Sweet & Spicy Grilled Cheese on Sliced Pugliese

The other day I was in the grocery store, wrestling to make my way through the hordes of holiday shoppers picking up their last minute Christmas dinner items (I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who waits until the last minute - high five, guys!), and I noticed these really wonderful looking, golden pineapples. 

This triggered a memory of a recipe I had seen recently for a baked, rice stuffed pineapple dish, and I immediately thought wouldn't that be the perfect side dish to bring for Christmas dinner?! I had visions of presenting this perfectly prepared dish, oohs and awws abounding as I placed it directly in the center of the table (ha!), so into the basket it went along with all my good intentions...then in a bag...then on the counter where it took up residence - long past the holiday festivities. My good ole friends Lazy and TV convinced me that it was too much trouble! (Perhaps it's time to make some new friends in the new year?)

Anyway! There was a point to this story, which was that I needed to do something with this miserable pineapple that I bought before it turned to mush on my kitchen counter. So it got demoted from Christmas side dish extraordinaire, to a sweet and spicy grilled cheese! Sorry pineapple!

Quick Post: Vegetarian BBQ

Just a quick post today! The 4^th of July got me thinking about BBQ’s and how easy or hard it may be to partake in the festivities if you’re a vegetarian. But if you think you can’t enjoy a good old fashion BBQ without the meat, I am here to tell you that you’re oh so wrong! There are just too many delicious vegetarian options out there, especially during BBQ season, for you or anyone else to end up with an empty plate!

Here’s proof:

What you see: Grilled garden burger on a toasted Kaiser roll with fresh lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, and Ranch dip (made with light sour cream); Assorted grilled vegetables, tossed with a little olive oil and seasoning; and corn on the cob.

What I couldn’t fit on my plate: Baked potatoes with various toppings, grilled pineapple, pasta salad, and fresh watermelon.

Yum!

Off the top of my head, other vegetarian options include:

Potato salad

Macaroni salad

Endless varieties of green salad

Grilled veggie kabobs

Grilled fruit kabobs (peaches, watermelon, and pineapple are great fruits for grilling!)

Assorted fresh fruit

Grilled asparagus

Veggies and dip

Bean salad

So, if you’re worried about having an empty plate at your next backyard BBQ – don’t be! Anyone else have suggestions/tips to add?

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Grilled Eggplant Fajitas

I’ve been spending some time revisiting a few of the classics lately, and finding ways to make them fit into my vegetarian lifestyle, whether they want to or not! ;) This week’s lucky dish was fajitas, and with the help of one of my favorite nightshades, I can now add this usually meat stuffed delight back into my rotation - yay!

I’ve actually had this idea since I made the Vegetarian Gyros a couple of weeks ago, and finally decided to give it a go. I used eggplant in place of meat, which gave it a great texture and soaked up all the flavors of the fajita mix really well. I almost used mushrooms (as I’m prone to do), but was glad I chose the eggplant in the end. It was very yummy, and healthy to boot!

Grilled Portobello Mushroom “Steaks”

Is calling them “steaks” going a bit too far? Perhaps, but that’s what I thought of when I was grilling these yummy portobello mushroom slices. I spotted a tidy package of these beauties while perusing the produce department recently. I almost walked right past them, but their gleaming white flesh, dark gills, and perfectly curled edges looked so pretty…how could I not throw them in the basket? My mom had recently told me about a grilled mushroom burger she had seen on the food network, and grilling seemed like the perfect thing to do, so in they went!

Making them was super easy. They were the focus of our meal, but they would also work great as a side, would be perfect for burgers or sandwiches, and would be even more fantastic with some melted cheese on top…darn, now I’m hungry again!