Loaded Mashed Potato Portobellos



Right now I'm eagerly awaiting a text from Brad letting me know that Boy 1 and his Scout troop have touched down safely at Toronto's Pearson airport.  My boy and his troop have been in Alberta for the national Scout jamboree for the past 9 days.  This has been the longest time that Boy 1 has been away from home without any family members and I do so miss my first born.  I'm sure he'll come back with tonnes of memories, pictures ... and dirty clothes. Yay me!

 

While the rest of the Baking Bookworm family missed Boy 1, we did not sit at home twiddling our thumbs.  We physically cannot sit around that long.  As I mentioned in an earlier post I took Boy 2 and Missy Moo into Toronto to the Royal Ontario Museum to hang with dinosaurs, mummies and their brethren.  We also hit the drive-in and had a full day at the beach yesterday.

 

Note: My apologies to people in the Port Stanley area and our American neighbours on the other side of Lake Erie.  If you experienced a blinding light yesterday afternoon that would be the sun reflecting off my pasty white body as I hung out in the sand and surf -- under my sun tent, of course!  I'm not a person who likes to tan.  My skin tone is somewhere between Gwen Stefani, Edward Cullen and Wednesday Addams.  Yup, I'm pretty pasty but I'm hoping that staying out of the sun will get me skin like Nicole Kidman when I'm older. *fingers crossed*

 

Even though my boy was away from me it didn't stop me from trying a couple of new recipes.  One recipe was a stinker and won't be showing its face here on the blog (blech!) but this portobello recipe was awwwesome! 

 

Oh so very awesome!  It's amazing because it has some of my favourite 'flavahs' all in one little side dish.  You have the wonderful Portobello on the bottom which is then topped with a dollop of creamy loaded mashed spuds that are sporting some bacon, cheddar, cream cheese and green onions!  Oh man, these were good.  I could also easily see making the same potato filling but putting them in portobellini mushrooms (smaller than portabellos) and serving them as an appetizer.

 

OK BBW followers.  I've been working on this post for 90 minutes now and I'm still waiting for my text from Brad.  Gah!  I miss my boy but I'm planning on playing it real cool when he walks in the door.  By "cool" I mean not jumping all over him yelling "My BABY is HOME!!" and bear hugging him.  Ok, so maybe I won't be all that cool but he'll definitely know his Mom missed him. :)

 



6 slices of bacon
3 medium potatoes - peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 tbsp Garlic and Herb Cream Cheese (I used Philadelphia Brand)
2 tbsp sour cream
3/4 cup Cheddar cheese - finely grated
4 Portobello mushrooms - stems removed and outside wiped with a dry cloth
3 large green onions, sliced

In a medium skillet, cook bacon until almost crisp.  Remove bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.  Reserve 2 tbsp of bacon drippings.

Cook potatoes in a medium pot of boiling water until they are fork tender.  Drain and add Garlic and Herb cream cheese and sour cream.  Mix until potatoes are mashed and smooth. 

Crumble bacon.  Add half of the bacon and half of the Cheddar to the potato mixture.  

*** The prep above can be done ahead of time and kept in the fridge.  Just reheat the potato mixture a bit before adding it to the grilled mushrooms. ***

Gently brush on some of the bacon drippings to the outside of the mushrooms to prevent them from sticking to the grill.  If you think using bacon grease is too much 'oinker' for you in one dish feel free to substitute olive or grapeseed oil. 

Grill mushrooms on a BBQ at medium heat for approximately 15 to 20 minutes -- grilling only on the outside (the side you greased.  The one without the mushroom gills).  Spoon some of the potato mixture into each mushroom.  Grill for a couple of minutes more to heat the potato mixture through.

Just before serving, top the potatoes stuffed mushrooms with the remaining bacon, Cheddar and green onions.  Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings

Source: The Baking Bookworm