Mushrooms

I'm not sure when it was that I decided mushrooms were yummy. I always thought they were gorgeous, a biology teacher in high school would make shitake tea every day that was a great break, and puffballs are still a treasured and hoarded find when on a walk. Eating them is a recent occurrence, though. Mom apparently doesn't like them so we never had them on the table and really, they look disgusting in any dish. So you won't be seeing any photos with this post. However, I have started to incorporate them into meals. They're inexpensive, filling, and an excuse to cook with butter and wine. They're also very rich, so when I tasted dinner tonight, I knew I had to share my semi-made up recipe. Basically, it's scalloped potatoes with mushrooms minus the rue I normally make. Here goes:

Preheat oven to 375
Butter a baking dish. I used my lasagna pan so it was a big one
Scrub and thinly slice potatoes. I left the skin on and I'm glad I did, but this was just a time saver. (You won't see many measurements here as I rarely measure even when using a recipe)
Thinly slice 1/2 onion
Slice 1 pound of mushrooms (or buy them that way)
In bowl mix 2 cans of cream of whatever soup (I used 1 mushroom and 1 chicken), bit of salt, pepper, scoop of mayo, few TBLS sour cream (that's all I had left), garlic powder, mustard powder, oregano.
Layer potatoes, onions and mushrooms. Spread with half the mixture, repeat. This filled my pan to the brim.
Melt 1/2 stick of butter and pour over top of potatoes
Cover with foil and pop in the oven until tender. Took about an hour. Then uncover, sprinkle with shredded cheese (cheddar and Parmesan) and bake until browned, another 5 or so minutes.
Serve and feel the pounds pile on. Don't forget the ketchup for less refined palates.

Second mushroom note: Trader Joe's (the bestest grocery store in the world) has been featuring a different cheese every few days. Sunday it was 3 cream Brie with wild mushrooms. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. That's all I have to say about that.

In unrelated news, Henri has added emptying the dishwasher to her list of chores she enjoys, an Ikea trip was extremely profitable (for both the store and us) and Henri is loving her new highchair, the guest room is becoming a functional space, 1/3 of the 5 pounds of fudge I made yesterday has mysteriously disappeared, I really dislike kids for any length of time extending beyond one hour, the countdown is on for VT (!), back pain seems to be plaguing this family, the house never materialized,  we're still having gorgeous weather, and Fear Factor makes me throw up.

In news related to Trader Joe's, their shopping bags currently have gift tags on the front and the side panels can be cut out to make a decorative paper chain. 2 bags were enough to make a chain for the front window and it's quite festive.

Not that I post too often, so I know you won't be concerned, but we're off to God's country soon and shan't return till the new year. Merry Christmas!