Creamy Stuffed Mushrooms

We love cream cheese around here, so these little mushrooms hit the spot. Serve them hot out the oven as a side dish with supper or as a tasty appetizer.  Save any leftover stuffing to mix in with pasta the next day.

by Elizabeth Savoie Dronet

Ingredients 

12 whole fresh mushrooms

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/8-1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray or brush with olive oil. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, taking care not to burn garlic.
3. In a mixing bowl or mixer, combine mushroom mixture with cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Mixture should be very thick. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared sheet.
4. Sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese over the tops of each and a perhaps a dash of freshly ground pepper if you have it on hand.
5. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.

There may be left over cream cheese mixture.  I sometimes mix it with a little milk and serve it warm with pasta for lunch the following day.