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That's my Monday attitude. But it's not because I'm in a bad mood, it's because I found a gorgeous picture of stuffed mushrooms with a tasty recipe attached, and I started thinking about what a great addition stuffed mushrooms can be to anyone's appetizer repertoire.

Maybe they seem like a lot of work to the uninitiated, but stuffed mushrooms are really pretty simple to make. The hardest part is cleaning the 'shrooms and taking the stem off, and that's really not very difficult. Often, recipes call for chopping up the stems and incorporating them into the stuffing, so you don't even have to feel guilty about wasting them.

It's always helpful to start with a recipe, but once you've made this appetizer a time or two, you might find it isn't too hard to improvise a bit. I once had some frozen crab cakes on hand and decided to break them into pieces and shove a piece into each mushroom. It rocked!

Another improvisation I use is thawed spinach squeezed dry and mixed with bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and chopped mushroom stems. It's yummy and easy.

Here's a recipe for Paula Deen's Chicken Piccata Stuffed Mushrooms. It calls for cream cheese, capers, chopped chicken and panko bread crumbs. Oh, and BUTTER, of course!

Chicken Piccata Stuffed Mushrooms
Makes about 30 mushrooms

2 lbs. fresh button mushrooms
6 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup minced green onion
1 Tbsp. minced capers
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 cup chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
1/4 cup melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 15-by-10-inch jelly roll pan or baking sheet.

2. Clean mushrooms, removing stems. Set caps aside. Finely chop enough mushroom stems to equal about 1/2 cup. Discard remaining stems or save for another use.

3. In a large skillet, melt 6 Tbsp. butter over medium heat. Add mushroom stems, green onions, capers, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the stems are tender. Stir in chicken and wine; cook 5 minutes or until wine has evaporated. Add cream cheese and panko, stirring until combined.

4. Fill mushroom caps evenly with chicken mixture. Place in pan and brush each one with melted butter. Bake 20 minutes. Serve immediately

Note: Stuffed mushrooms can be prepared up to 2 days in advance of baking. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to cook.

Source: Paula Deen's 2009 Calendar.