Vegetarian “Steak” and Potatoes With Mixed Veggies.

This meal is one of LeeLee’s favorites, a good old hearty “steak” and potatoes affair that soothes the soul and satisfies the stomach.  But don’t worry, I didn’t suffer any – truth be told, it’s one of my favorite dinners too!  And the final result – pots, pans, and serving dishes stripped clean of any molecule of tonight’s meal – proved it beyond a shadow of a doubt.

First, I set a large pot on the stove to boil, and once the water was going full speed ahead, I dropped a bag of small colorful potatoes in to cook.  Usually, I slice them into quarters, but these were small enough to cook all by themselves in about 25 minutes!  Once I had the potatoes in their proper place, I ventured out to our garden and cut some parsley and chives, washing them and chopping them up for serving atop the potatoes.  Hold that thought – I’ll be back to those in a few minutes.

When we had about 15 minutes left in the cooking process, I coated a frying pan with cooking spray, set the flame to Medium, and arranged a package of Gardein beefless tips in a single layer, flipping them around every 5 minutes or so to cook them evenly.  They sizzled beautifully, spicing up the kitchen with a mouthwatering aroma!

Finally, it was time to tackle the mixed vegetables – the easiest part of the meal, by far!  I pulled a package of steam-in-the-bag veggies out of the freezer, microwaved them for 5 minutes, and voila!  Tossed with some chipotle powder and a pat of butter, it was ready to be devoured in short order. :)

When the potatoes were fully cooked, I drained the water from the pan and placed them in a serving bowl.  That’s when I added a pat of butter to the top and sprinkled the parsley and chives over the spuds, stirring everything to coat the potatoes evenly.  The herbs added a splash of color to the bowl – and the flavor can’t be beat!

I gave away the ending to this story in the first paragraph of today’s post – we always love this meal, and tonight’s rendition is no different.  We’d cleaned the serving bowls so well, they hardly had to be washed (note to guests: I mean this facetiously, please come back over and eat, knowing our dishes are perfectly sterile!).  And though there are no leftovers, that’s OK.  Tonight’s dinner was worth it.

:)