Portobello Burgers and Artichoke Pasta Salad

June is all about grilling and so I have a great vegetarian grilling recipe to share!  For Memorial Day, my family had Bri and his family over for a little grill-out.  There were  bunch of vegetarians present and so I decided to try out a recipe inspired by The Curvy Carrot for dinner.  We had burgers, veggie burgers, and these, Portobello Burgers.  I was super pleased with how they turned out and I even went "veggie" for the night.

Portobello Burgers

Photo from The Curvy Carrot

Ingredients:
4 large portobello mushrooms, cleaned and with the stems cut off
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
sliced swiss or other cheese, tomatoes, onions, or other toppings for serving

Directions:
1. Mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper together.  Brush the tops and bottoms of the mushrooms with the olive oil mixture and set on a plate, gills up, so that they can marinate for 10 minutes.
2. Place mushrooms on the grill, gills up, and cook for about 4 minutes before flipping.  Cook for another 4 minutes and place cheese on tops during that last few minutes so that cheese melts. Serve with other toppings and...
Enjoy :)

On the side, my mom made an Artichoke Pasta Salad recipe from The South Park Elementary School Cookbook.  This is a cookbook from when I was in elementary school where a bunch of families submitted favorite recipes.  It's a great idea for schools to do to celebrate where everyone comes from.  This pasta salad is fantastic and quickly becoming one of my favorite summer meals.  It's quick, simple, and cold!

Artichoke Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
1 box whole wheat Rotini
3/4 cup olive oil
1 can artichoke hearts
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp dried basil
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
4 scallions, chopped

Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to directions, drain and set aside.
2. Make dressing: mix olive oil, egg yolk, mustard, basil and lemon juice.
3. Combine pasta, parsley, scallions, artichoke hearts, and Parmesan cheese.  Toss with the dressing.  Add more parmesan if you want.
Enjoy :)