Pepperoni Stuffed Mushrooms

I love, love, LOVE mushrooms! If it's up to me, I would include mushroom in every meal... and most of the time, I do! But this time, I decided to go the distance and get some gigantic portobello mushroom caps. The seafood stuffed mushrooms from Costco is absolutely delicious, so I wanted make something to that effect. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough ingredients to make a seafood stuffed one, but I found some pepperoni slices leftover from the last time I made pizza and decided to use pepperoni to stuff the mushroom instead. I also didn't have the Ritz crackers the recipe called for, so I substituted with panko bread crumbs. Every time I substitute an ingredient I get very nervous that the food wouldn't turn out well, but it worked this time! The recipe is for stuffed smaller button mushrooms, but I think it works perfectly well with whatever size mushroom caps you decide to stuff.

Serving Size:

Makes 24 mushrooms 

Ingredients:

• 24 large button mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, minced
• 3/4 cup diced pepperoni
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup crushed buttery round crackers
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup chicken broth

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.

2.     Remove and chop the mushroom stems. Set the caps to the side.

3.     Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the mushroom stems, onion, pepperoni, and garlic to the butter and cook until the onions are tender. Stir in the cracker crumbs, Parmesan cheese, oregano, salt, pepper, and chicken broth; remove from heat and allow to cool to the touch.

4.     Stuff the mushroom caps with the pepperoni mixture. Arrange the stuffed caps on the prepared baking sheet.

5.     Bake in the preheated oven until filling is hot and mushrooms are cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes.