Stuffed Mushrooms: Two Ways

I think mushrooms are my favorite vegetable. They are so versatile. I eat them with steak, in scrambled eggs, or in soup. They're good in potstickers, in salads, or on pizza. But my absolute favorite way to eat mushrooms is stuffed. Stuffed mushrooms are one of those things that I have been making for several years now. For parties we go to that I'm asked to bring something, I make stuffed mushrooms. If we have people over for dinner, I make stuffed mushrooms. Or if we are sitting around watching American Idol and don't have anything else to make for dinner (which may or may not have been the case tonight), I make stuffed mushrooms.

When I make stuffed mushrooms, I decide on the stuffing according to what I have on hand. These two recipes are ones I came up with according to what sounded good at the time. I really liked the spinach and cheese ones, but I loved the crab stuffed ones. The opposite was true for Mr. Z. Both of these recipes are super quick and easy to make last minute. I had leftovers of both of the fillings- I think I could have probably doubled the number of mushrooms made with each of the them.

Right: "Crab" Stuffed Mushroom; Left: Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Mushroom

Stuffed Mushrooms: Two Ways
Original Recipes

Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. whole white mushrooms, stems removed
1 pkg. frozen T.G.I. Friday's Spinach and Artichoke Cheese Dip
1/4 c. plain panko
2 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Microwave dip according to package. Mix in panko and parmesan cheese into the dip. Spoon mixture into each mushroom (a little more than enough to fill the cap). Bake for 20 minutes.

"Crab" Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. whole white mushrooms, stems removed
4 oz. imitation crab meat, chopped into small pieces
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
garlic salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix crab, cream cheese, cheese, and garlic salt in a bowl. Spoon mixture into each mushrooms. Bake for 20 minutes.