Veggie Burgers

For the vegetables in these patties, I used 2 1/2 cups of the stir-fried vegetables that I cooked earlier this month. They've been in my freezer. It was a mix of cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, peppers, onions and mushrooms. You can use 1 green bell pepper, halved and seeded plus 1 onion, quartered and  1/2 cup sliced mushrooms as a substitute. Or use whatever you have on hand.

Veggie Burgers

Ingredients

1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
1 cup water
2 (16 ounce) cans beans, rinsed and drained
2 1/2 cups cooked vegetables
6 cloves garlic, peeled
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs, or as needed

Directions

Bring the brown rice and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, and the liquid has been absorbed, 45 to 50 minutes.

Add drained beans and cooked vegetables to a 2 qt food processor or blender. Process until thick and pasty; set aside.

Place the brown rice and mozzarella cheese in the food processor, and process until combined. Stir the mixture into the black beans.

Preheat a cast iron skillet for medium high heat. Whisk together the eggs, chili powder, cumin, garlic salt, and hot sauce. Stir the egg mixture into the black bean mixture. Stir in the bread crumbs, adding additional bread crumbs as needed until the mixture is sticky and holds together. My vegetables were extra moist and I didn't drain my beans all the way, so I ended up using about 2 cups bread crumbs instead. Divide into large patties.

Spray skillet lightly with Pam. Place patties onto the prepared pan, and cook until browned and heated through, about 5-8 minutes per side.

 

To bake the patties: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a baking sheet. Place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.
 

I ended up with a lot of mixture. I used more vegetables than the recipe calls for and an extra can of beans. So I turned the remaining mixture into Veggie "meat"balls. Drop by teaspoonful onto greased pan and bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Use these in soups such as Minestrone or cook into some spaghettie sauce and serve over pasta for some easy pastafazool.

Oh! and did you notice the sprouts in the first picture? I've been sprouting my own seeds these last couple weeks. Pictured are sunflower sprouts (one of my favorites!) which are SO good. They take about 4-5 days to sprout so when you are using sprouts you do need to plan ahead. I've got 3 batches of sprouts going at once, all at different stages so I can usually always have some fresh sprouts available when I want them. If you get into the habit of eating sprouts everyday then you never have to worry about all your hard work going to waste. I love them on sandwiches and burgers instead of or in addition to lettuce. They have so much more flavor!