Spicy Stuffed Mushrooms

The creaminess of the cheese paired with the spicyness from the cayenne pepper make for a perfect combination. These are a definite hit at dinner parties and are VERY easy to make. There are always people asking for the recipe, which is in fact how I got it.

• Ready In: 35 mins
• Yields: 12 mushrooms

Ingredients

• 12  medium  whole fresh mushrooms
• 1  tablespoon  vegetable oil
• 2 -3  minced garlic cloves
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1⁄4 cup  grated parmesan cheese
• 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1⁄4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (or more for an added kick!)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and spray baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Clean mushrooms and cut off stems, discarding tough ends. Finely chop stems.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped stems. Cook until moisture has disappeared, then set aside to cool in a bowl.
4. Into bowl, stir in cream cheese, parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Mixture should be very thick.
5. Using a small spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until the mushrooms are hot and liquid starts to form under caps.