[Veagan MOFO] WWGFE Wednesday - Pittsburgh Portobello Salad

On DDD Guy stops by a place and they create a steak salad. The salad comes complete with fries, croutons, steak, ranch dressing and cheese crumbles. I thought that sounded intriguing so I set out to create my own vegan version.

I used an organic lettuce blend as the base, topped it off with oven baked fries (with a Johnny Garlic's twist: nooch, garlic and pink sea salt sprinkled on top), homemade basil croutons, portobello strips marinated in: vegan worstisheir sauce, spices, liquid smoke and Braggs, habanero ranch dressing and some spicy cultured cashew cheeze I bought from Whole Foods.
I had more veggies to use that day but I forgot them! I hate when that happens. It was a great salad, even for a mushroom dislike-r like myself it was tasty and good. I could have used vegan steak strips but wanted to try something new!Salads do not have to be all wimpy - if only every restaurant had a vegan salad option like this!

Vegan Carne Asada Frichos

To keep on the PMS food wagon this week I was craving salty and something Mexican inspired. I decided on vegan carne asada strips (seitan steak strips marinated in spices & citrus) but when I went to get tortillas my mind was like funk that! I walked over to the freezer section and grabbed a bag of thick cut steak fries. I believe I was inspired by something I saw online but made it vegan of course and added more fresh stuff. 

Fries topped with vegan carne asada strips fried with red bell peppers, 2 different types of salsa (hot red and verde), fresh smashed chunky guacamole, cheeze sauce and hot sauce! You needed to use a fork to eat this bad boy up! Dig in!

[Vegan MOFO Day 20] Fast Food Friday: Carl's Jr Memphis BBQ Burger

When describing the Memphis BBQ Burger to Matt: pulled pork, crispy onion strings, cheese and a patty, he asked "is that real?". Yes it is real and it looks as if you can get a double patty version if you are inclined! The single patty version clocks in at 1030 calories, 55 grams of fat, 135 mg of cholesterol - kinda scary right?

So for my last Fast Food Friday for MOFO I had to veganize it! I started off with a seeded whole wheat bun, patty of choice: Gardein fresh burger, cheeze, Just Pure Foods crispy onion rings crushed up, pulled jackfruit tossed in a spicy BBQ sauce and more BBQ sauce added!

Verdict: winner! Seriously good, messy and with a side of fries it was a fast food fake-out to the max! Sorry for the less than stellar close up, we wanted to dig in and I wanted to eat and watch American Horror Story! Just a few notes: I used Follow Your Heart's Monterey Jack instead of cheddar due to it being on hand. I also used way less onion strips because Matt hates onion - however these crunchy gems were a hit, they were spicy and added a kick!

Once out of MOFO-mode I plan on trying more fast-food fake-outs! It has been fun, things that look/sound gross are actually winners!