Campfire or Grilled Stuffed Mushroom Recipe

Summer seems to really be over, and I’m realizing I have yet to post any recipes from our anniversary camping trip.  Every year we spend several nights camping and hiking at Mr. Rainier for our wedding anniversary.  Mt. Rainier is my favorite place on earth and hiking is our favorite date.  In fact, the summer we dated we did over 30 hikes!  But I don’t just look forward to the outdoor activities, I also love planning our meals.  It’s so much fun to make up new recipes for the campfire and grill, and these stuffed mushrooms are one of our favorites.We’ve always loved stuffed mushrooms, but have just made them in the oven.  But I had some of my easy peasy cheese spread left and thought it would be perfect for mushrooms so decided to try them on our camping trip.

I’d thought about simply cooking the mushrooms on the grill, but was a little worried about them rolling around.  Then I remembered our nifty little meatball grilling basket.  I grabbed a mushroom to test it out and sure enough, they fit perfectly!

So the cheese and mushrooms went into our cooler and the grilling basket into our supply box.  Woo-hoo!!!  I was so excited to try this out I made it the very first night.  I put my husband on mushroom duty.

What a handsome guy.  Oh, you can’t see?  Don’t worry, I was so smitten with his handsomeness I took tons of photos of him by the fire!

My heart still does pitter patters when I see his smile!!!

Okay, back to the mushrooms.

Doing the mushrooms on a grill you don’t have to be quite as concerned, but over a campfire you need to be careful not too hold the mushrooms too close or they’ll get charred bottoms before your cheese is all melted.  It’s kind of like roasting marshmallows, you need to be patient and hold it just close enough for the outside to get all golden brown and the inside to get gooey and warm.

We pared our mushrooms with a simple grilled steak, some grilled garlic bread and really expensive red wine that I got for a GREAT deal.

Make sure to let your mushrooms cool a couple minutes because they release a lot of steaming hot liquid when you bite into them.

Now for those of you who are questioning our sanity for camping on our anniversary, we’re working on video showing why we love it so much, but here’s a taste.

We love nature and the outdoors.  We always feel closest to each other and to God when we’re out in creation.  Plus you can’t beat the views!  We end up actually talking to each other all day every day (and night) while we’re camping and hiking.  Sometimes we have some really difficult conversations at the campfire because we’ve finally had time to relax, take a step back and think about the important things that often get neglected in all the busyness.  Those conversations have always led to really great life changing decisions, and this year was no exception!

Of course animals are a really fun part of the trip.  Every time we catch sight of a woodland creature we squeal in delight.

I first caught the photography bug by shooting flowers, and I still try to capture their beauty everywhere I go.

One of my favorites is the avalanche lily which is one of the first flowers to pop up through the snow.  It gets its name because once one breaks through, they soon grow all over the side of the hill like an avalanche rolling down a mountain.

So you know we love getting outdoors, but we’re also always trying to encourage others to experience outdoor adventures.  We take friends, students and family members hiking.  This December we’re planning a cousin snowshoe trip as part of our family reunion (don’t worry, it will not be the place we almost died a couple years ago).  If you love being outdoors, or are trying to get your family outdoors more often, you should take the Outdoor Pledge!

The Outdoor Pledge is a challenge from the outdoor outfitters at REI.  We love REI so much that we registered there for our wedding!  They’re working to help people get outdoors with their family and friends. As part of their ongoing efforts to inspire, educate, and outfit people for a lifetime of outdoor adventure, REI invited 10 BlogHer reviewers to take the Outdoor Pledge. I’m being compensated by BlogHer to help them spread the word about the pledge, and they’re giveaway.  So take The Outdoor Pledge, and leave a comment on each blog for the chance to win a $100 REI gift card to help your family get outside! You have 10 chances to win!  Check out the BlogHer.com round up page to see all the posts and enter.

Also, I’d love to know what kind of outdoor adventures you like to have!