MASSIVE CHEESY MUSHROOMS

It's terrible when your going on holiday and you need to empty your fridge unless your going to waste all that delicious fresh food. Sometimes though using what is left in your fridge can throw up some surprising delicious treats and this is how these cheesy mushrooms came about. Using some left over portobello mushrooms, some "heading towards its expiry date" mozzarella, throwing in some oils and herbs and lacing with hot jalapenos, these delicious veggie treats make a great change from your standard Sunday roast.

Now I used mozzarella and Cheddar in my mushrooms as that is what I had to use in my fridge and they work really really. This isn't set in stone though so Experiment with any other cheese you may have in your fridge to use up and you might find a cheesy combination that you prefer.

The jalapenos are not only there for a bit of spice but to add a bit of texture to the mushrooms. If your not a fan then use some milder chili's or even some pickled gherkins I think would work a treat. Again, ransack your fridge and cupboards and see what you have.

If you have a big dinner planned too you can roast off the mushrooms as per the below and then prepare them with the filling so they are ready to throw in the oven just before serving. A great way to save time and to stop you from running around like a headless chicken if you have other yummy treats on the go.

Here's the recipe for six mushrooms which can you serve on their own as sides or have a couple each on their as a main!

CHEESY PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS

6 Portobello Mushrooms
3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tsp Olive Oil
Salt And Pepper To Season
 100g Breadcrumbs
Hand full Chopped Fresh Parsley Leaves

Hand full Chopped Fresh Rosemary Leaves
2 125g Mozzarella Balls (Drained and Chopped)
Approx. 3 Tbsp Chopped Sliced Jarred Jalapenos
100g Grated Cheddar Cheese

1. Oven straight on to 180 degrees (160 fan).
2. Throw the mushrooms in a large bowl and pour oven the balsamic, oil, salt and pepper. Give everything a good mix until the mushrooms are all coated.
3. You can leave the mushrooms to marinade for a while if you have or bake straight away. Either way arrange the mushrooms on a baking tray lined with baking paper and place in the oven for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven, drain any moisture and leave to cool on the lined tray for around 5 minutes.
4. Whilst the mushrooms cool mix together in a bowl the breadcrumbs, parsley, rosemary, mozzarella and jalapenos and once the mushrooms have cooled stuff each mushroom with equal amounts of the breadcrumb filling.
5. Grate the Cheddar cheese over the top of each mushroom and then place back in the oven for 6 minutes until the cheese has melted and the breadcrumbs are golden. Drain the mushrooms after removing from the oven to remove any excess moisture.

Delicious, however if you do have a hungry carnivore looking for there meat fix you could fry up some sausage meat until just cooked and mix it in with the breadcrumb mix before stuffing into the mushrooms. Bake as normal and you have a fabulous meaty mushroom to dive into.

It goes to show that you don't need to fork out on a big joint of meat or a whole roast chicken to make a super Sunday roast. These bad boys will fill that hole just as well. That's what I call a "Magic Mushroom!"