My Contribution For Thanksgiving....Stuffed Mushrooms

So, I was watching Food TV's Barefoot Contessa, and Ina Garten has this really great recipe for Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms. I had to tweak the recipe a bit (okay a lot) because the stores in my area do not have some of the things she puts in the stuffing, but they still came out tasting really (and by really I mean REALLY) good.

I'm a novice when cooking with wine. I can marinate with it like a pro when I grill, but with regular foods (unless it's like a marinara sauce) I'm kind of clueless.

The recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of Marsala Wine. I didn't know Marsala Wine comes in sweet and dry, so I kind of felt silly debating in the liquor store for 30 minutes about it. I decided on Dry since mushrooms are earthy. I couldn't see a sweet wine with them

Clean them off with a damp towel (don't wash them under water, it will cause them to get too mushy as you cook them. Remove the stems, but don't throw them out. You will use them later.

Put the mushrooms in a container or bag. Take 3 tablespoons of Marsala wine and 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil. (Okay, I have to confess, I thought I had olive oil in my pantry and didn't, so I used Vegetable Oil. Bad Misty). Pour the oil and wine in with the mushrooms and get them all coated. Then let them sit while you do the other stuff.

The original recipe calls for green onions, but since I didn't feel like going to the store I just chopped up a white onion into really small pieces. I then took the mushroom stems and chopped them up really fine too.

Next you start browning up Sage Sausage. You can use something more spicy, but not everyone likes spice, and Sage Sausage just speaks the holidays to me. As it browns, make sure you don't leave any really big chunks of sausage, because that makes it hard to stuff into the mushrooms.

Pour the onions and the mushroom stems in with the sausage and combine. Add salt, pepper and garlic. Then add about a cup of Panko Bread Crumbs (you will find them in the Oriental Foods Section of your grocery store). If you feel like you need to add more bread crumbs, go ahead.

Finally add a package of cream cheese to the mixture till it all combines. Ina's recipe actually calls for Mascarpone Cheese, but I live in the boondocks of Oklahoma. There is no Marscapone Cheese at the Superwalmart or any of the other little markets. (I would kill for a Trader Joes in Lawton. Seriously, who do I have to bribe to get one?)

Now it's time to stuff your Shrooms! Once they are stuffed, you can take grated Parmesan cheese and sprinkle it over the tops with a little more salt and pepper. I actually even put some of the Parm in the sausage mixture before I started stuffing the mushrooms.

Once you've done all that, you put them in the oven for about 50 minutes at 350. I know if I actually got my hands on all the "right" ingredients it would have tasted even better, but honestly I don't think anyone really cared. We wolfed em' down in an hour.

The picture above is what they look like about 15 minutes before they are done. By the time they were ready to be taken out, all the juice in the bottom of the pan gets sucked up into the mushroom or evaporates in the oven.

If you make this recipe, make a lot. It goes fast.

So Easy, Even My Mom Can Do It....

Well, apparently not. She asked me to make quesadillas for dinner tonight because she said she didn't know how to make them. Now, I'm not sure if she 'really' didn't know, or 'really' just did not want to cook dinner.lol. Anyway, here is my recipe. If you can make a grill cheese sandwich. you can make a chicken quesadilla.

Heat and then add oil to a saute pan. (I guess 2 or 3 table spoons. I just like to coat the bottom of the pan).

Take some chicken (the easy thing to do is buy a bag of chicken from the store, pre-cut and cooked. All you have to do is open the bag and reheat in the pan) once the pan is heated up and saute in the oil, along with one onion cut up (I don't dice it, I just cut the onion in half and then make small slices of both sides).

As the onion and chicken cooks in the pan, add whatever you want to the mix. I like to saute mushrooms and bell peppers with it. Then I'll add fresh crushed garlic, Salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, taco seasoning, maybe some basil flakes. If the mix seems dry, I add a spoon full of butter and maybe some hot sauce if I really want some heat. I'd love to give you exact measurements, but the truth is I'm an eye baller cook. I never make the same thing the same way twice.

Once everything is cooked up just right (you don't want to over cook the onions and bell pepper), I dump the mixture on a plate and kind of glaze the pan over with some butter. I take one large flour tortilla and lay it flat. On half the tortilla I lay out some shredded cheese (mixed cheddar is fine). On top of the cheese I spoon over my chicken mixture and then add more cheese. I let the cheese kind of start to melt then fold over the other half of the tortilla like a sandwich. Once one side is browned I turn over the quesadilla to brown the other side.

I personally like my tortilla to be crispy. Soft Quesadillas tend to get soggy quickly.

Once both sides are kind of golden brown I place it on a plate then cut it up into 3 or 4 pieces.

In a bowl I mix together onion, avocado, and cut tomatoes with some salt and pepper. Spoon that over the top of the tortillas. You can dollop sour cream over each slice and then shake some hot sauce or salsa over that.

That's it. Yummy, cheesy, chickeny goodness.

Pumpkin Cookies

This is a great, simple cookie to make for the Holidays. The only word of advice I have is make sure your measurements are exact and you don't over beat the eggs. The fist batch I did tasted okay, but they were a little bit rubbery because I beat the eggs too long. The second batch (below) came out perfect. Moist and chewy, but they also kind of fall a part. They are not a super sweet cookie, but you could get away with putting a little more of the spices in if you really wanted to.

It's completely optional to put a cream cheese frosting on top, but I think the frosting makes the cookie sweeter (and we all know how sweet I am). Soften a pack of cream cheese, put about half a cup of powdered sugar in a bowl with the cheese, mix it up. I also add a dash of vanilla for a little extra flavor.

OH! Almost forgot. Do not drop a big big dollop of cookie dough onto the pan. Less is more for this cookie. It does not flatten out, it actually keeps its form and puffs out a little.

I like to double this recipe, so you don't waste pumpkin. They taste great with cream cheese frosting on top!

3/4 C shortening

3/4 C packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 C canned pumpkin

2 C flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 C raisins

1/2 C chopped nuts

Cream together shortening and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs. Add vanilla, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. Mix until well blended. stir in pumpkin. Add flour slowly until well blended. Add raisins and nuts, if desired. Drop by spoonful on to un-greased cookie sheet. bake at 375 for 12 - 15 minutes. makes 6 dozen cookies.