Thanksgiving Prep: Appetizers

On the appetizers menu, the only thing I needed to prep was the stuffing for the mushrooms.

Stuffed Mushrooms

4 / 6 tbsp butter (divided)
8 slices cooked bacon
1 package frozen spinach (10 oz, I used about 8 oz in the actual mixture)
18 oz mushrooms (I used baby Portabello)
Onion powder
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Today's Prep:
I started by cooking up the bacon in one pan, and the spinach in another.  For the spinach, place the frozen spinach in a saucepan with 1/4 cup of water.  Bring the water to a boil, cover and reduce heat to medium.  Cook about 10 minutes, then drain.  Set the spinach aside.  Once I finished the bacon, I drained the grease, and kept the drippings.  I removed the stems from all of my mushrooms today and put the caps in a tupperware bowl in the refrigerator for the morning (I did not wash the caps because I did not want the extra moisture stored with them).  I washed all of the stems then chopped them with my chopper.

In my rinsed saucepan I melted the 6 tbsp of butter and sautéed the minced garlic with a dash of onion powder.  I cooked them until they were nice and brown, then added the mushroom stems.  Once they cooked for about two minutes, I added the bacon, spinach, and heavy cream.  Once the cream started to bubble, I removed the pan from the heat and added the cheese, salt, and pepper.  This final mixture was placed in a container in the refrigerator overnight.  Tomorrow at about 10:30 or 11:00 am, I will rinse all of the mushroom caps, stuff them abundantly with the pre-prepared stuffing, drizzle them with the remaining 4 tbsp of butter, and bake them at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes until they are gently browned.