stuffed mushroom melts

it's was late in the evening after a hectic day of discovering our new puppy has gone into her first heat a few months earlier than expected (eek!) and my belly, like our fridge, is rather empty. it never stops to amaze me what delicious food can be created from just a few simple ingredients!...

stuffed mushroom melts:

4 portobello mushrooms, stems removed

1/2 small red onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

6 sun dried tomatoes drained from oil, sliced

8 narrow slices of havarti cheese (or any soft, meltable cheese)

3 tablespoons olive oil

chives for garnish, chopped

salt & pepper

heat your oven to 475. prep all the vegetables and set to the side. smear 2 tablespoons of oil into a baking pan and rub the mushrooms into the oil to coat. add more oil if the mushrooms soak up all the oil. once the oven is heated, cook the mushrooms tops down for about 12 minutes until soft.

in the mean time, heat a skillet with 1 tablespoon of oil or butter. slowly saute the onions and celery until caramelized - about 10 minutes. add the sun dried tomatoes and heat through for another minute. remove the mushrooms from the oven and place 1/4 of the vegetable mixture onto each mushroom. sprinkle a few chopped chives onto each mushroom then place two slice of cheese criss-crossed over each stuffed mushroom. turn the oven up to a broil and broil for about 3 minutes or until the cheese starts to bubble slightly. it will look messy and delicious. serve hot with crusty bread or we steamed up a few yams in the time it took to cook the mushroom melts. yum!