Cajun Shrimp Stuffed Mushrooms, Trim Healthy Mama Style.

 

This all started because my family wanted pizza.

And I’m a sucker for a five dollar pizza on certain days, especially days in which Susie Whitney Houston (that’s her new name on account of how she acts like an entitled little diva) acts like an entitled little diva, and her older sisters have spent all day having that typical summertime conversation all bored, unscheduled siblings have that goes something like you can’t do that! can too! cannot, stamp it! can too, double stamp it, no erasies! cannot, triple stamp, no erasies you can’t triple stamp a double stamp, you can’t triple stamp a double stamp LALALALALALALALA! ….

That probably wasn’t, like, word for word what they said, I can’t get bogged down in details like that, but I made them watch this clip from Dumb and Dumber and told them THIS IS WHAT YOU SOUND LIKE! THIS!!! And I started calling them Lloyd and Harry.

I was drained, is what I’m trying to say. So when someone offered to go pick up a five dollar pizza, I said heck yes.

But I didn’t want to eat that, because, you know, I have Trim Healthy Mama ambitions and whatnot.

So I decided to make something scrumptious and delicious that would fit in with my THM plan that I knew my family wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole, and not feel one bit guilty about it, and what that turned into was a scrumptious fusion of SO many sensational flavors…

Cheese. Mushrooms. Shrimp. Cajun spices. Combined into one gloriously low-carb mouth-watering appetizer.

And everybody knows appetizers, aka party food, make the best meals.

You’ll need pretty much everything you see in this picture, give or take. Including the green onions you’ve been growing in your windowsill because you saw it on Pinterest.

Except the sour cream, because you won’t use it. I was making this up as I went along, that’s why.

And not that extra package of cream cheese, because ditto.

Look, just follow my instructions and not my picture and stop complaining about it.

Pop the stems from your mushrooms. I had originally planned to chop them up into the filling mixture, but I decided not to. I was making this up as I went along, I think I mentioned.

I think if I were making more, for a crowd, I’d totally chop up the stems finely into the mixture to stretch the filling farther, so keep that in mind if you need to double or triple this recipe.

Wash your mushroom caps, of course, and set them aside.

I interrupt this recipe to bring you a tragic example of how things go wrong with you don’t think your recipe through clearly before you begin, and just haphazardly go pulsing things in your food processor…

I put my RAW shrimp in the food processor and pulsed it a few times. Raw.

It turned out ok, all-out catastrophe was averted, but as soon as I did it I realized I should have sauteed the shrimp FIRST, THEN pulsed. Because I made shrimp mush. D’oh!

Lesson learned.

Here I am sauteing my shrimp mush in butter. But you’re not gonna do that; you’re gonna saute the shrimp first THEN mince in the food processor. And clean your stove while you’re at it. Gosh.

While that’s cooling somewhat pour all your other ingredients into a mixing bowl. Add your hot shrimp mush to the mix. Or, your shrimp that you have sauteed and then chopped finely, if you wanna do things the right way. Stir all that up, and resist the urge to spread it on a cracker and eat it as dip.

OR, you could TOTALLY spread some on a cracker and eat it as dip, if you wanna. I’m all about versatility. OH, and is this EVER good spread on a cracker. YUM.

Use a small scoop to stuff your mushrooms full. Mound that stuff up, baby. Repeat until you’re out of filling or out of mushrooms.

Line them up in a pan. And if you’re making this up as you go along, realize your pan is too small and move them to a bigger pan.

I heated these for ten minutes at 400*, then broiled for two minutes on high.

Melty, cheesy, just-spicy-enough Cajun perfection. That my kids wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole {More for me. Which makes any day spent with Lloyd, Harry, and a mini pop star diva… ok}.

Cajun Shrimp Stuffed Mushrooms Recipe {Trim Healthy Mama – S}
Ingredients
1 lb mushrooms, stems removed
1 lb peeled, deveined shrimp
2 T butter
1 cup grated cheddar
1 8-oz package cream cheese
1/4 c mayo
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp Cajun seasoning with salt (Tony Cachere’s is my fave)
1 tsp Creole mustard
2 T chopped green onions
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

Instructions
Wash mushroom caps and set aside. Saute shrimp in butter on medium heat until pink and no longer translucent. Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl. Chop shrimp coarsely and add to cheesy mixture; Mix well. Mound cheesy mixture into mushroom caps. Bake for ten minutes, then broil for two minutes on high to brown tops.