Burger Time! Portabella "Burgers" and Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Sometimes you just feel like a Burger. But sometimes it is the middle of Swimsuit season and sometimes you don't feel like eating meat.  This is a quick and easy way to get that meaty fix while eliminating the carbs, grease and fat that would come on your normal Burger. I also cut the carbs by using a Cabbage leaf for a bun!

No burger is complete without fries so I am also making homemade baked Sweet Potato fries!

For your Portabella Burgers You will need:
1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Mesquite Liquid Smoke- this is your secret ingredient!
Salt & Pepper

Put your Portabella caps in a bowl large depending on how many caps you are marinating. Add all your liquid ingredients, with the caps mushroom gills up! Be sure you have cleaned your caps before with a wet washcloth to get off any dirt! Poke your caps several times with a fork to be sure your marinade gets all the way through your cap. Leave your caps to marinate about 10 minutes. 

Let's get to work on our low carb "Bun". I used cabbage but Bibb Lettuce would be a great choice here too. Bibb Lettuce is less bitter then Cabbage and thinner so it makes for an easier eating experience with your hands! 

Take a large sharp knife and cut at the base of your Cabbage head. This will make the leaf come off in a nice leaf . The very first leaves will come off the easiest and most perfect, once you get toward the center they are packed tightly and more likely to shred as you pull it off!

Voila! 

In a skillet on medium high heat with some Olive oil in it add your Portabella. You will not need much oil in the pan already as the EVOO and marinade will cover your pan. Prepare for lots of smoke, but goodness does it smell meaty and delicious!

Push on your Cap with your turner to get it to really cook evenly. This creates a "panini" effect.

Cook for about 8 minutes per side- again pushing your cap down with your turner.

I added some red onions to the pan right at the end to soak up all that delicious marinate and get tender so I could top my "burger" with them.

Piping hot out of the skillet!

Add your favorite condiments and put the leaves together and fold it into a little pocket.

Delicious! The burgers were so juicy and delicious. If you don't care about carbs put your Portabella on a bun for an amazing hamburger experience! 

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

You will need:

1 sweet potato per person you are feeding fries (peeled)

Olive oil

Seasoning Spice- I used Old Bay

Sea Salt 

Pre-Heat your oven to 400 degrees.

In other posts I rave about how this little Mandolin contraption has changed my life. I don't have amazing knife skills and it slices things easily and effortlessly. I got mine at TJ Maxx for under $10. I highly recommend you add this to your kitchen!

It was hard to get the entire length of my sweet potato through the mandolin without the end breaking off- but life goes on. So some of  my fries are a little short. 

Another TJ Maxx kitchen supply I am obsessed with and was right on my budget was this Misto Olive Oil spray bottle. It was $7.99 and you add your favorite kind of EVOO and pump the top and next thing you know you can spray pure EVOO just like you could PAM without the chemicals. This is great for so many uses-coating your skillet, on salad, grilling, bruschetta. 

After you either spray your fries front and back or toss them to gently coat in Olive Oil spread them out on your baking sheet and add your spices and seasoning and salt. 

Cook at 400 degrees for around 20 minutes being sure to turn them .

There are so many dips that are great with Sweet Potato fries. I love BBQ sauce, honey and a spicy Curry Aioli.

Curry Aioli

3 tablespoons light mayo

3 teaspoons Curry Powder

dash of cinnamon

I was out of Curry and tried Cumin instead, not as good stick with Curry.

Put your Aioli in a small bowl or ramekin and you are ready to enjoy some fries!

Enjoy!