cook something new each week

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 tsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp sweet chilli sauce

1 pinch cracked black pepper

600 g mushrooms

1/3 cup chopped fresh herbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 220C.

Combine the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, brown sugar, sweet chilli sauce and pepper in a screw-top jar. Shake well to combine.

Place mushrooms into a large bowl and pour over the vinegar mixture. Toss well to combine.

Spoon the mushrooms and marinade into a baking dish lined with non-stick baking paper. Roast for 15 minutes or until tender, tossing once or twice. Sprinkle with fresh herbs.

SO Ive found this product that cooks like mince but is actually made from fungi (like mushrooms).

Because the one thing that Ive been missing as a vegetarian is all those mince based dishes like chilli con carne, tacos, lasagne etc.

While the texture is slightly different, when I got other people to try it they didn’t notice it wasn’t meat. When I told them they said that did taste a little different but was hard to identify why.

Most of the meat dishes I use to cook had a lot of herbs and spices in them anyway so I don’t really notice the difference either!

So this recipe is based on my old chilli recipe.
Also it has really helped me boost my protein intake without too much fat!

This isn’t happening every week because Im calorie counting, and I find it exhausting figuring out the calorie content of home cooked food. I have about 15 recipes that I know the content of, and Im just rotating them.

Ive never successfully made burgers, ever. Whether they are meat or vegetable and these where no different. They fell apart when I cooked them… so I ended up putting a tomato sauce with them and it ended up kinda like a black bean Bolognaise. So success!

Im not sure Im into vegetarian burgers anyway… its one of the few dishes that I think works best with meat.

But Ive tried something new – and now I know the calorie content Im sure I will be eating it alot now!

When I first dumped everything in the pot I thought it was going to be awful…. it seemed to be overwhelmed by thyme, but after simmering for an hour it was awesome.

It is a really simple recipe made easier by my food processor doing all the chopping. At 190 calories per serve it fits in with many of my other goals!