Feta and Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms

One of the many reasons I'm so glad I enjoy cooking is because it gives me a seemingly ordinary, necessary task every single day that I await with joyous anticipation... No matter the course of the previous hours or the events therein, the rhythm of the kitchen always soothes me.

On Monday, for example, I was having a day where I simply felt more fatigued and far less spunky than usual. By the time I arrived home from work, my pestering headache had turned into a genuine, excruciating migraine, and all I really wanted to do was huddle under the bed-covers. I didn't succumb to the temptation, though, because I had other plans to uplift my spirits... I slipped into the kitchen, the house silent except for the softly pattering paws of the cats surrounding me, hoping a cat treat might enter the evening menu, and soon I was lost in the rhythm of chopping vegetables, a meditative peace restoring me. I was soon so ensconced in this zen-like sense of harmony that I wasn't even perturbed when my knife hiccuped on a small piece of onion skin that had previously escaped my attention, leaping off of said onion and neatly slicing deep into my finger! Of course, the oven timer selected this precise moment to begin beeping shrilly... Any sudden onlooker into our kitchen would have discovered me balanced on one foot, dangling my left hand over the sink to avoid dripping blood on the floor while wrestling the oven door open with my other hand to rescue the baking sheet therein.

Imagining the comedic image I formed, I couldn't help but giggle... Especially since I succeeded in preserving the feta and spinach stuffed mushrooms, for worthy of rescuing they were indeed...

Feta and Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms

12 whole "stuffing sized" portabella mushrooms, stems removed
2 shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T olive oil
1 cup finely chopped fresh baby spinach leaves
2/3 cup crumbled reduced fat feta cheese

~ Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
~ Coat both sides of the mushrooms with olive oil cooking spray, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
~ Bake the mushrooms rounded side down for 10 minutes, then flip them and bake rounded side up for 5 minutes.
~ While the mushrooms are baking, saute the shallots and garlic in the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat until the shallots are tender.
~ Add the spinach leaves to the shallots and garlic, and saute just for a few seconds more, until the spinach barely begins to wilt.
~ Remove the skillet from the heat, allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, and then stir in the feta cheese.
~ To assemble, turn the mushrooms rounded side down on the baking sheet, and fill each mushroom with the feta-spinach mixture, pressing down gently to keep the filling from tumbling back out of the mushrooms.
~ Return the baking sheet to the oven, and bake the mushrooms for 5 to 7 minutes, until the feta cheese just begins to melt.
~ Serve warm, as an appetizer or light and nicely posh side dish! :-)

On the blog this time last year... Hearty Mushroom Stew!