Grilled Portobello-'Goat Cheese' Pitas

These individual pita pizzas are a great way to use the grill if you have one! If not, use a grill pan over the stove. A larger one works best, and will make the recipe come together quite quickly - mine, alas, is pretty small, so I had to grill everything in batches.

The goat cheese called for in the original recipe was a soft, spreadable variety, so to come closest to it, I used vegan cream cheese - try Tofutti's Better than Cream Cheese.

First, combine 1 and 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic with 1 teaspoon olive oil - you can use bottled minced garlic to make the recipe even quicker if you like. Brush the mixture evenly over 4 (6-inch) pitas - I used the whole wheat pitas from Whole Foods' house brand. Sprinkle the pitas evenly with 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. black pepper

Grill the pitas for 2 minutes on each side in a grill pan (or grill) over medium heat.

Meanwhile, sprinkle 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. black pepper evenly over 1 (6-ounce) package of sliced portobello mushrooms and 2 medium tomatoes, each cut into 1/4-inch thick slices.

Grill the portobellos for 6 minutes, turning halfway through cooking. Remove from grill or grill pan.

Grill the tomatoes for 1 minute.

Spread 1/3 cup vegan cream cheese evenly over the 4 pitas. Top evenly with the portobello and mushroom slices. Sprinkle 1/2 cup chopped basil evenly over the tops. Each topped pita is 290 calories.

Cost:
pita bread $1.99
portobello mushrooms $3.49
tomatoes $2.11