What's Up Dog, and Midweek Munchies on a Budget!

I started my day yesterday with some potato wedges dipped in a combo of FYH vegan ranch, and Trader Joe's Carolina gold BBQ sauce. They taste really good  mixed together.
Before I went to pick up some more stuff, I had a bowl of raspberries. Man have I missed berries!

I went to Safeway to get some rice, and beans and whatever else I could find to fit my budget.

Bulgur wheat, lentils,onion burger buns, onion, garlic, russet potatoes, parsley, carrots and Basmati rice

I forgot to show the cucumber!

I was actually worried that I was going over my budget, and I'd have to put something back, but I was pleasantly surprised to be well under budget. I'm rounding this up to seventeen dollars, so I have now spent twenty seven dollars, leaving me with eight dollars to still play around with! The bulgur was more than what I should have spent, at four fifty or so, but I really, really need to make tabbouleh salad. And, the bulgur will be an excellent binder for lentil burgers, so it was worth it.
For dinner, I decided to try to make carrot hot dogs! These were super trendy at some point on the webz, and I always meant to try to make them, and I forgot. Carrots are inexpensive, even organic so what better time to experiment! For some reason, I feel more creative when I'm on a budget, or when I have to whip something up with limited ingredients. I just made up my own marinade for the carrots, and they turned out way better than I ever imagined!

Soaking up all that flavor!!

First, I steamed the carrots for about twenty minutes. They need to be softened in order to soak up the marinade.
Marinade
1/4 C.soy sauce
1 1/2 T. vegan worcestershire sauce
1T. liquid smoke
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. smoked paprika

I let the steamed carrots marinate for about three hours or so. I'm sure it's like tofu, the longer the better. To cook them, I just sauteed them in a non stick pan for a few minutes, added the leftover marinade and covered the pan with a lid until the sauce was absorbed, and the carrots were kind of caramelized. To be honest I was somewhat skeptical, because it's a carrot. I really wish I would have gotten sauerkraut to go on top! The carrots are soft, but firm, obviously they aren't "meaty", but the texture is very nice and the flavor!!! So, so good. I served mine on onion burger buns, because when you're on a budget, you make it work! I slathered yellow mustard and some banana peppers on one, and Dijon and banana peppers on the other. I really loved these. I will be making these again for sure.

Close up!

Full plate, with some potato wedges and a bite taken!

I felt really great after eating this meal. I felt full, but not at all weighed down or heavy. Just really satisfied. The carrot hot dog trend is one of the good ones! I bet these would be most excellent on a grill!
This is also my budget MidWeek munchies post! I guess I should have mentioned that up top, but better late than never!
Happy Wednesday!