Quick healthy dinner recipes: Grilled Portobello Mushroom Burgers with Baked Potato Wedges
How do we balance work, family and providing good quick healthy meals for our family? As a mother and wife who also has a career, occasionally I have gotten home, looked in the refrigerator and wondered, “What am I going to make for dinner tonight?
We are starting a series of quick 30-to-45-minute healthy meals that taste good which will give you some variety from throwing together pasta, pizza, hamburgers, fast food, etc. on a busy night.
Grilled Portobello Mushroom Burgers are a delicious alternative to hamburgers.
Ingredients:
3-4 portobello mushroom tops
3-4 brioche buns, or gluten free option
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
½ cup of shredded mozzarella (or vegan cheese)
½ cup of prepared pesto (see my dairy free recipe in my blog)
1 cup of slaw or cruciferous crunch mix
A few sprigs of cilantro
Assembly:
Heat grill to medium heat. Combine the balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Mix well and brush the top and bottom of the mushrooms. Grill the Portobello mushroom head bottom side down for 4 minutes (this takes out some of the moisture and gives it a wonderful grilled look). Flip the mushroom to cook top side down. Equally divide cheese and place in the mushroom bowl. Cook for another 4 minutes. Separate the buns and place on low heat on the grill until slightly toasted.
To prepare the ‘burgers’ spread pesto on the top and bottom halves of the buns. Place the portobello mushroom on the bun and top with the slaw or cruciferous mix and a couple sprigs of cilantro. Keep extra pesto on hand for dipping.
Baked Potato Wedges are a good alternative to fried potatoes.
Ingredients:
I don’t cook with a lot of salt, so I make my own spice mix for the potatoes. But you can always simplify with a premade spice mix.
1 large or 2 medium potatoes (you can add more if you have some big appetites in your family)
½ tbsp garlic powder
½ tbsp turmeric
½ tbsp cumin
½ tbsp paprika
½ tsp salt
¼ cup olive oil
Assembly:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees before you begin any other preparation. Mix all the spices and salt together and stir well. Cut the potatoes in the 16 wedges (for a large potato). Put the potatoes in a large mixing bowl, coat the wedges with oil. Sprinkle and stir as much or as little of the spice mix as desired. Place the wedges on a lined cookie sheet and cook for 25 minutes. Note, the potato wedges have the longest cooking time and should be started before you start on the grilled portobello's.
Serving Instructions:
Serve the Grilled Portobello burger with several potato wedges and enjoy. You can add a quick side salad if you want more greens, so check out my salad recipe blog posts for ideas.
The ingredients I chose:
Mushrooms can be a nice alternative if you are trying to cut down on meat consumption. The pesto is full of healthy garlic and vitamin packed basil. Also, my pesto recipe does not have Parmesan cheese, so it is good for those of us with dairy intolerance's. I chose the green slaw mix for the fiber and vitamin rich greens.
I specifically chose the spice mix for the potatoes because of the power of certain spices. Tumeric is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Cumin, according to Healthline is high in iron and contains beneficial plant compounds that can fight free radicals. Check out this article: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/9-benefits-of-cumin#TOC_TITLE_HDR_4 Paprika is thought to reduce inflammation and garlic contains sulfur compounds which carries anti-cancer agents.
Enjoy this healthy meal with your family and leave a comment if you liked it!