Lawry’s asked six Houston bloggers to come up with a menu plan for a large gathering using their marinades, seasoned salt, or other seasonings.

Large gatherings?  Food?  Cooking it up with friends? Why, don’t mind if I do!

Of course we had to pay homage to Houston’s awesome Tex-Mex inspired food.  Lawry’s makes a ton of tasty marinades and they don’t have any MSG or fake food coloring.

And heaven knows I never met a shortcut I didn’t like.

The Houston team came up with appetizers, salads, and easy summer main courses for a party.

I teamed up with the funny and fabulous Nicki Woo to get our grill on.  Together we developed recipes then cooked up Carne Asada Tortas and Vegetarian Grilled Party Sandwiches with summer vegetables.

We don’t eat meat every night, instead choosing to eat higher quality meat less often.  An easy grilled veggie sandwich was a natural choice!

My favorite side dish of summer is grilled squash, zucchini, and eggplant and this sandwich tastes just like summer to me.  It’s got a toothsome bite thanks to the eggplant and mushrooms, a smoky outdoor-cooked flavor, and it’s super easy to serve up to a crowd.

Lawry’s is famous for seasoned salt, but I love the simple flavors of Lawry’s Seasoned Pepper in this dish.

Vegetarian Grilled Party Sandwich

2-3 lbs. summer vegetables, such as squash, zucchini, or calabaza (Mexican squash), tomatoes, or bell peppers. And onions! The grilled onions are important.

1-2 lbs. eggplant

1-2 lbs. cremini or baby portabellas, or other meaty mushroom

Lawry’s seasoned pepper

Olive oil

Salt

Cheese (optional), either shredded or sliced.

Large loaf French or Italian bread

See?  I told you it was easy!  Oh, you’ll need a grill pan – I bought a disposable one at the dollar store.  No grill pan?  Layer a couple pieces of heavy duty foil and poke some holes in it so the vegetables won’t fall through the grill.

Wash, trim, and chop the veggies in bite size pieces.

Sprinkle the eggplant with salt, and put it in a colander to drain any bitter juices.  Let it rest for a few minutes while you get your grill ready.  Rinse.

Toss vegetables, eggplant, and mushrooms with olive oil to coat and add a generous sprinkle of seasoned pepper and salt.

Grill on a hot grill for 5 minutes.  Stir everything around a bit and grill for 5 minutes more or until vegetables are tender.

Cut loaf of bread horizontally, to make one large sandwich.

Brush bread with olive oil and grill until lightly toasted.  Keep an eye on it- it will go from toasty to burned in a flash!

Spread bread with chipotle mayo (recipe below) and add grilled vegetables.  Top with cheese and briefly return to grill, if necessary, to melt cheese.

Cut into individual sandwiches and serve. Fancy toothpicks are optional but are oh-so-much fun!

You can literally serve 10-15 people in half an hour.

Bonus recipe!

Easy Chipotle Mayonnaise

1/2 c. mayonnaise (prepared, vegan, or homemade- use what your family likes.)

2 tsp. Lawry’s Baja Chipotle marinade

1-2 Tbsp. lime juice (or yield from 1 lime, juiced.)

1 clove garlic, minced (optional)

Blend ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate until your sandwiches are ready.  Let the flavors hang out and get friendly with other.  Yes, just 3 minutes to gourmet flavor. Love that!

We’re competing with teams from cities all over the country, but I think we’ve got an edge.  Our meal was light and lean, easy, quick, and oh-so-good.  We ate the leftover sandwich filling as omelette filling the next day- this recipe is very versatile, too.

Want to try this recipe?  I’m giving away a Lawry’s marinade prize pack.  Stay tuned for details.

Check out the other tasty vittles the Houston bloggers came up with!

Rachel from Following In My Shoes posted Roasted Pepper Pico de Gallo with Black Beans and Mango.

Crystal from Simply Being Mommy posted a simpler version, Black Bean and Mango Pico.

Stacey from Tree, Root and Twig worked up an easy make ahead Cold Bean Tex Mex Salad.

Shannon from Potamus Prefers posted Spicy Cold Bean Salad.

Nicole from NickWoo posted our Carne Asada Tortas- and she caught me taking pictures in the store.  Bloggers have no shame.

A huge thanks to Lawry’s and The Motherhood for sponsoring such a fun recipe contest.  Want a quick entry to win Lawry’s products?  Leave me a comment to enter, then go read the giveaway details.

Have you ever served a sandwich at a barbecue?

Blogging with Integrity: I was compensated for helping develop recipes using Lawry’s products.  I was sent some products, but purchased the Lawry’s Seasoned Pepper and Baja Chipotle marinade myself.