Quick and Easy Air Fryer Stuffed Mushrooms

 

This time of the year with all the holiday parties and get togethers, you may be looking for a recipe for a quick and easy appetizer.  These air fryer stuffed mushrooms are one of our favorites any time of the year.  They take only minutes to make, and taste so good they will disappear quickly.  

You only need a handful of ingredients to make them. For about 12 to 18 mushrooms you will need a half  a brick of cream cheese, some shredded cheese, and a half bag of bacon bits.   

Mix the ingredients together in a bowl. I sometimes add a little bit of the mushroom stems, but it is completely optional.  

I generously stuff the mushrooms, and then place them in the air fryer.   

The air fryer we are currently using the Gourmia Dual Basket Air Fryer. We got it for Christmas last year. It has 7 different functions, and you can cook different items in each basket at the the same time. We love it, and use it all the time. 

I cooked the mushrooms in one of the baskets, and air fryed them for 9 to 10 minutes at 360 degrees.  Not all air fryers cook the same, so once the time gets to be about 9 minutes, I check to see if they are finished. 

They are cheesy and warm, and delicious! Enjoy! 

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Easy Copycat Olgas Snackers

If you are from Michigan, you probably know what an Olga's Snacker is.  If you are not from my state, let me give you a little bit of history about this yummy snack.  

Olga Loizon founded a popular chain of restaurants that serve recipes she was inspired by when she went to go visit family back in Greece in the 1960s.  While in Greece, her three young children tasted a souvlaki, which is a pita bread sandwich filled with meat and veggies.  They loved it so much, she was inspired to try and sell it when she went back home to Michigan. For two years she tested different recipes to improve the bread until it was perfect. (It is GOOD!)  She started making the sandwiches with her secret recipe bread and called them Olgas.  Her specialty called the Original Olga is made with seasoned beef, lamb, tomato, sweet onion, and homemade Olga sauce.   She needed to find a location to sell her Olgas.  She found a small 10 x 10 space in Birmingham, Michigan.  She needed to get a loan, which was not easy for a woman back in 1970. She was the first woman to receive a business loan at her local bank, and she was able to start her first restaurant.  She handed out free samples at first, because her food was not yet well known.  Her Olgas were a hit, and she quickly grew from one tiny location to a chain with over 25 locations.  In addition to her special bread, she started serving side dishes that would also become well loved items on the menu.  One of those side dishes were the Snackers.  

Olga Loizon died in 2019 at the age of 92. She was so well loved that a foundation was established in her honor and legacy.  It is called Olga, A Life Wrapped in Love.  It gives financial grants to women entrepreneurs in Michigan who show the same passion and ambition as it's namesake did. 

I just found out about the foundation while looking up something on the website. Pretty cool, huh.  Finding this out makes me like her food even more.  

I had dinner at Olga's Kitchen  last weekend.  I know there is a giant letter D made from two zucchini fries that stuck together, but it is the only picture I have.  I did not know I was going to write this post at the time.  I just thought it was funny finding my boyfriend's initial in my fries.  In this picture you can see my grilled chicken Olga, the special sauce, and what is left of my salad and fries. We had the snackers for our appetizer, and they were already in my belly. 

 

I recently found a tub of swiss almond cheese at Aldi, which is a very close dupe to the cheese served with the Snackers.  Mini Naan bread, while not exactly the same as Olga's specialty bread is a pretty good substitute.  I am pretty sure I bought the seasoning salt at the Dollar Tree. 

If you would like to see what Olga's original snackers and other items look like, I am linking the menu here.  This is not a sponsored post for Olgas, the menu just has really good pictures.  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees 

 

Cut the Naan bread into triangles 

Brush olive oil on the bread, and sprinkle with the seasoning salt.  Olga's version of Snackers also have crushed red pepper, but we left it off our version.  

Bake for 5-7 minutes.  Turn the Snackers over, and add a little more olive oil and seasoning.  Put back in the oven and bake about 5 minutes more. 

Served warm with Aldi swiss almond cheese 

Enjoy! 
 

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Quick and Easy Air Fryer Cheesy Stuffed Mushrooms

I am having a lot of fun trying new recipes out in my air fryer.  Recently Aldi had a  sale on their mushrooms, so I decided to try to make some Cheesy Stuffed Mushrooms.

We already had all of the ingredients I wanted to use on hand for my mushrooms.  In a small mixing bowl, I mixed up a half brick of cream cheese, a handful of cheddar cheese, and a half bag of Aldi's bacon pieces. I also added a little bit of garlic salt, though you can not really see it in the picture. 

When I was mixing up the cheese and bacon mixture, I decided to add some of the mushroom stems as well. 

I generously stuffed the mushrooms with the cheese mixture. 

I placed them in the air fryer basket  I cooked them for about 10 mins at 360 degrees.  Time and temp may vary a little depending on the fryer you use.  It does not hurt to check on the mushrooms about half way through the cooking period. 

These mushrooms were SO GOOD!! My daughter and I may have eaten all of them.  They would definitely be a good easy appetizer for parties, friend get-togethers or just because.  I have a feeling I will be asked to make these often. 

If you have been thinking about getting an air fryer, but haven't done so yet, I highly recommend one. It was a little intimidating at first, but we love it. I bought mine from Kohls on sale with with a coupon. (Kalorik 3.5 quart, regular price $119.99)  I could not find the same one on Amazon, but found some that are similar to mine that are also a good price.  (these are affiliate links) 

      Kalorik XL Air Fryer Pro

      Costway 3.5 quart Air Fryer

        Ultrean 4.2 quart Air Fryer

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Super Bowl Party Food Roundup

With the Super Bowl coming up this week, I wanted to share some of our favorite recipes that we have shared over the years. Below you will find some of our favorite party dishes.  Going through all the posts, I found a few favorites that I need to make again soon!! 

Cheesy Broccoli Dip

Quick and Easy Nachos

Pepperoni Pizza Bundles 

Cold Crab Dip

Chicken and Cheese Taquitos

Cooking with Kyle - Ham and Cheese Bundles

Cooking with Kyle - Homemade Pizza

Zucchini Pizza Bites

Slow Cooker Lasagna

Party Meatballs

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Cantaloupe Prosciutto Skewers - Dare to Share Feature

With my daughter's birthday, the 4th of July, a BBQ I am attending tomorrow, and two possible upcoming events, I am in a party food kind of mode.  I have been thinking all week about what to bring to the BBQ tomorrow. (I still have not decided)  These Cantaloupe Prosciutto Skewers in this guest post  by Cherry Blossom Kitchen  on  Pink Heels Pink Truck would be a great appetizer choice.  I love that they are hand held food with several different textures and flavors. I could see this recipe served at many different types of parties, weddings, showers etc..   Stop on over to Pink Heels Pink Truck to learn more and get the full recipe.  

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Dare to Share #216

It is Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share!! 

Things are still a bit hectic here. We have 7 and a half days of school left before summer vacation.  One thing that I love about this time of year is the yummy strawberries that are in season.  This week I shared my favorite Summer Strawberry Recipes

I have two very different features this week but both are perfect for a party.   This yummy Avocado Bacon Egg Roll by Home Cooking Memories would make a perfect appetizer. 

As the Bunny Hops  shared this  Shopkins Wendy Wedding Cake Pinata, which would be the perfect party game at a Shopkins themed party 

My co-host Kim from Kandy Kreations shared this Angry Bird Pennant Banner Free Printable, that could be used at an Angry Bird themed party.  With the new movie out now, Angry Bird parties will most likely be popular once again.  

Now it is time for this week's party.  You are welcome to share anything that you would like to share.  This party is also seen on Kandy Kreations for double the exposure.  If you are chosen as a Dare to Share Feature, you post will be featured on the blog and social media. Kim also chooses posts to feature on her blog and social media.  

Link up and HAVE FUN! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

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Mini Chicken Parmesan Muffins - Dare to Share Feature of the Day

I am always looking for new dinner ideas that are not that difficult to make, and that my family would love to eat.  I think these  Mini Chicken Parmesan Muffins by Just Us Four could be one of those meals.  I also love that  they are small  and appetizer size, so they would be perfect to serve at a party.  Be sure to stop over to Just us Four to see the full recipe. 

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Fried Pickle Dip - Dare to Share Feature of the Day

I love pickles, so when I saw this link for "Fried" Pickle Dip, I knew I had to check it out.  It turns out I really love all of the ingredients in this dip by Lemons for LuLu. This dip would be good for a party, pot luck or just because. It is definitely not your usual boring dip. Be sure to stop over to Lemons for LuLu for the full recipe. 

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Super Simple Pizza Bite Appetizers

While making pizza is not a new thing, I am going to share a quick and easy trick we use when make pizza bread that can be used when you need food quickly for a crowd of easy weeknight dinner. Instead of taking the time to roll a crust, there is something much easier.. garlic bread or Texas toast.  What I like about using garlic bread as a pizza crust is that it is already preseasoned with garlic and very often cheese. 

Add a little sauce, pepperoni, and cheese, and in literally a few minutes,  yummy pizza bread.  If serving to a crowd set up an ingredient station for each person to customize their own.  

I got a little impatient with this batch.  I should have waited a couple of minutes for the oven to preheat.  Instead of threw it in a cold oven, so the cheese was almost melted but not 100%. It still tasted great though.   Cut into bit size pieces for a super simple appetizer.   

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Zucchini Pizza Bites

We have been trying to eat healthier snacks in our house. We know we need to eat more fruits and vegetables, and we are trying to find ways that even my picky eaters will eat them.  Recently my oldest said she wanted to try zucchini pizza bites.  I picked up some zucchini at the store, and this is the recipe we came up with. 

I sliced the zucchini into thin slices and laid it on a cookie sheet.  One small zucchini made 18 slices.  I then spooned on a little bit of sauce onto each slice.  You can use pizza sauce, but I used regular spaghetti sauce since that is what I had on hand. 

On each of the slices, I sprinkled on a little bit of Mozzarella cheese, some oregano, and a touch of Parmesan.   I then placed them in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 5 minutes.  

When they came out of the oven the cheese, was all bubbly, melted and awesome.  If your cheese is not baked all the way through, put back in the oven for a minute or two.  Keep a close on it though, because it does not take bake through. 

We really liked these Zucchini Pizza Bites, and will be making them again.  Good thing they only take a few minutes to make, because they disappeared fast in our house.  

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Cheesy Spinach Dip with Bacon - Feature of the Day

The Super Bowl is now just two days away, and people are putting the final touches on  their Super Bowl Party menus.  One recipe that I would be very excited to see at a party is this Cheesy Spinach Dip with Bacon by It's Yummi.  It has a few of my favorite foods in it. I love cheese, and I love bacon.  I also like that you can substitute Greek yogurt for the mayonnaise, and get the health benefits of the spinach.  Be sure to stop over to It's Yummi, to get this delicious recipe to serve to your friends and family.  Thank you so much Becca for linking up to Dare to Share. I can't wait to try this recipe!

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