after they're baked they're just so nice and... mushroomy, I guess. Man. I could eat this all day."