Grilled Veggie Dinner

The kids are at my parents' house in another state for the next 10 days or so. I decided to try some new recipes that I knew they probably wouldn't like. They'll eat sushi but turn their noses up at eggplant. What's up with that?

We had grilled portobello mushrooms, grilled eggplant and grilled white asparagus. And even though I didn't take a picture of it, we had grilled pineapple for dessert.


For the portobellos, place 4-6 caps in a Ziploc bag and add Italian dressing. Marinate for 30 minutes.


Grill over medium heat for 4 minutes per side. Meanwhile, combine 1/2 cup pizza sauce with 1/4 cup diced roasted red pepper. Spread on the grilled mushrooms. Top with slices of Havarti or mozzarella cheese.


Broil for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. As you can see, the cheese on my portobellos slid right off. But that's okay. Scoop it back on. It's great!


I can't tell you how delicious these were! The roasted red peppers were fantastic. I think I'll make this again before the kids come back, too.

For the eggplant and asparagus I made a simple marinade before grilling them. I used 1/4 cup olive oil, 3 TBSP balsamic vinegar, 3 teas minced garlic, 2 teas Italian seasoning, 1 teas parsley, 1 teas salt and 1/2 teas pepper. I let the veggies soak in the marinade for about 15 minutes. The eggplant soaked the liquid up very quickly. This was grilled until the eggplant was tender, about 5 minutes on each side. The asparagus took a little longer, about 8 minutes on each side.

This was a very satisfying, tasty dinner. We didn't miss eating meat at all with this one, so it's perfect for your vegetarian friends. I don't think we have any friends who are strict vegetarians, but if we did, this is what I'd serve them. It's really great!