A Couple Recent Meals.

I told you I was going to start photographing some of the recipes I've been trying out. I've found it remarkably hard to remember to take pictures because I'm usually too focused on getting down to the process of eating the food instead of prepping it for a photo session. Alas, I did remember to snap a few for a couple of my recent endeavors.

First off is my made up rendition of stuffed mushrooms. My husband had already had supper, and I thought I wanted something a bit special. I had some button mushrooms that needed to be used up, and I've always got eggs on hand, so stuffed mushrooms was my first thought. After I'd stuffed the mushrooms I had filling left over, so I just spread it on a slice of bread and popped them all in the oven to cook up all nice and pretty.A Quick Stuffed Mushroom Recipe:

Servings: 1 (but I was really hungry)

5 Button Mushrooms, stems removed, but not discarded
1 Egg
2 Tbsp. Butter, divided
2 Tbsp. Seasoned Bread Crumbs
Feta Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan Cheese
Salt and Pepper
A piece of Bread for Extra Filling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Clean mushrooms and remove stems. Chop stems and place in a bowl. Add egg, bread crumbs, cheeses (a hefty pinch of each) into the bowl. Mix and add salt and pepper to your taste. Coat bottom of pie pan with some butter. Place mushrooms and bread in pan and put a sliver of butter in each mushroom cap. Spoon filling mixture in caps and leftover amount onto the bread. Put in oven for about 15-20 minutes or until filling is lightly browned.



Cheesy Spinach and Mushroom Quiche
Makes (2) 9-inch pies

(1) 9-oz. pkg. frozen spinach
2 pie crusts (I just bought Mrs. Wicks pre-baked variety)
8 mushrooms (I used 1/2 baby bello and 1/2 button)
6 eggs
Cheddar Cheese
Cottage Cheese
Feta Cheese
Parmesan Cheese
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Salt and Pepper
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup ground pork

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. If you are using unbaked pie crusts, then poke the bottom of the crust and bake until golden brown, then set aside to cool. Cook pork in skillet, and drain on paper towel and set aside. Put butter in same skillet and saute mushrooms until golden brown. Return pork to skillet and add a dash of onion powder and garlic powder and salt and pepper and stir to combine. Add your cheeses to your taste (I put 4 dollops of cottage cheese, a handful of cheddar, feta and parmesan), and add spinach. Stir again to combine. Place evenly between the two pie crusts. Crack eggs in a bowl and add milk. Whisk to break yolks and mix whites. Divide this between the two crusts. Place some foil around the edges of the crust to keep them from burning and bake the quiches on the center rack for 40 minutes. Uncover edges and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.

Both of these meals were a hit. Very tasty. My problem with recipes is that I never really go by a set to paper recipe. I always add things that sound good, or not measure things exact, but they always turn out pretty well. I think you need that reckless spirit--at least it helps when you're cooking something new. I hope you enjoy these as much as my family did. And don't be afraid to make them your own.

Enjoy!