it has definitely been a long while....

Ok guys I know it has been several months, and you know a lot can change in 3 months. I had a life changing revelation, I am allergic to gluten! I really don't want to scare any of you, but the chances are high that you are also allergic to gluten, it is so over used that our bodies are over loaded with it and we are all poisoning ourselves (ok if you've been reading this you know I'm dramatic) so I've been cutting out gluten (just in case you don't know gluten is basically anything with wheat you can read more about it here you can also read about the allergy to it here). Since I've cut out wheat though I haven't been as faithful to my vegan ways. Don't judge me, I still go vegan whenever it's possible, but some of my priorities have been rearranged...I am so sorry about my ridiculous absence my life was going through a lot of transitions, but I'm going to start blogging again my loves. So whenever possible my recipes will be vegan, and if they aren't I will try to provide alternatives, gluten free food is really hard to adjust to, it's very temperamental so it will be a journey for us all!

Ricotta Stuffed Mushrooms

3 or 4 pieces of gluten free bread (this is my favorite brand)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp blasamic vinegar

10 large mushrooms

1 small onion chopped

2 cloves of garlic crushed and chopped

1/2 cup ricotta cheese (if vegan substitute this and the cream cheese with tofutti bette than cream cheese)

4 tbsp cream cheese

1/2 cup fresh spinach chopped (this is an amazing method)

1/4 artichoke hearts chopped

4 or 5 fresh basil leaves (chiffonade it like the spinach)

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Wash your mushrooms and remove the stems, then set them aside.  Start toasting your bread, you want it to be toasted all the way through without burning it because you're going to use it to make bread crumbs, heat a small skillet over medium heat, add the oil and vinegar, and add the onions, once the onions are fragrant and starting to caramelize add the garlic and cook until fragrant, then remove from the heat. Mix all ingredients (including the garlic and onions) in a medium sized mixing bowl.

Take the toasted bread and put it into a sandwich bag and crush it with a rolling pin until you have bread crumbs put these on a plate.

Take each mushroom cap and fill it with the cheese mixture, about a tablespoon per mushroom if your mushrooms are large, you don't want them to fall over but you do want a pretty domed top. Once your mushrooms are stuffed roll them in the bread crumbs. Make sure your hands are dry for this step and just cover the top portion, this just adds a nice texture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, if you're using small mushrooms go for less time over more because they will get soggy, if you can smell them then they are definitely done. Serve immediately. I used my leftover filling as dip, I put it out with tortilla chips and people went nuts, it's seriously delicious!