Caramelized Onions & Mushrooms

Excuse the poor picture - I forgot to take one before we started eating these!  The weather here has been gorgeous lately.  Mr. Kitchin cleaned up our patio and grill over the weekend, so we decided to cook up some burgers.

Now, I love a (non-beef) burger with all the trimmings as much as the next person.  However, as you know, I'm trying to watch my waistline these days so instead of mayo and cheese I opted for some DELICIOUS caramelized onions and mushrooms.

These only take about 10 - 15 minutes to cook up and make enough to top six burgers.  It's so good you can even eat it by itself as a salad of sorts.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 Medium Yellow Onion
• 2 Cups Sliced Mushrooms
• 2 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

Directions:

• Heat oil in skillet over medium heat.
• Add onions and cook 3 - 5 minutes or until onions start to yellow.
• Add mushrooms and cook 5 - 7 minutes or until onions and mushrooms start to brown.
• Add vinegar and mix well to combine.
• Add sugar and mix well to combine.
• Continue to heat for another 5 - 8 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.

BBQ Pulled "Pork" Sandwiches

When you don't eat beef or pork, you miss out on a Texas staple: BBQ.  Thankfully there are recipes like this one that allow people like me to enjoy delicious, southern-style BBQ without hurting any cows or pigs.  These sandwiches are similar to the Carolina-Style BBQ Sandwiches I made a while back, but the sauce is sweeter and less tangy.  I served mine with Baked Lays and topped with the same coleslaw I made for the other BBQ sandwiches.  Makes six servings.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. Light Olive Oil
• 1 Medium Onion, Chopped
• 12 Garlic Cloves, Minced
• 1 Can Tomato Sauce (15 oz.)
• 1 Tbsp. Horseradish
• 2 Tsp. Molasses
• 2 Tsp. Cider Vinegar
• 2 Tsp. Light Brown Sugar
• 1 Tsp. Lemon Zest
• 1/2 Cup Water
• 16 Oz. Seitan, Sliced Thin or Shredded
• 6 Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

Directions:

• Heat oil in skillet over medium heat.
• Add onion and cook for seven minutes or until tender.
• Add garlic and cook for one minute or until fragrant.
• Add tomato sauce and stir to combine; cook for three minutes.
• Add horseradish, molasses, vinegar, brown sugar, lemon zest, and water; stir to combine.
• Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally; sauce will thicken.
• Fold in seitan and cook for two minutes to heat thoroughly.
• Serve on bun; top with coleslaw and hot sauce if desired.

Vegetarian Carolina-Style BBQ Sandwiches

As someone who does not eat beef or pork, I really miss BBQ.  There is a cafe in downtown Austin that makes a vegetarian BBQ sandwich, and I've always been curious how they make it.  I found this recipe online at VegetarianTimes.com and the results were to die for.  I had to physically restrain Mr. Kitchin from eating three servings (because it only makes four and I want some tomorrow!).  I served mine with some Baked Lays and a small bowl of BBQ sauce for dipping.  Just an FYI - the sauce is pretty zippy, so if you can't handle spice I'd go easy on the Tabasco when making it.

Ingredients:

• 1 Lb. Seitan, Cut into Thin Strips
• 1 Cup Cider Vinegar
• 2/3 Cup Low-Sodium Ketchup
• 1/4 Cup Yellow Mustard
• 3 Tbsp. Dark Brown Sugar
• 1 Tbsp. Molasses
• 2 Tsp. Hot Sauce/Tabasco
• 2 Tsp. Black Pepper
• 1 Tsp. Salt 
• 4 Wheat Hamburger Buns
• 8 Pickle Chips
• 1 Cup Cole Slaw (Recipe Follows)

Directions:

• Mix together vinegar, ketchup, mustard, sugar, molasses, hot sauce, salt, and pepper and heat in medium-sized sauce pan over medium heat.
• Bring to a simmer and cook for five minutes, stirring frequently.
• Remove 1 cup of sauce and set aside.
• Add seitan strips to pan and cook for 10 minutes (sauce will reduce drastically).
• Spoon 1/4 of BBQ mixture onto bun and top with 1/4 cup coleslaw and two pickle chips.
• Serve with extra sauce (that you set aside earlier) for dipping.

Coleslaw Ingredients:

• 1 Bag Shredded Coleslaw
• 1/4 Cup Cider Vinegar
• 1/4 Cup Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Fat-Free Mayo
• 1 Tsp. Celery Salt

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients together until well combined.
• Makes 8 servings.