Grilled Portobello & Gouda Burgers

Happy Happy Joy Joy ~ the weekend is finally here!! Sadly, I have to go in to work tomorrow, but I'm still doin' the happy dance for the rest of you lucky folks!

It looks like we have a bunch of  nice warm weather on the horizon and with warm weather comes barbecues!! I saw this fabulous recipe at How Sweet It Is and I knew I just had to try it. The only difference was that I did mine entirely on the barbecue grill - it's been getting way too hot and humid to have the oven on; especially when we don't have air conditioning!

Grilled Portobello & Gouda Burgers
Makes 4 'burgers'

This recipe is phenomenal. It has all of my favourite components: mushrooms, cheese, roasted garlic and balsamic --- a combo for champions if I do say so myself!! Derek is away this weekend, so I got this all to myself, however when he's home I would use the same toppings on his meat burger  - I think this would be a hit for meat eaters and non-meat eaters alike.

4 English muffins (I used whole wheat but you can use your favourite kind)
4 portobello mushroom caps
2 heads of garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 thick slices of gouda cheese
1 onion, sliced
1 medium tomato, sliced
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
greens (I used baby spinach)

for mushroom marinade:
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 - 2 cloves of garlic, minced

At least two hours before you plan to eat,  combine the marinade ingredients in a shallow dish and add mushrooms. Lay them top down and spoon the marinade over the bottoms, so it can soak in all that balsamic-y goodness. Cover and refrigerate.

Start up your barbie and turn it to medium heat. Slice off the top of the heads of garlic and drizzle with a bit of olive oil on top. Wrap in foil and place on barbecue grill for 40 minutes. Let cool completely. Once cool, squeeze the garlic out of the head and mash it up in a small bowl. Set aside.

Brush 1/2 tablespoon olive oil onto your onion slices. Place them on your barbecue grill and let them cook for 5 - 7 minutes per side (until softened).

Add the marinated mushrooms to the grill. Cook for 5 minutes per side. Be careful because the oil may cause your barbecue to smoke and flame up a little. Have a glass of water handy just in case. Once the mushrooms are cooked, add your gouda and cover just until the cheese is melted. Remove from heat.

Toast the English muffins. Spread the mashed garlic onto each English muffin.Follow with the mushroom, grilled onions, tomato, avocado and spinach leaves.

Serve and enjoy. You'll see I also grilled up some sweet potato wedges as my side....and I maybe also had a glass of my favourite red wine  ;-)

DELICIOUS!!! I LOVE BARBECUE SEASON :-)

I am full. I am happy.

What's your favourite burger combo?

Have a great weekend - get out there and enjoy some sunshine!

Andrea

Portobella Sandwich with Vegan Caesar Salad

Guess what? It's raining. Still.

I think I'm in a funk.

I wish I was here...

(Mexico - November 2010)

or with my mom & dad here...

(On a cruise ship in Miami - Today)

Now what can I do to feel better? Any suggestions?!?!  Um, book a trip to Mexico maybe!? How 'bout a cruise ~ I WISH!! We're looking into going to Las Vegas for our friends' wedding in October. I'm thinking a deposit might be made in the very near future :-)

Unfortunately there are no trips to the sunny south in my immediate future, so today I'm going to have to soothe my mood through a light and healthy Spring-like dinner. I made something quick, easy and delicious that put me in the mood for barbecues and backyard shenanigans.

For dinner I made a broiled portobella sandwich with a vegan caesar salad on the side.

For the sandwich, I took a portobella mushroom cap and marinated it for 30 minutes in a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Then I broiled it in the oven for 5 - 7 minutes per side. Do you love portobellas?? I do, especially in the summer when we spark up the BBQ and we grill them like a burger --- delish!

I then put the mushroom onto a piece of whole grain bread that was smothered with basil pesto (yet another fave of mine!). I topped my sandwich off with a slice of tomato and baby spinach leaves and we were good to go! Easy and delicious ~ which seems to be my motto these days!

For the caesar salad, I used a recipe that was recently posted by Kris on her blog. She and I both love avocados and we like to use them in all sorts of dishes. The avocado makes a crazy creamy base for this amazing dressing.

Vegan Avocado Caesar Dressing

Recipe by Kris at i heart wellness

Who said vegetarians and vegans can't enjoy Caesar salad. I'm about to show you that you can!! This is yet another super duper amazing salad dressing you just have to try. I only made half of this recipe because I was dining alone this evening and I think it needs to be used up right away because of the avocado.

1 avocado

1 tsp dijon mustard

3 tsp nutritional yeast (plus a little extra for sprinkling on top of your salad)

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp water

Juice from 1/2 a lemon

2 tsp garlic powder

salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Place all ingredients into your Magic Bullet or food processor and process until creamy and smooth. 

A full batch would be too much to do at once in your Magic Bullet.

A food processor would probably work best.

This is so creamy and flavourful! It's absolutely heavenly.

Pour onto your greens and toss well. I used a blend of baby arugula, spinach, red and white chard. It was the perfect blend of greens to go with this dressing. I contemplated making up some croutons, but I'm trying to cut back on the amount of carbs I eat in a day, so I decided to go without. These greens were so good on their own, they really didn't need any additions!

So there you have it! Another quick and satisfying dinner idea that's perfect for whipping up during a weeknight when you don't feel like spending hours in the kitchen. The portobella sandwich and light refreshing salad makes me believe that Spring (& the sunshine) really are on their way.

We'll be sitting on our deck eating barbecue and lots of delicious salads in the very near future....right?!

What's your must-have burger topping?

What's your weather like today?

I hope you have a wonderful evening! Stay out of that rain and stay dry!

Andrea