Sausage and Basil Stuffed Mushrooms

Stuffed mushrooms are my new favorite thing. Mostly because they’re bite sized and I fill them with whatever takes my fancy. This time it was a savory sausage filling. Next time I’m thinking of somehow incorporating nuts….walnuts with ground turkey and maybe dried cranberries, or oooooh a walnut, pear, fennel and brie or blue brie! Yes, that one is definitely next.

Anyway I think you see that you can pack these with whatever you would like. To make it a meal I’d use a nice big portobello mushroom and allow for one whole sausage per mushroom and definitely add more vegetables to the mix so it’s less meaty. Serve with a salad and you’re set!

What is it with me and mushrooms right now?  It’s mushrooms this and mushroom powder that! I think I’ll just accept that it’s my cosmic destiny to be really into the awesome fungi right now.  You can’t fight fate…and really, who’d want to when it means I get to eat things like this?

Sausage and Basil Stuffed Mushrooms
Makes 12

3 mild italian turkey sausage links, skins removed
1/2 cup onion finely diced
1/4 cup orange or yellow pepper finely diced
1/8 tsp black pepper
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tbsp plain cream cheese
5-6 large leaves of fresh basil, finely chopped (about 2 tbsp)
12 large mushrooms
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 425.

Spray a frying pan with cooking spray and saute the sausage meat over medium high for a couple of minutes, add the onion and orange pepper, garlic and black pepper and cook, stirring to break up the sausage pieces until the sausage is nicely browned and cooked through and the veggies are soft.

Remove the pan from the heat, add the cream cheese and stir until melted and combined. Don’t use light cream cheese here, I find it’s a bit too watery to properly hold the sausage filling together. Add the basil and stir. Set the filling aside to cool slightly.

Gently wash the mushrooms and remove the stems. I was able to bend the stems to the side and they just popped right out at the root leaving a nice little hollow for stuffing. If that doesn’t happen, cut the stem out to make room for the stuffing.

Using a pastry brush, brush the mushroom inside and out with the olive oil. Firmly pack a small spoonful of the stuffing into the mushroom and then gently pile a bit more on top to form a nice little mound. Place the mushrooms on a rack lined baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes, turning once, until nicely browned.

Per Serving (2 mushrooms): 135 calories, 10g fat, 4g carbs, 9g protein, 395mg sodium, 1g fiber.