Creamy Stuffed Mushrooms

      These are seriously one of the best stuffed mushrooms I've ever had - if not THE best. I can at least say they are the only stuffed mushrooms I've found myself day dreaming about days after eating them, wishing I could have more, and the boys who ate them with me have said the same thing. They were deliciously creamy and cheesy, yet crunchy from the bread crumbs and spicy from cayenne pepper. It's the ultimate finger food, appetizer, or in our case weekend late night snack ;) I've gotten pretty skilled at cooking late after being out all night on the weekends (I'm a college kid so you know what I'm talkin about). Last weekend we ended up making a sandwich with guacamole, cheese, leftover pork, mashed sweet potatoes, cheddar cape cod potato chips and bbq sauce. It sounds weird but it was seriously good! Oh the things you think of at 2 am.....

That's true college improvisation right there.....but anyways, back to the mushrooms!

        These are dressed up and fancy enough for a special occasion, yet cheap and easy enough for any time of the week. You can even make them ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze for later, depending on when you plan on making them. Even my friends who don't like mushrooms all too much loved these. The creamy cheesiness all stuffed in the mushroom and oozing down the side with crispy crunchy breadcrumbs, MmmMmm! They're too good. I highly recommend doubling the recipe because I promise they're sure to be devoured quickly....

Now that's something you don't see very often, Charlie bringing me food. I had to capture this rare moment...

Creamy Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:

12 white mushrooms 

1 tbsp olive oil

6 oz cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

heaping 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp oregano

salt and pepper to taste

1/3 cup panko style breadcrumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375

Wash mushrooms removing any dirt, and dry. Remove stems from mushrooms, (cut off any tough ends) and finely chop stems. Head olive oil in pan on stove over medium heat and add mushrooms with half (1/4 tsp) of the garlic powder. Once they're soft and liquid has evaporated, set aside to cool. 

Once cooled, mix together mushrooms, cream cheese, parmesan cheese, cayenne pepper, remaining garlic powder, onion powder, oregano and salt and pepper. Stuff mushrooms with mixture, they should be overly full - the more stuffing the more ooey-gooey and cheesy :) 

Roll the stuffed portion of the mushroom in the breadcrumbs to top. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes.