Italian Vegetable Hoagies.

I found this recipe on LittleBirdieSecrets and it was just calling to me. Especially with the pepperoncini... I forgot how much I love those. The original calls for provolone cheese, which I ditched. Athough, I'm not gonna lie... a slice of provolone would have made it even yummier... but I didn't give in and I'm not gonna dwell... my nonbloated belly thanks me. It's super simple and stuff I usually have on hand. I used hoagie buns and toasted them with a little bit of earth balance then rubbed a garlic clove on it. Yum....

1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion, separated into rings
1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, rinsed and coarsely chopped
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar {i used half for fear it'd be overbearing, it was perfect for us}
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 16- to 20-inch-long baguette, preferably whole-grain {hoagies}
2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
1/4 cup sliced pepperoncini {I added a little more to ours and didn't put any on the kids}

1. Place onion rings in a small bowl and add cold water to cover. Set aside.

2. Combine artichoke hearts, tomato, vinegar, and oregano in a medium bowl. Cut baguette into 4 equal lengths. Split each piece horizontally and pull out about half of the soft bread from each side. Drain the onions and pat dry.

3. To assemble sandwiches, spread on the artichoke mixture and top with the onion, lettuce and pepperoncini. Cover with the baguette tops. Serve immediately.

shayne {yum} - ava {ew.} - nolan {yum} - coco {yum}

Pesto Sandwich.

When I made this pasta, I knew I had to try the pesto in a sandwich. I knew it'd be yummy. And it was!! We ate them for lunch with leftover black bean soup. I froze half of it to use for the pasta or more sandwiches. Probably more sandwiches...yum...

basil-cilantro pesto {below}
2 slices of bread, toasted
sprouts
tomatoes, sliced
avocado, smashed

Spread some pesto on one side of the bread, smashed avocado on the other. These are used as glue to hold everything else in. Then put sliced tomatoes and sprouts on one side... and close er up. Yum!

2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves

1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro
1/3 cup slivered or sliced almonds
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fat-free oil substitute

Place the basil, cilantro, almonds, garlic, lemon juice, and salt in a food processor and blend until pasty, scraping down the sides occasionally. With the food processor on, slowly drizzle in the oil substitute. Blend until relatively smooth and no large chunks of almonds are left. If you don't have a food processor and are using a blender (i did this so i didn't have to get out the big food processor), then just add the olive oil at the end, since many blenders aren't equipped with and opening to drizzle into.

Veganomicon, pg 214

makes about 1 cup

time: 10 minutes