Beef and Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms with Wine Sauce

Today was another day of playing “Use It Up” in the kitchen. Had to use up some leftover ground beef, fresh baby spinach, and whole mushrooms. Not sure when it clicked, but I decided I was going to make Stuffed Mushrooms with a side of whole wheat couscous.

This meal came together very nicely. I love stuffed mushrooms, but its not something I normally make. It always seems so time consuming – stuffing multiple little mushroom caps – but really, it was not bad at all. Once you get the stuffing made, it is a piece of cake. And although I made this as our meal tonight, I will totally make this again as an appetizer for a party. It was that easy and delicious.

I decided that I needed some kind of sauce to go with it, so I got fancy and did a white wine reduction using chicken broth, white wine and sauteed garlic. Mmmmmm….

Aggie’s Beef and Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms

12-16 whole mushroom caps (stems removed – save stems for filling)

1 1/2 – 2 cups of cooked lean ground beef (seasoned to your liking)

1 small onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

leftover mushroom stems, chopped

large bag of fresh spinach, chopped

1/3 cup whole wheat panko

olive oil

salt and pepper

shredded muenster cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place mushroom caps in lightly greased baking dish. Sprinkle salt, pepper and drizzle of olive oil over mushrooms.

In a hot skillet, saute garlic, onion, chopped mushroom stems and chopped spinach in olive oil for about 8 minutes, till all cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. Add cooked ground beef and cook to combine. Add panko, combine and let cool.

Using a tablespoon, spoon stuffing into each cap, carefully pressing down to fill completely. Top with fresh ground pepper and shredded muenster cheese.

Place in oven and cook for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown. Spoon wine sauce over each mushroom and serve.

White Wine Sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced

olive oil

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup white wine

1-2 TB butter

Saute garlic in olive oil till golden. Add chicken broth and white wine. Let simmer for 4-5 minutes. Once reduced a bit, add butter. Simmer for another few minutes. Sauce will be thin. Spoon over mushrooms and couscous.

Enjoy!

As far as making the couscous, I cooked it according to the directions on the box but instead of water using chicken broth to add more flavor. I also added some toasted pine nuts and leftover stuffing to the couscous.