These bite sized beauties are the peak of seasonal decadence, with a crunchy cashew topping! Make them for an appetizer or stuff bigger 'shrooms for a gorgeous main course.

CRUNCHY CASHEW TOPPING

INGREDIENTS

• ⅔ cup of dry roasted cashews, unsalted
• 1 tsp mushroom umami seasoning or 1 tsp powdered shiitake mushrooms + 1/8 tsp chili flakes + a pinch of salt
• 3 tbsp fresh parsley leaves, divided - 2 tbsp for the topping, 1 for garnish

DIRECTIONS
Can be made in advance.

1. Quickly pulse the cashews, parsley and mushroom seasoning in your food processor.
2. Take care to match a course breadcrumb consistency and not a powder, removing any large cashew chunks as needed.

BROWNED BUTTER GHEE

INGREDIENTS

• 1 stick of high-quality salted butter

DIRECTIONS
Can be made in advance (this can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for months to come).

1. Cup up the butter into even pieces - add to a small pan or skillet, light colored if you have it (if you're working with a dark pan, pay extra close attention to prevent burned butter).
2. Cook over medium heat. Stir constantly once it is melted, evaluating the color and smell of the butter as you work. The butter will foam and sputter as it cooks down.
3. Within 5 minutes it should start smelly nutty, rich and some sediment will be falling to the bottom. Around minute 7 you'll evaluate and probably remove pan from the heat so long as it is golden brown in color, nutty in aroma and before the sediment at the bottom burns.
4. Pour the browned butter through a cheesecloth or nut milk bag to separate out the milk solids, creating ghee.

GROUND BEEF STUFFED MUSHROOMS

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb Butcher's Blend Ground Beef
• 2 tbsp browned butter ghee, divided
• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and diced small*
• ½ cup fresh sage, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 medium shallot, chopped
• Salt to taste
• 12-15 extra-large white mushrooms, wiped down, destemmed, and peeled**

*Can be roasted in advance and makes extra butternut for meal prep. Feel free to buy precut/cubed squash, you'll need 2-3 cups of raw squash for this recipe.

**If you can't find large mushrooms worth stuffing, you can always substitute 4 Portobello mushroom caps for an entrée size version!

DIRECTIONS
Preheat your oven to 475 degrees - remove ground beef from the fridge to come up in temperature a bit.

1. Peel, deseed and cube the butternut squash. On a sheet pan covered in parchment paper, add 1-1.5 tbsp of browned ghee to the squash and toss to combine. Roast for approximately 12 minutes, and increase to broil for a minute or 2 for a little browning.
2. While the squash is cooking, preheat a large over safe skillet. Add 2 tsp of browned butter ghee. Add the ground beef to the skillet and leave it be for 1-2 minutes until a good brown sear forms. Break it up a little bit, and sear on a second side - at this point add in the shallots to cook for 2 minutes. Lastly add in the garlic, sage and salt. Break up the beef further and mix to combine all the cooking ingredients and remove from heat when it hits ‘just cooked’ as it will finish off in the oven. Set the mixture into a bowl or back into the roasting pan and stir in 2 cups of the roasted butternut squash.
3. Prepare the mushrooms by wiping down with a damp towel and removing the stems. You can peel them, or not, personal preference.
4. In the oven safe skillet add remaining tsp of browned butter ghee and add the whole mushrooms to brown the bottoms. Once you have a little sear on the bottoms, and liquid pooling where the stems were, stuff them with the sage, butternut, beef filling. It's not about perfection, it's a little messy but it doesn't matter. Top them off with 1 tsp of the Crunchy Cashew topping. Stick into the oven at 475 degrees for 6-8 minutes until everything is bubbly, the cashew topping is slightly browned and it smells like autumn in your kitchen.

Top with parsley for garnish and serve while hot!

This recipe was made in partnership with Cook by Color
@cookbycolor