Two tips with today’s amazing recipe……
1. Find a ground sausage that you like. It can be a prepped tube from the grocery store or a visit to a special deli or anything in between. But when you find it, it becomes a mainstay in your home for breakfast, lunch or dinner. No endorsement here, but my personal favorite is the country pork sausage from The Fresh Market. I also like that they shape it into the face of a pig each day and that makes me smile. But I really like the combinations of spices that gives it a little kick and a lot of taste.
2. Learn how to clean a mushroom. Because it is a sad sad day when you didn’t REALLY get all the dirt out of it and then after 4-6 hours your dinner actually tastes more like mud than anything else. That’s disgusting.
How to Clean a Mushroom Cap Here’s my step by step process to clean a portobello mushroom properly. Sorry for the footage– I had the phone propped on my paper towel holder, but I promise to start uploading better videos soon!
Now that your mushrooms are prepped, you just need to mix together the ingredients, much like making a meatloaf. This dish will taste much more complex than the basic ingredients because of all the seasonings in the sausage– so remember to pick a good one.
Crock Pot Sausage-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Serves 2-3
4-6 portobello mushroom caps, properly cleaned of skin and “gills”
1/2 c. shredded gruyere cheese
1/2 c. shredded white cheddar cheese
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 egg
Prep and wash mushrooms and then put in crockpot with the smooth side down and the underside facing UP. Mix the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and then form into patties, much like a hamburger.
Place each patty into each mushroom cap and smush just a little so that the two things join together. Do not push so hard that you break the mushroom cap, but if you just did- it’s ok. A broken mushroom tastes just the same.
Cook on high for 3-4 hours. The filling will cook through and brown just a little on top.