Summer's Bounty

What do fresh basil, a bag of white mushrooms (brought to you from a friend), and leftover meatballs have in common?  You make stuffed mushrooms. 

A friend had given us a big bag of fresh mushrooms.  So, last night when the family gathered I made spaghetti and meatballs with mushroom spaghetti sauce.  Today, I noticed that my basil was so bountiful that I really needed to pick it and make something with it and since I had leftover meatballs, I got the idea to make stuffed mushrooms.  I'll try and give you the recipe, but I don't measure anything and I usually use a combination of recipes, so here goes:

Stuffed Mushrooms: Use about 12 large mushrooms, cleaned and dried

Saute about 1/4 of a medium onion, cut up mushroom caps, and fresh garlic (I like a lot of garlic so used 4 pieces) in olive oil with salt, pepper, and crushed pepper flakes until onion is translucent.

Add the basil (about 30 leaves cut up) and torn up meat balls (you could cut them, but they need to be very small pieces, it's easier to tear them into small pieces with your hands)

Add butter (I just eyeballed it, maybe a tablespoon) and let melt and then add cooking wine and continue sauteing.  Then, add bread crumbs (I used maybe a 1/4 c. but not sure since I just sprinkled it until it looked like enough) and Parmesan cheese and cheddar cheese and stir together.  Remove from fire. 

Put mushrooms on baking sheet and drizzle olive oil on mushrooms and stuff them with mixture.  Add more cheese on top with a bit more of cooking wine drizzled on top.  Bake in 350 oven for about 30 minutes or until cheese melts. 

Want to come over and eat.  Enjoy!