Guest Chef: Ingrid

Welcome to our guest chef Ingrid. Here she is busy in her kitchen attending to my four-course birthday dinner she and her family hosted for me last weekend.

It was all quite yummy. Here is one of the appetizers served.

Stuffed Mushrooms

Everything You Will Need:
1/2 pound of fresh Italian sausage (removed from the casings)
1 1/4 cups of onion (finely chopped).
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 tablespoons of green bell pepper (finely chopped)
1 pound of fresh mushrooms(medium-sized) (save the caps, remove the stems and chop finely)
1 teaspoon salt, freshly ground pepper
1 3-ounce package of cream cheese
2 tablespoons of butter (melted)
1/4 cup of Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
fresh chopped parsley for garnish

In a large skillet, cook the sausage in the olive oil over medium heat for five to six minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to crumble the sausage. Add the chopped onion, green bell pepper, mushrooms stems, the salt and pepper to taste. Continue to cook for six or seven minutes or until the onion and bell pepper are tender. Turn off the heat and stir in the cream cheese. Fill the mushroom caps with the sausage.

In a small bowl, thoroughly mix the butter and the breadcrumbs. Press the stuffed mushroom
caps firmly into the buttered breadcrumbs. Put two tablespoons of water into a nine inch by thirteen inch glass baking dish. Place the mushroom caps in the dish, breaded sides up. Pre- heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for twenty to twenty-five minutes or until the breadcrumbs are brown. Sprinkle on fresh chopped parsley and serve.

The finish to the meal were these beautiful cupcakes done by one of our other guest chef's Teri.


Editor's note: If you're interested in my other birthday surprises you can visit my blog.