Comfort Food

On Thursday night we had our monthly Dinner Club. This month Liz was in charge and the theme was Comfort Food. Comfort food was exactly what I needed this week so I was very excited. We had lasagna, Creamy White Chili, Cream Cheese Potatoes, Macaroni and Cheese, and Chocolate Caramel Oatmeal Bars. I definitely don't want to think about the amount of calories I had, but it was sooo good and sooo worth it!

For some reason I had a hard time figuring out what I was going to bring. There are plenty of foods that I find comfort in, but I just couldn't figure it out. Since I was in need of comfort food on that evening, I tried to think of a food that would bring me some comfort. I finally decided on Stuffed Mushrooms. At first, I wasn't exactly sure why I picked it. Cream Cheese, Sausage and mushrooms certainly are some ingredients in any comfort food. But I think that sometimes comfort food means more than just the actual food, but sometimes that memories that go along with it. I remember the first time I had these stuffed mushrooms. My Uncle Jay made them for Christmas Eve and I fell in love with them. I begged him to show me how me made them. My uncle always looks for a way to torture me and he had fun with this. Finally he taught me how to make them. I remember hanging out in my Grandma's kitchen. My uncle was of course harassing me and my Grandma was harassing my uncle in defense of me. It was so much fun learning how to make these mushrooms. I was flooded with memories of my uncle and my sweet Grandma who passed away 5 1/2 years ago. I am so grateful that I was able to move out here and spend so much time with her before she passed away. She continues to live on within me and I am blessed so often with the memories that I have of her.

All of the food on Thursday was so good, but I think I felt the most comfort in the memories of my family.


Stuffed Mushrooms

2 (8 oz) pkg Cream Cheese, softened
1 (16 oz) pkg Jimmy Dean Sausage
35-40 good sized Mushrooms
Milk
Garlic Powder to taste
Dried Parsley

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat skillet to medium-high heat and cook sausage. Once sausage is fully cooked, allow to cool and absorb excess grease on paper towel.
2. De stem mushrooms and place mushrooms on a aluminum foil lined baking sheet.
3. Drizzle olive oil over mushrooms and bake at 325 degrees for about 5-8 minutes (mushrooms will start to brown).
4. Meanwhile, stir cream cheese with a little bit of milk until smooth. Add Garlic Powder to taste. Finely chop sausage and then combine into cream cheese mixture.
5. Generously feel each mushroom with cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle a little bit of dried parsley on each mushroom (for color).
6. Bake mushrooms at 350 for about 10-15 minutes (until heated through). Serve immediately. Enjoy!