Butternut, Kale and Goat Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

You know when you just happen to have the best ingredients left over in the refrigerator? I love that feeling... like you don't really have a plan for those ingredients but you just KNOW it's going to be good, whatever your make.

This week, I had some pretty great stuff left over after Get it Together - a pound of ground beef and herbed goat cheese mixed with a little lemon, along with a bag of kale, a butternut squash, and a big container of baby bella mushrooms I bought earlier in the week. That's how this recipe came to be.

I hadn't thought of shredding butternut squash and sauteeing it until I saw the feature in this month's Bon Appetit all about doing anything qith squash but roasting it. The editor suggested shredding it with a box grater and making a hash. That was definitely my intention when I started cooking, but as I went along and added ingredients, it kind of kept morphing until I wound up with stuffed mushrooms on a baking sheet. The result is AMAZE, and I'll for sure be making these again and again for parties this fall.

Butternut, Kale and Goat Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

Makes 24 mushrooms

Olive oil

1/2 Butternut squash (I used the neck part and saved the rest for later), peeled and shredded on the large holes of a box grater

2 Cups kale, finely chopped

2 oz Garlic and herb goat cheese at room temperature

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp Lemon zest

1 lb Lean ground beef

16 oz Baby bella mushrooms, stems removed and minced and caps reserved

3 cloves garlic, minced

Smoked paprika

Cayenne pepper

Salt and black pepper

Grated parmesan cheese, optional, for serving

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a large sautee pan, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add the butternut squash and season with salt. Stir frequently until squash is softened and browned a little.

3. Add in the kale and continue cooking until wilted.

4. Add in the garlic, ground beef, and minced mushroom stems. Season everything with more salt, a little pepper, and paprika and cayenne, to taste. Stir, breaking up the ground beef into small pieces, until it is all browned.

5. Meanwhile, add the lemon juice and lemon zest to the goat cheese and stir to combine.

6. Turn off the heat and stir in the goat cheese mixture. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if it's needed. Allow to cool

7. Pace the mushroom caps face down on a foil lined baking sheet. Using your fingers or a small spoon, fill each mushroom cap with the beef and veggie mixture, allowing the filling to pile up on top of the mushroom a little. Drizzle with olive oil.

8. Bake the stuffed mushrooms for about 20 minutes or until the mushrooms, themselves, are golden and softened.

9. Top with parmesan cheese, if you wish.