Friday Night Dinner

Friday nights in the fall usually mean that it is just my husband and myself for dinner.

Tonight was no exception and our dinner plans all started with a perusal of the refrigerator.

I found a few large Crimini mushrooms that needed to be used soon.

I think I feel a plan coming on.

And this is the result.

Am I good or what?

I found a recipe for stuffed mushrooms, but as I didn't have lobster, crab, Hungarian pepper, green bell pepper or Monterey Jack cheese, this would obviously take quite a bit of reworking.

Here I have:

3 large Crimini mushrooms

1 green onion, diced

fresh thyme

1 garlic clove, grated

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Ritz (c) crackers

Provolone cheese

Mozzarella cheese, grated

olive oil

salt

black pepper

paprika

I pulled the stems out of the mushrooms and chopped the stems up finely.

The garlic and onion were sauteed over medium-high heat in a bit of olive oil for a couple of minutes.

Then the mushrooms were added in.

In the meantime, the crackers were crushed and the salt, pepper, paprika and thyme were added and mixed in.

The cooked, minced shrimp were added in before the pan was taken off the heat.

The cracker crumb mixture is stirred in.

The stuffing is packed into the mushrooms.

Thin strips of Provolone cheese go on top while melted butter is drizzled over the tops of the mushrooms.

These go into a pre-heated 425 degree oven for 20 minutes.

And on to the next course.

When choosing scallops, make sure to read the package label.

Scallops should have no water added and no chemical enhancement.

After thawing the shrimp in cold water in the refrigerator, I carefully cut into the backs, butterflying them.

These are are medium shrimp, or 31-40 shrimp per pound.

I had left-over stuffing for the mushrooms, so what better way to use the rest up than by stuffing the shrimp?

The shrimp took just a few minutes to bake in the oven.



This is looking good.

The salad is a nice touch.

The stuffed shrimp were delicious and different.

The stuffed mushrooms were wonderful, despite the numerous substitutions.

I will have to make these again.

And what can I say?

I just love bacon-wrapped scallops.

Cooked bacon is wrapped around the scallops and paprika is sprinkled on top before the scallops are seared in oil over high heat.

Don't overcook these as they will become tough and rubbery.

The husband's response to dinner?

"Not bad."

Hmph.