Stuffed Portobellos with Mashed Potatoes

If any of you have a Costco membership, this may look familiar. I guess recently they handed out a Costco cookbook and this was one of the recipes in it. I don't have a membership but my parents do and I happened to be at their house right after they got the cookbook. After thumbing through it and finding so many yummy recipes to try, my mom let me take it home. I'm so glad she did because I've already made several recipes in it and I love it.

I wanted to try this recipe because I love mushrooms, especially portabellos, and we also had a big bag of potatoes from our produce co-op basket that we needed to use up. Well, when I say big bag, I guess it's relative because I think it was only a 5lb. bag. But, we don't eat potatoes very often so, for me, that's big.

Anyway, I thought these stuffed mushrooms were wonderful. The potato mixture was great on it's own, and I really loved the flavor the feta cheese brought to it. And, who can complain about bacon? Really. The combination of the potatoes and mushrooms was great, one I'd be willing to use my potatoes for any time. I served this as a main dish but it could also be served as a side.

Stuffed Portobellos with Mashed Potatoes
6 fresh portobello mushrooms
4 garlic cloves, chopped
4 Tbsp. butter, divided
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cups mashed potatoes
pinch of black pepper
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 cup chopped fresh chives (I used about 1 Tbsp. dried)
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/4 + 2 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
8 slices bacon, crisp, cooked & crumbled
2 cups dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400 F. Remove stems from mushrooms and set caps aside. Finely chop stems.

In a skillet, saute mushroom stems and garlic in 1 tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat until tender.

Rub mushroom caps with oil and set in a greased baking pan.

In a bowl, combine mashed potatoes, pepper, salt, thyme, chives, feta cheese, 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese, bacon and sauteed mushroom stems. Mix until well blended. Stuff firmly into the mushroom caps.

In a separate bowl, combine the remaining melted butter, bread crumbs, Parmesan and parsley. Sprinkle over the mushroom caps.

Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes, or until heated through. Serve warm.

Makes 3-6 servings.

SOURCE:Adapted from the Costco cookbook

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