Baltimore Small Tales: A place to read about hopes, thoughts, dreams, tragedies, and triumphs.

I have so much to write about the wedding and honeymoon. There are many blog posts in my mind.

But before I start divulging details about all that, I had to post the recipe for EatingWell's Portobello "Philly Cheese Steak" vegetarian sandwich. When traffic was bad on 83 north coming home, I thought, yet again, I wouldn't get to making this sandwich before Allan left for work this evening. In the end, I wasn't able to finish by the the time he had to leave. But it doesn't matter because I think the leftovers will be just as good as hot off the stove.

Here's why it's good: There are a lot of dueling flavors going on here, but none of them are too overpowering. The end product is a tasty meal! Also, it's very easy to make into a vegan dish. Just change out the cheese ingredient below with a vegan substitute.


What You'll Need

• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 4 large portobello mushrooms, stems and gills removed (see Tip), sliced
• 1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano, or 2 teaspoons dried
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth, or reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 3 ounces thinly sliced reduced-fat provolone cheese
• 4 whole-wheat buns, split and toasted

What You'll Need to Do

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet or pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until soft and beginning to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, bell pepper, oregano and pepper and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are wilted and soft, about 7 minutes.
2. Reduce heat to low; sprinkle the vegetables with flour and stir to coat. Stir in broth and soy sauce; bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat, lay cheese slices on top of the vegetables, cover and let stand until melted, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Divide the mixture into 4 portions with a spatula, leaving the melted cheese layer on top. Scoop a portion onto each toasted bun and serve immediately.

My favorite thing about this dish is that it's not bad for you! Here are the nutrition facts from Eating Well's website:

Per serving: 268 calories; 10 g fat ( 4 g sat , 4 g mono ); 15 mg cholesterol; 35 g carbohydrates; 13 g protein; 7 g fiber; 561 mg sodium; 704 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (140% daily value), Selenium (49% dv), Vitamin A (30% dv), Calcium (25% dv), Potassium (20% dv), Magnesium (16% dv).

Carbohydrate Servings: 2

Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 vegetable, 1 high-fat meat

Another cool thing about this dish is that most of the ingredients will last for a long time, so in a way this is also very affordable.

Bon Appetit!