Bacon-Stuffed Mushrooms -- What I Made the Night Before the Soup

The disability review was Wednesday. Drove to the Social Security office in Lexington, which is in a building that looks like it was designed by someone who wanted to make sure nobody enjoyed being there. Fluorescent lights, plastic chairs, a number system. I took number 247 and sat down and waited forty-five minutes and my back filed its own complaint about the chair, which was the kind of chair that hates spines and was specifically engineered to make sitting worse than standing. When my number was called, I walked to the window and a woman named Debra looked at my paperwork and asked me to describe my limitations, and I described them the way I describe everything — slowly, specifically, without drama. She typed while I talked. She said the medical evidence supports the claim. She said I should hear something within sixty days. I walked out into the parking lot and sat in my truck and felt like I'd just been sentenced, which I had — sentenced to not working, which for a Hensley man is a kind of prison with comfortable furniture.

Made potato soup Thursday because I needed something warm and simple and forgiving. Potatoes peeled and cubed, boiled until soft, then mashed into the broth with butter and milk and salt and pepper. Bacon crumbled on top. Green onion sliced thin. Connie likes hers thick, almost like mashed potatoes in soup form, so I leave it chunky. I like mine smoother, so I take a second bowl and mash it more. Twenty-eight years of marriage and we still eat our soup differently and neither of us has yielded and that is, I think, the secret to a long marriage: agree on the big things, diverge on the potato soup, don't discuss it.

Clay came by Saturday. Ten months sober. He's been working at the hardware store three days a week and going to the Thursday group and seeing Dr. Rivera every other Tuesday. He looks better — not good, not yet, but better. The sharpness in his eyes has softened from something dangerous to something watchful. He asked about the disability review. I told him. He said welcome to the VA paperwork club, Dad. I almost laughed, which is progress, because three months ago nothing about the government and disability and waiting was funny. It's still not funny. But Clay made a joke, which means Clay is healing, which means I can maybe start laughing again.

I made the potato soup Thursday, but Wednesday night — after the parking lot, after sitting in the truck longer than I should have — I needed something to do with my hands that wasn’t thinking. I had mushrooms and bacon in the refrigerator and that was enough. Bacon-Stuffed Mushrooms are the kind of recipe that asks just enough of you to keep you present without demanding anything you don’t have. Connie ate most of them. That felt like something, too.

Bacon-Stuffed Mushrooms

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 24 medium white button mushrooms, stems removed and reserved
• 6 strips bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons green onion, finely sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven. Heat your oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with foil or lightly grease it.
2. Prepare mushrooms. Wipe mushroom caps clean with a damp cloth. Pop out the stems and finely chop them. Brush the caps lightly with olive oil and arrange them cavity-side up on the baking sheet.
3. Cook the filling. In a skillet over medium heat, sauté the chopped mushroom stems and garlic for 3–4 minutes until softened and any moisture has cooked off. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
4. Mix the stuffing. In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, crumbled bacon, Parmesan, green onion, salt, pepper, and the cooked mushroom stems. Stir until evenly mixed.
5. Fill the caps. Spoon a generous mound of filling into each mushroom cap, pressing gently so it holds.
6. Bake. Bake for 18–20 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and the tops are golden and slightly bubbling.
7. Serve. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Best eaten warm, standing at the counter or passed around a quiet table.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 165 | Protein: 7g | Fat: 13g | Carbs: 4g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 340mg