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

Veggie Burger & Sweet Potato Fries

We all have some nights when we are either too busy, too tired or just don't feel like spending alot of time in the kitchen after a long day at work. I had one of those nights recently, so I decided to splurge and treat myself to my favourite ready- made veggie burger. Let me introduce you to the President's Choice Thick & Juicy Portbello Swiss Vegetarian Burger.

Ohhhh Yeahhhh....

I think these burgers are only available to us Canadians, but man are they good! They aren't as low fat & low calorie as I typically like, but once in a while a girl has got to go crazy and let loose...so what if you have to undo the button on your pants after dinner....we'll make it up with a good workout tomorrow right ;-)??

These burgers are great on the barbecue, but since our barbie is covered in 3 feet of snow, I decided to throw it under the broiler - it still tasted great!

When I have a good veggie burger, I don't like to overpower it with all sorts of toppings. I am not very exciting when it comes to topping a burger: I like carmelized onions (doesn't everyone??)...I actually put an entire onion on my burger ... I just couldn't help myself :-) I also like a little mayonaise (you can use your favourite vegan version if you'd like)  and a handful of baby spinach.

Doesn't this burger look amazing ~ I know my mouth's watering  :-)

As a side, I whipped up some baked sweet potato fries. These are so easy to make!

Sweet Potato Fries

serves 1

1 sweet potato

1 tbsp coconut oil, melted (or oil of your choice)

1 tsp of sea salt

Preheat oven to 375. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or non-stick spray.

Chop your sweet potato up into wedges or fries - I was watching Hawaii 5-0 while I did this, so mine are cut a little funky, but they still tasted great.



Add the oil and salt and mix thoroughly.

Place fries onto cookie sheet. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes making sure to flip the fries halfway through. You may find that they take a little longer depending on your oven and how crispy you like the fries to get, so keep an eye on them.

I am a lover of the salt shaker, so I do add more salt once they are cooked ~ it really depends upon your taste ~ personally I think everything tastes better with salt.

If you realy want to get crazy, you could make a larger batch of fries and mix sweet potatoes and regular potatoes - this is quite a hit at my house because it satisfies my sweet tooth and love of sweet potato fries and Derek still gets his normal, "not fancy" taters.  

Voila! An easy and delicious meal without much effort or clean up.

Wishing you all a wonderful Tuesday evening!

Andrea