Chicken Stuffed Mushrooms

One of my favoriate dishes to take to parties I discovered in The Appetizer Bible.

 I only changed a few parts from the original. It has been a hit everytime and here it is..

Ingredients:
 2 packages of mushrooms: roughly 26+
1 package of softened cream cheese
1 tbs of butter
2/3 well chopped cooked chicken
1/4 cup chopped parmesan cheese
1 tbs of fresh chipped basil
2 tsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp of onion powder
1/8 tsp salt
a pinch of pepper
a pinch of garlic powder
olive oil
paprika for color

First preheat the oven to 350.

The mushrooms:
Again as I have stated previously scrub the mushrooms to get the dirt and such off. Dont soak them.
Pop off the stems leaving the mushrooms looking like little bowls
Chop up the stems only and set them into a seperate bowl.

Set out a baking pan, add some olive oil, and line up the little mushroom bowls.
*The book recommends using the butter to coat the pan, but we will do something different with it.*

Take the butter and cut it up into little pieaces and drop them inside each of the mushroom bowls.

Place the pan with the mushrooms into the oven and allow them to bake for 4-5 minutes.

You should smell them as they get close. 8-)


The stuffing:
*Note* you will end up making a lot of filling stuff accordingly.

Cook the chicken on your grill, George Forman, if you have one until it is golden brown on both sides and still moist.

Quickly mix the cooked chicken, the chopped stems, the cheese, basil, lemon juice, onion powder, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a large bowl.

Check on the mushrooms and remove them from the oven with a mitt.
All the butter may not have been absorbed by the mushroom and be floating in the middle.
Don't pantic this is a good thing.

Spoon out some of the stuffing and place it in each of the mushroom bowls and sprinkle some of the paprika on the tops
If you have too stuffing much the rest can be baked in the lower part of the pan.

Return the pan with the now stuffed mushrooms to the oven and Bake for 10-12 minutes/ until heated
You should see a light browning on the stuffing on the top.

 Remove them from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes.

 

Enjoy