Portobello Stuffies

During my last grocery shopping I was wandering around produce which is the part of the store I enjoy the most, especially when they've just stocked the bins with brightly colored, fresh vegetables. I am somewhat drawn to the peppers so I pick up a red and yellow bell pepper. Further down I spot a package of two beautiful and meaty portobellos and I dropped them in my basket not having a clue how I would prepare them.
In the past I've made Portobello Pizzas and Baked Portobello Mushrooms as well as Italian Portobello Mushroom Caps. All of these recipes were outstanding. The meaty portobello stands up to just about any ingredient you put in it.
Yesterday I wondered whether to remake one of the above recipes when I had a light bulb moment. I had sweet onions, those gorgeous peppers and various cheeses in my cheese bin. After some thought I came up with this recipe and in my head I thought it sounded good but honestly it wasn't until we tasted them that I knew I had hit a home run. When I make something new I am a little nervous whether it will pass muster with my number one fan and critic - my husband!
If I had only had a video of him devouring this and the positive exclamations that came out of his mouth you would get the full picture of just how darn good these are! All of the ingredients came together for one heck of a succulent and flavorful bite. Even I was super impressed and I certainly am my own worst critic. But there was not one thing I could find wrong with this dish - everything was right.
I have the recipe, the dish is made, eaten and decidedly good, but just what the hell am I going to name these? That's been difficult. If I make it a lengthy name, no one may remember so I've decided that I'll just call these Portobello Stuffies.

• 2-3 portobello mushroom caps
• 1/2 large onion - chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper - chopped
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper - chopped
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1/4 cup Ritz crackers - crumbled
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, add in the onions and caramelize until light golden brown over medium low heat. Keep stirring as they color.

When the onions have caramelized add in the peppers, sprinkle in the salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook until the peppers begin to soften.

When the peppers have softened, add in the cream cheese and mash into the mixture and keep stirring until incorporated.

While the mixture is cooling down, prepare your mushrooms. Remove the remainder of the stem and clean out the brown web inside with a small spoon. Clean out as much as possible without breaking the edge of the mushroom. You can see the deep pocket I had for filling. By the way, the smaller one was my portion and it was extremely filling. And my other half had the large one and he ate the WHOLE thing.

Finally, fill the mushrooms and then top them with a little bit of crushed Ritz Crackers. Don't scrimp on the filling - gently pack it in there.
Bake them in a 350° oven (conventional or toaster oven) for approximately 45 minutes. Some sizable mushrooms may take longer.

Oh, and I served these along side steak and some French fries I made in my brand new fryer I purchased.