I am not winning any awards in naming my recipes. Seriously, I think this is one of the most difficult things about posting recipes; there is a fine line between being descriptive and being dull. That being said, this is what you get for this bad boy: a shroom sammy with jalapeno cheddar sauce because… that’s exactly what this sandwich is.

After I saw ‘The Sexy Vegan’ slice his shrooms horizontally… I wanted to do it! I was originally dreaming of  doing a philly cheeze steak (wit whiz of course) but then I had all these jalapanos that I needed to eat up so into the sauce they went. And out came a meaty, spicy, sloppy, man sandwich!

It also doesn’t hurt that I made homemade dutch crunch rolls to go with. Besides trying to win a girlfriend of the year award, I have been trying to make my own bread as much as possible. Why? Because it’s FUN and I seem to enjoy spending every last drop of my non-working time in my kitchen. For all of you not-near-the-bay area folks, dutch crunch bread is out of this world! Hands down my favorite sandwich bread, I usually top this with avocado, fresh summer tomatoes and sprouts. I used this recipe from The Baking Barrister and used almond milk. It turned out perfect!

This bread definitely helps to make the sandwich but you can sub store-bought if you don’t have an extra 3 hours to make dinner.

Shroom Sammy

Shroom Filling

3 large portabello mushroom caps, cleaned
1/4 cup canola oil
3 tablespoons chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Combine the above ingredients together and let marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven (or the grill- it is getting to be grill season!) to 400 degrees. Place the mushrooms in the oven and cook for 20 minutes. Remove and let cool until just slightly warm.

Now you are ready to slice. With a very sharp knife, thinly slice the mushroom cap horizontally, creating thin ‘beef-like’ strips. Do this to all of the mushrooms.

Heat a large skillet to medium-high. Add 1 yellow onion, sliced very thinly. Cook for a few minutes until slightly caramelized. Add the sliced mushrooms and homemade Philly-BBQ sauce (below). Cook for 5-10 minutes until warmed through and reduced.

Philly-BBQ Sauce:

1 tbsp. worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 cup BBQ sauce- purchased or homemade

Jalapeno Cheddar Sauce

3 tbsp. Earth Balance Margarine
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup soy or almond milk
3 tbsp. nutritional yeast flakes
1 tsp. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. agave nectar
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup chopped Jalapeno peppers

Melt margarine over medium heat, stir in the flour and wisk to combine. Heat for a few minutes until it becomes golden-brown and smells nutty. Add the milk, nutritional yeast, jalapenos, garlic powder to the flour mixture and bring to a boil. Keep wisking the mixture the entire time you are heating it. Reduce heat to medium-low and let sauce thicken. Stir in agave and rice wine vinegar.

So serve your Sammies:
Top dutch crunch roll with sauce, layer mushrooms on top. I added some mixed greens to mine but dress up how you like it!

What’s your favorite manly sammy?

Yes, another wrap for you. A testament to it’s delicious powers? I made it three times last week and as I write this post I am seriously craving it again. Do yourself a favor and make it, a perfect weeknight meal that will please everyone. This makes 4 huge wraps, but you could easily stretch it to 6 servings or cut the wraps in half.

Ingredients:
4 whole wheat wraps
1 recipe Cilantro-Lime Rice, below
1 can Cuban Style Black Beans (Trader Joe’s has them or regular black beans will do)
1 recipe Cheesy Chipotle Sauce, below
1 pound spinach
2 red peppers, sliced thin
1 onion, sliced thin
1 tbsp. canola oil
2 cloves garlic

Cilantro-Lime Rice
Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked white rice (Jasmine rice taste great in this dish)
1 handful cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1/8 tsp. salt
1 small lime, juiced

Bring 2 cups water and salt to a boil. Add the rice, cover and lower heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes and fluff with fork. Stir in cilantro leaves and lime juice.

Cheesy Chipotle Sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 cup cashews, soaked in water at least 1 hour
1/2-3/4 cup water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 chipotle chili’s in adobe sauce
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

In a high-powered blender, combine the ingredients for the sauce and blend for 4-5 minutes until very creamy. If the sauce is too thick, add a bit more water. The power of the blender should heat the sauce but if it’s too cold, transfer to a saucepan and heat until ready to use.

Directions: Begin by making the rice. While the rice is cooking, heat the beans in a saucepan and make the spinach. In a skillet, heat 1 tbsp. canola oil and add the garlic. Quickly stir until fragrant and add the sliced onion. Lower heat and cook for 10 minutes until onions are translucent and reduced. Increase heat back to medium-high and add the bell peppers and spinach leaves. Continue 8-10 minutes until peppers are soft and spinach is soft. If the vegetables stick to the pan, add a little water to help them steam. While the vegetables are cooking prepare the Cheesy Chipotle Sauce. To assemble: warm a tortilla either in the microwave, stove-top, or oven. Add 1/2 cup rice, 1/4 cup beans, and 1/4  of the spinach mixture. Top with 2 tbsp. cheesy chipotle sauce. Devour!