Friday, January 22, 2010

Stuffed Mushroom Caps for Dinner

I'm having dinner at Jenny's tonight, so I decided to make one of my favorite dishes-- Artichoke Stuffed Mushroom Caps.

I love this recipe for many reasons- one- it utilizes every part of the mushroom, two- it's absolutely to die for, and three, though it takes a bit of prep work, it's really an easy recipe, but the finished product gives the allusion of being made by a great chef.

So, I'll share it. And if you make them, please let me know how the come out!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
24 mushrooms, stems removed and chopped (I generally use about 10-12 Cremini mushrooms and 3-4 Portabellas)
salt and black pepper to taste
1 12 ounce jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 cup shredded italian cheese blend
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, or to taste

Directions:
  1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a baking sheet with cooking spray.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook the onions and mushroom stems in the hot oil until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl; add the artichoke hearts, cream cheese, sour cream, Italian cheese blend, and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Stir the mixture until ingredients are evenly distributed. Stuff the mushroom caps with the mixture. Arrange the stuffed mushrooms on the prepared baking sheet.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven until the filling begins to bubble, about 20 minutes.
And voila! Stuffed mushroom caps!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Thursday.

Just another day, just another week.

In the countdown to my wedding, entire months fall to the wayside like carnage as my final goal comes more clearly into view. What happened the entire month of November? October? December? Most likely I worked, planned my wedding, and went blues dancing where appropriate; but moreover I planned my wedding.

It's hard to remember the days anymore. I wonder if this is a feature of adulthood, or if I'm just in this strange, hazy, bride-y mindset that's totally out of touch with reality. Yes, ma'am, it's the... 14th...? of January. Monday? Wednesday? I don't know, if it's not the weekend, they're all the same to me.

I'm not even a bridezilla. Sometimes I worry that I haven't stopped to savor the important parts of wedding planning, and I'll look back and miss that. Dress shopping. Wedding shower. Ring searching. Cake tasting. Though I enjoyed these aspects, my incredible GSD (get shit done) drive drove me to mark these off my list rather than relishing in every little detail. Thus far, I haven't regretted any moment of the past six months of planning and how quickly they've gone- maybe when you plan a wedding in a shorter amount of time, you can't stop and smell the roses, so to speak. It's ok. I enjoy it. The means support the end; I'll get married to Charlie, and that's what all of this hooplah is for, really.

So, thursday. Listening to blues, no agenda for the evening, fire roaring, movie rented... let's see where we go.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

The scary I-forgot-my-dress, I'm-getting-kidnapped, I'm-marrying-the-wrong-guy-at-the-altar wedding dreams that just decided to enter my life this week...... have GOT to stop.