This is a fantastic vegetable side that I will be making quite often. It is rich-tasting and delicious to have as a side with another vegetable and meat or chicken. It would be a great dish to have on offer when you have vegetarian friends over for dinner. I seem to collect friends that are vegetarian or they can't have dairy and gluten; not easy to cook for them, that's for sure!
You can also use canned mushrooms. Costco sells huge cans of mushrooms. Canned mushrooms also freeze very well. They work very well in this dish. For the breadcrumbs, you can use your favorite low-carb bread (5 g carbs per slice), toasted, or a one-minute muffin, toasted, or this very easy microwave bread: here. Break up the toast into large pieces and blend into crumbs in a blender; easy peasy!
This casserole is so good that I can see it being taken to family gatherings or potlucks. All the flavors of your favorite garlicky stuffed mushrooms are embodied in this easy and fun casserole. No matter which occasion you are making this casserole for, your company or the recipients of this casserole will not be disappointed.
Although I used Parmesan cheese in a cannister, you could also use freshly grated Parmesan cheese. You can also increase the amount, if desired. I find Parmesan to be laden with sodium, so I prefer to use it more sparingly in recipes.
I used a glass baking dish - not a 9 x 13-inch rectangular dish but a smaller one; 1 qt (1L) versus 2 qt (2 L) size. I used fresh parsley, but if you don't have it on hand, you could use dried parsley instead.
The taste of this casserole is so rich and delicious, you could eat it all by itself and the first night I did. I had been cooking and I wasn't particularly hungry, but I could not pass this up, and was glad that I did not.
Use a large skillet to cook your mushrooms in at medium high heat and then reduce the heat when indicated. Hopefully, it has a lid, but if not, you will still manage just fine. Afterward, I cooked these in a preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
It occurred to me that this dish could make a delicious stuffing for poultry as well. You could even add bits of bacon to this dish.
You could use cloves are garlic, smashed, or I always have bottled minced garlic on hand in the refrigerator. I used grated Mozzarella cheese from the store; however, of course, you can use freshly grated Mozzarella instead. In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients.
Another mushroom that you could use in this dish is white button mushrooms. You could also add onion to this dish, but that will add a few more carbs. If using white button mushrooms, I would be inclined to cut the mushroom caps in half at least.
INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp light olive oil (30 mL)
2 lbs mushrooms (0.9 kg)
1 tbsp minced garlic (15 mL)
1/2
tsp salt (2 mL)
1/4
tsp black pepper (1 mL)
6 oz cream cheese (180 g)
1/2
cup grated Mozzarella cheese (125 mL)
3/4
cup low-carb breadcrumbs, (175 mL)
divided
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese (30 ml)
Topping:
1/4
cup grated Mozzarella cheese (60 mL)
1/4
cup low-carb breadcrumbs (60 mL)
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese (30 mL)
2 tbsp butter, melted
Preheat
the oven to 350°F (180°C).
In
large nonstick frying pan in olive oil and over medium heat stir fry mushrooms until
most of the liquid has evaporated. Add minced
garlic and stir fry 1 minute. Sprinkle with
salt and pepper. Add cream cheese, Mozzarella
cheese, 1/2 cup (125 mL) low-carb breadcrumbs and Parmesan
cheese. Turn heat to low and cover pan with
lid until cheeses melt. Stir all together
and pour into a 1 qt (1 L) casserole dish. Sprinkle with the topping. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown on
top.
Topping: In medium bowl, combine Mozzarella cheese, breadcrumbs
and Parmesan cheese until clumps and crumbs form. Stir in melted butter.
Yield: 8 servings
1
serving
213.3
calories
8.7
g protein
17.1
g fat
8.2 g fiber
4.6
g net carbs
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