I met Shaina from Food for My Family last night after Lori went out of her way to track the two of us down for an introduction.  I’m so glad she did because easy weeknight meals like this Chicken Fried Rice (with mushrooms) are right up my alley so I know this is going to be a regular read.

Let’s take a moment to celebrate the beauty of this Portabella, Granny Smith Apple and Cheddar sandwich. And give props to it’s creator, the lovely Jennifer of Savor the Thyme. I’m a sucker for salty/sweet combos and I think this may be the first time I’ve seen a fruit/mushroom combo in sandwich form. Which only further assures that this one gets a “Please try this at home” label.

I’ve had pierogis on the brain lately.  My neighborhood is rich with great Polish restaurants and winter is when I crave these little dumplings the most.  Pauline from OHMommy posted a great tutorial (so easy even a two year old can do it!) but when I saw Kate’s version with mushrooms on Stolen Moments Cooking, I knew I needed to share it here.  I know it looks like a simple dumpling on the outside but follow the recipe…in this case it really is what’s on the inside that counts!

French Onion Casserole. Made with fresh mushroom and cream of mushroom soup, there’s a lot to like here. Amy from Milk Breath and Margaritas was introduced to me online by Rachel from A Southern Fairytale (a contributor here at The Mushroom Channel from time to time) but I’ve been looking forward to seeing her offline and BlissDom was the perfect opportunity.

That’s my favorite thing about these conferences- seeing everyone in person.  Everybody from Busy Dad to Once a Month Mom to $5 Dinners and Home-Ec 101, it’s a sea of friendly faces.

This just made me quite hungry so I’m off to lunch with some of the food crew!

With that in mind, it’s time to dig in because there’s a lot of appetite to get through today!

First up we have Burgundy Buttons from Heather at Home Ec 101. For something that’s relatively easy to put together, this is a versatile one.  Served on steaks, in baked potatoes or even on pasta, this is four ingredients to a relative umami bomb. One of our featured contributors, Rachel,  pointed these out to us and then made them for her own family that same night!

Next up we have a new face in the crowd. I was combing through food blogs tonight (favorite pasttime, don’t you know) when I came across this beautiful site.  I thought I had my post all sealed up but when I saw this photo series, the recipe looked too good not to feature. Go say hello to Sprouted Kitchen and her Stuffed Portabellas with Herb Sauce.  Your eyes will be glad you did. Though you may need to answer to your appetite later.

Do you see the picture above? Of course you do. And you saw the one before it? This is us proving a point. When you’ve seen one stuffed portabella, you’ve not seen them all. Not even close.  Aside from being an all-around gorgeous shot, this is everything I want in my dinner tonight. It’s hard for me to believe but I already have everything in this masterpiece on hand and there’s a good chance you do too. Frozen spinach, can of artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, goat cheese, an onion and a portabella mushroom…the things happy kitchens are made of. This Stuffed Portabella with Balsamic Reduction from Love and Olive Oil is most certainly what a happy kitchen is made of.

Next up we have Stuffed Mushrooms with Sundried Tomatoes from That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles.  Now to be fair, this was originally posted a couple weeks ago but we’re officially past Halloween now and into the high season of party-planning and I don’t think these could be more perfect.  Elegant, appealing and can be assembled ahead of time- the ideal passed poppable. And just to keep things current (and because, when asked to choose between things I like,  I prefer “both” ), I encourage you to check out her Pumpkin Porcini Soup as well.

Last but most certainly not least, we have our favorite rancher to bring this week’s highlights home. We love The Pioneer Woman and not just because she loves us back.  Because she very simply loves food and loves to share it. Photos like this don’t hurt the cause but I can’t imagine many folks hear mushrooms, brie and garlic in a recipe without taking a look. This is another great candidate for party poppables although a completely different flavor profile. Mushrooms Stuffed with Brie from The Pioneer Woman, because it sounds like a good idea and it is.