The "Turn Any Meat Lover into to a Vegetarian" Sandwich

So, my hubs has named the "Turn Any Meat Lover into to a Vegetarian" Sandwich because it's that good. It's full of so many yummy veggies and a homemade pesto that you forget what's not there. It's really good the next day slightly reheated too!


The "Turn Any Meat Lover into to a Vegetarian" Sandwich
makes 6 sandwiches
Thick bread or Ciabatta (i love TJ's Tuscan Italian loaf)
2 Bell Peppers, sliced into rings
1 white onion, sliced in rings
3 Zucchini sliced long ways 
8ish artichoke hearts, chopped
Roughly a handful of sundried tomatoes , chopped
1 package of Mozzarella cheese (slice it)
1 batch of Homemade pesto (you will have leftovers to use all week)
EVOO
Cooking spray
Cayenne, salt, and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees & put 2 cookie sheets in there to heart also.


Heat up some EVVO and saute the veggies starting with the zucchini. I like to watch for the my veggies to turn bright and then add a bit of soy sauce and cayenne. Remove it from the pan and do the same thing to the onion & bell pepper but add minced garlic too.


Make your pesto (click on the link above for recipe) or pop open the jar. :)


Layer your sandwiches with everything! Spray both sides of your sandwich and put them on the 1st hot cookie sheets, stack the 2nd cookie sheet on the top of the sandwiches. If your sheet is light like mine, I put a baking dish onto to keep it down.


Set the timer for 5-10 minutes and out comes a golden & delish sandwich!

Homemade Pesto

I have always loved pesto and when a friend of mine told me how to make it about 7 years ago, my whole whole opened up :) This great on: any so so sandwich to make it amazing, any good pasta to make it delish, or like my newest son eats it- scooped out of a spoon!


Homemade Pesto Recipe

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed

1/2 cup freshly grated Romano cheese (or Parmesan)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup pine nuts or walnuts

3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 

1/3 cup lemon juice

2 handfuls of Spinach leaves if you want


Put all ingredients in the blender or food processer and blend until creamy. If you plan on freezing it, didn't put the cheese in until after you defrost it.

Sweet Potato Burgers

Hello Blog World! It's been awhile I guess but i have some great new recipes to share. I recently went off dairy (and back on now) due to a possible allergy for my little nurser. So, I was forced to eat cheese free but tried some new yummy vegan & dairy recipes. This burger was a huge hit and now on our dinner rotation! This recipe was slightly adapted from a great vegan blog Healthy Happy Life.


Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers
makes 7-8 large patties
2 cans cannellini white beans, drained
1 large sweet potato, baked/peeled/mashed (about 2 cups)
2 tsp agave
1/4 cup wheat flour
Additional seasoning (whatever you have on hand - I used a few dashes cayenne, black pepper salt to taste if needed
plentiful Panko crumbs
oil for pan
avocado
Dijon mustard
rain buns or thick bread
romaine
onion
olive oil bell pepper


Directions:
1. Bake or microwave sweet potato. Peel, place in large mixing bowl.
2. Add drained beans to mixing bowl. Mash beans and potato together.
3. Mash in seasoning, flour and any additional seasoning. Your mixture will be quite soft and moist. But you should be able to form a patty. Add more flour or a scoop of breadcrumbs - or dry rice to thicken the mixture if needed.
4. Saute the onions & bell peppers.
5. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a pan over high heat.
6. Form a patty from mixture and coat in Panko crumbs. Thick coating. Then drop the patty in the pan. Repeat until the pan is filled. Cook until browned on both sides. You could also bake. If baking, use less Panko.
7. Transfer cooked patties to paper towel. Cool for a few minutes. 
8. Serve on the bun/ bread, toasted with garlic & all the toppings. 


The creator of this recipes suggests mustard but my family isn't a fan of it so I just put a little in the mixture to give it a bit of flavor but not to spread on the bun.