Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms with Sweet & Spicy Marinara

Preheat the oven to 375 F and heat a large skillet to medium heat on the stove top.

First make the marinara. Into the skillet, add the olive oil, onion, crushed red pepper, and a sprinkle of salt. Cook for 2 minutes to soften the onion, then add the garlic. Cook for 2 minutes more and add the tomatoes and honey. Let the sauce come to a simmer, then taste and add salt to your preference. Turn the heat off.

In an oven-proof skillet or dish large enough for all of the mushrooms (I used a 10-inch round skillet), spread about half of the marinara sauce.

In a food processor, blend the mushroom stems until finely chopped. Add the mushroom stems, sausage, Parmesan, and minced garlic into a bowl. Mix together, then form into mounds and heap it into the mushrooms. Nestle the stuffed mushrooms (we want the filling to heap over the mushrooms) in the marinara sauce and sprinkle the entire dish with the grated cheese.

The marinara should come about halfway up the mushrooms, but no more. If it doesn’t, add a little bit more. Reserve any leftover marinara for another use.

Bake the mushrooms at 375 F for 30 minutes until the mushrooms are tender and the cheese is browned and bubbly. If the cheese browns before the mushrooms are cooked, tent with foil and continue cooking for 10 more minutes.

Serve as an appetizer or with bread or pasta as an entree. Enjoy!