Finally, Friday

I woke up on Friday, feeling a bit cold and chilled, despite the furnace's valiant efforts. So, I checked the thermometer and it was 27 degrees F.! On November 6th? So I turned on the Weather Channel and verified this temperature. Yep, we are in the deep freeze today...

At work, I checked on my latest two projects and both of them can be closed today. I have a sense of accomplishment, but an underlying dread: I don't have that many projects left...

When lunchtime came, I stopped in at Meijer's (again). I forgot to get more kitty litter when I was here. I also bought some big button mushrooms (I have an idea). Back home, I ate the last of the Bush's Baked Beans and smoked sausage for lunch, and then spent the rest of the afternoon in gastric distress (if you know what I mean - well, if you were near me, you would definitely know what I mean!)

I arrived home a little later than usual (I had an errand to run). I treated the cats and then changed clothes. I finished filling the dishwasher, ignored the bowls, food processor cup, etc., from the lasagna, started the dishwasher and then got to the mushrooms.

Remember me saying I want to try and use up leftovers, rather than throw them away? Well, if you also remember, on Tuesday, I made some Stove Top chicken stuffing to go with my roasted chicken breast. Of course I didn't eat it all, but since the leftover chicken got turned into Chop Suey, what could I do with the remaining stuffing?

Well, one appetizer I really like is stuffed mushrooms, with Italian sausage and cheese. So, I wondered if I could do a riff on that with the stuffing. So, here's what I did.

I took out the stuffing to warm it to room temperature (to make it easier to work with). Then I got the simplest recipe for stuffed mushrooms I could find. It said to take out the stems of the mushrooms (there are eight big ones, BTW), so I did. I cleaned up the cavities with an old grapefruit spoon I still have (It's thinner than most teaspoons and has a serrated edge in front).

Next it said to brush the mushroom caps with Italian salad dressing. Well, I don't have any and making it is a little more time-consuming than the time I have, so I made a little balsamic vinaigrette. I brushed the caps with that and then put them on a rack in the toaster oven (with the drip pan right underneath). Note: if you were doing this for a crowd, you would use the oven broiler and the broiler pan. But I am just using eight mushrooms, so I don't want to waste the gas!

I broiled them for five minutes. I took them out and let them cool down. While that was going on, I took a call from a friend. After we hung up, the mushrooms were cool, so I got back to work.

I went to get out some shredded sharp cheddar cheese, but found I didn't have any left! WTF? But, I did have a block of sharp cheddar cheese, so I opened it up and, using the box grater, made about a cup of shredded cheese.

I added that to the stuffing mixture and, using my hand, worked it all together. Then I stuffed the mushroom caps. I put them back in the toaster oven and watched them carefully, waiting for the cheese to melt. Somewhere between three to five minutes, they were cheesy and bubbly. I pulled them out and let them set a few minutes on the chopping block.

After they were cool enough to pick up, I tried one. Hmmm... I tried another and then another. I couldn't decide! They certainly lacked the "pop" of the Italian sausage, but they didn't taste "bad." So, I decided this would not be a bad vegetarian appetizer (maybe not "vegan" because I don't know exactly what's in Stove Top Chicken stuffing). I wrapped up the rest of the stuffed mushrooms and put them in the fridge.

It was now after 9:00 PM. So I did a quick check on TV shows tonight. Nothing, really. Instead, I grabbed my book and lay down on the bed to read. When my glasses fell off, I realized I'd been dosing, so I shut off the light and went to sleep.