So every Monday I try to make a really ‘meaty’ dish using a Gardein www.gardein.com product. With mushrooms being really really good right now, and my local Super Target having a great price on Portabello caps, which were literally soft ball sized, I started there and with the Beefless Tips since I knew I wanted something ‘beefy’ and then set upon the search in the pantry for what else I was going to make. Now these mushrooms were serious, so I thought hmmmm…what if I just roast them with a slight drizzle of olive oil & some fresh chopped garlic, for about 15 minutes, and cook up the beefless tips in the meantime. Then I threw some Israeli Couscous in and added that to the meal. So what you’ll need to replicate this meal, for 2 servings:

• 2 large portabello caps
• 6 cloves of garlic, fresh, chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp safflower oil
• ¾ cup dry Israeli couscous (we like to buy ours bulk at Whole Foods, it is cheap and tastes GREAT!)
• 1 bag of Gardein Beefless tips
• 1 bunch of spinach
• ‘Beef’ seasoning of your choice
• ½ cup sweet white wine or chardonnay
• ½ – 1 cup nutritional yeast

After you’ve cleaned & washed your spinach and your mushrooms, take your mushrooms, put them on a sheet of foil. Drizzle about ½ tbsp. of olive oil on each mushroom, and an entire clove of garlic on each one. Then you will put them either into a toaster oven, which I did…because we live in FL and cooking ANYTHING in the oven in August is like adding to the existing heat outside IN your house, or put them in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes, or until they have become moist and smell delicious! If you like them more ‘aldante’ then definitely keep an eye on them and maybe do 10 minutes instead. Obviously the thickness of the mushroom will dictate the cooking time as well.

Take your safflower oil and put that into a skillet, and let it warm. When your oil is ready put the garlic in and let that soften for about 3-4 minutes. (Start cooking your couscous as soon as you put the beefless tips in…it typically takes 8-10 minutes and you don’t want to overcook that as it becomes a sticky mess.)Then put the beefless tips in; followed directly by the wine. Once you’ve added the wine, put in your seasoning. I have seasoning left over from my non-vegan days that I actually purchased in 2008 in Milwaukee, WI. It’s so yummie, with rye seeds, paprika, cayenne, and salt…I can’t quite figure out what else is in there. But the seasoning is vegan, most are, and I found a comparable version with the Grillers brand. Anywho…add your seasoning, and then add your nutritional yeast. This gives the sauce a bit of thickness, almost like a gravy, and really adds to the flavor, then you want to lower the heat to a simmer, and just let the beefless tips soak up the wine and spices. I cook them until they are tender and I feel the spice is right!

When everything is ready, about 15 total minutes of cooktime between your three items (mushrooms, beefless tips & couscous,) take your mushroom out, plate it, then serve the couscous (after draining well,) on top and the beefless tips on top of that with your sauce. Voila! A hearty Meatless Monday meal for anyone!

These photos do NOT do it justice. MAN did my husband and I think I kicked some butt on these