Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms

Oh God. These are addicting. I take them to potlucks and parties and I constantly have to write the recipe down for people. I love it:-)

Ingredients:
1 package mushrooms of your choice, rinsed
1 8oz package cream cheese
4 slices thick bacon, chopped
1 shallot, chopped finely
4 tbs parsley, finely chopped
4 tbs + 4 tbs bread crumbs (I use Italian seasoned)
Zest of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Remove the stems from the mushrooms. Right now is also a good time to make sure the mushrooms are clean and there is no lingering dirt. I also hollow out the mushrooms a little more.  If you have a grapfruit spoon or a strawberry corer (my mom has a Pampered Chef one that works great). You can throw out the extra middle and half of the stems. The other half, chop finely and set aside.

In a small pan, cook the bacon until almost done. Remove the bacon but leave the fat in the pan. Cook the shallot and mushroom stems in the fat. When done, place into a large mixing bowl. Mix together the cream cheese, bacon, shallot mix, parsley, 4 tbs of bread crumbs, lemon, and spices. Once its mixed well, spoon the mixture into the mushroom caps. Its okay if they are really overflowing.

Sprinkle the bread brumbs over the mushrooms (or dip them in) and place them in a casserole dish. You'll want the dish to have sides because the mushrooms will produce water while baking and it could spill into your oven.
Bake on 350 for about 30 minutes. Serve hot.

I have added crumbled bleu cheese to this before- just about 4 or 5 tablespoons to the cream cheese mixture. It is great:-) I think feta and sundried tomato would be yummy too.