Meet Aimee!

Aimee (left) and Carol (right) meet in
Knightdale, North Carolina!

I'm a 42 yr old single mom living in Raleigh, NC. I have a fantastic daughter, aged 6, and wonderful friends.  I don’t think I have any particular style of cooking and I KNOW I am surrounded by much better cooks in this fantastic group! Let’s just say I am competent, always learning, willing to take chances and try new things and I pick things up easily. I grew up with PA Dutch (German) and French food. I can make good, rib sticking meals that my mom always made and every holiday I make the traditional food we had growing up. I don’t think anyone really taught me how to cook. I sort of learned on my own out of necessity. I either lived at home or with a boyfriend who was a professional cook (very convenient!) so it wasn't until I met my ex-husband that I really had to learn how to cook because he certainly didn't know how! I'll never forget that first Thanksgiving turkey I butchered (and not in a good way). I don’t have any particular type of food I like to cook. I don’t do overcomplicated stuff either. Mostly because I don’t want to spend a lot of money on ingredients I’m going to potentially ruin!

One really important thing about me is that I am a HUGE movie buff! I love all kinda of movies but especially old movies. And not just your usual classics like Casablanca and My Fair Lady. I love movie musicals and old black and white movies that no one has ever heard of. I credit my mother for my love of old films. Our favorite movie is Auntie Mame with Rosalind Russell and I've turned many people on to that one. I'm a big fan of Alfred Hitchcock and love anything with Cary Grant, Bette Davis, William Powell and Myrna Loy (The Thin Man!), Doris Day, James Stewart, Maureen O'Hara...I could go on and on. If you have a movie question...ask ME! You need a movie recommendation...come to me for help! I love to share my knowledge with anyone who will listen!

It can be challenging to cook for just one or myself and my daughter. I’m trying to learn how to scale things down to 1-2 servings. I’ve been a fan of bento lunches for a few years now and make them for myself every day and make them for my daughter as well (although she’s harder to please). I try to incorporate my dinners into my lunch the next day as often as possible. It’s been really fun and I tend to enjoy my lunches more than I do my dinners!!! My favorite type of meal would be good cheese, some wonderful bread and a glass of wine. The recipe I'm submitting for my post is a simple stuffed mushroom. I can make a stuffed mushroom in my sleep and I happen to have a delightful photo to include.

I chose stuffed mushrooms because I love them and I don’t need a recipe to make them. I can generally make them any time I feel like it because I usually have the ingredients on hand! I really like to make big ones that you have to eat with a knife and a fork, and I really enjoy them with a dollop of Bearnaise sauce. I can eat these as a meal. They never taste the same way any time I make them. I also really wanted to attach the photo of one ready to go into the oven. I love that my little one can be seen in the background with a fork in hand, in her high chair. She has always loved mushrooms.

Stuffed Mushrooms

1 dozen large white mushrooms, cleaned
½ pound ground sausage (regular or spicy)
¾ cup finely diced red onion
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
½ cup finely diced red pepper
1 Tablespoon chopped parsley
¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 Tablespoons cream cheese, softened
3-4 Tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper
¾ cup chopped spinach (you can use fresh or frozen)
½ to ¾ cup bread crumbs

Clean the mushrooms and remove the stems. Finely chop the stems, set aside. Brown the sausage over medium heat. Set aside. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat and add the mushroom bits, garlic, red pepper, onion, spinach and parsley. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5-6 minutes. In a bowl, combine the vegetable mixture with the sausage and stir in the cheeses. Season the mixture and add enough bread crumbs to thicken the mixture so it will easily form into balls.

To prepare your mushrooms, score the bottoms of each with an X. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and glaze each mushroom with melted butter. Place the prepared mushrooms into a baking dish. Stuff each mushroom and top with some extra Parmesan. Bake at 375F for 15 minutes or until the mushrooms are brown and cooked through.