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Plan Z Phase: This is a Z3 (ZReboot) recipe.

My husband found a recipe in the newspaper that he thought sounded good. He asked if I could make it. Valentine’s Day was coming so I tossed out the idea that he make it as a romantic little gesture. He agreed.

I read the recipe and didn’t think it was going to taste all that good. I decided I’d put my signature on it and make it myself in the hopes that I could add it to the collection. No credit to me, but when it was done it was delicious! I hardly changed a thing! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. We even ate it as a light entrée and didn’t need anything else to round out the meal. A salad might be a good idea. An easy Caesar perhaps.

Servings: Serves 3 – 4 as an entrée or more using small mushrooms as an appetizer.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of mushrooms. I used LARGE capped button mushrooms. Those are sort of a tradition in my Irish family. As an entrée the large ones are meatier and feel like a meal. You could also make this with smaller mushrooms and serve it as an appetizer or on a buffet.
• ½ cup of finely chopped onion. I used shallots.
• ½ cup of finely chopped bell pepper. I used red bell because I thought it would be prettiest and it was Valentine’s day. Any color can work or a mix.
• 2 tsp of minced garlic (jar garlic can work)
• 4 oz of canned crab meat. Claw and lump are the best. They are a little more expensive but way worth it. Buy it in a can in the canned fish aisle or by the fish department. You don’t need the BIG can of lump crab. That’s very fancy and overkill for this recipe.
• 4 oz of softened cream cheese. Use full-fat.
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup of breadcrumbs. I used panko crumbs. They are crunchier.
• 1 Tbl parsley, finely chopped
• ½ cup of finely grated parmesan plus another ¼ cup for dusting on top later
• Grated sea salt and fresh pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and lightly spray olive oil in a baking dish.

Clean the mushrooms. Not sure how? Check out this article.

Carefully pop off the mushroom stems. I light twist them as I pull so the come out completely in most cases.

In a medium sauté pan add 1 Tbl of olive oil and sauté the veggies. Add the onion/shallots, and the pepper bits. Cook on medium until they are loosened. Add the garlic and stir. Take off of the heat.

Put the cooked veggies in a mixing bowl. You are now going to add the crab but before you do, be sure to sort of run your fingers through it to catch any leftover bits on shell that might have snuck in during the processing of the crab.

Add the crab and the other ingredients (except that last parmesan for the topping). Be sure to grate in the sea salt and pepper too. Mix with a rubber spatula until well mixed. Generously add the filling to the mushroom caps. Really pile it on and press it down so you can add even more on top. Fill all the caps. Put them in the prepared baking pan mushroom side down.

Sprinkle on the remaining parmesan and bake. How long you bake them is going to depend on the size of the mushrooms. There is nothing worse (in my book) than an under-cooked stuffed mushroom. I’d rather have them over done than under done. On average, about 25 minutes should do it. If you are unsure, you can cut one open and make sure the mushroom is completely cooked and soft. It’s not like they won’t work if they are less done. I just like them completely cooked so they melt in my mouth. Teeth hardly required.

I did use a fork and knife to cut them because they were so large. I’ll leave it up to you for how you eat them. They can be a bit messy so have napkins at the ready.

Enjoy!

Cheers,