Brown Rice Mushroom Burger

Continuing with the awesomeness that is burger week, we have a nice hearty burger, that is even brown like a real meat burger for you! This one combines protein packed quinoa and some ingredients you might find in a real beef burger like Worcestershire, garlic and onions. The deep brown color of the Worcestershire really make these have a nice color and the bright green parsley adds some nice freshness. They are a little more delicate than our last burgers, because there are no mashed beans for glue. But have a light hand and these are just as delicious! 

Brown Rice Mushroom Burgers

1 cup cooked brown rice 

1/2 cup cooked quinoa

1/2 cup oats

2 cups chopped mushrooms

1/2 yellow onion

3 garlic cloves

1/2 cup fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 egg

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

*You will want rice that is more on the sticky side. So add a little extra water when cooking :)

In a medium pan heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add chopped mushrooms, garlic, and onions. Cook for 15-20 minutes on medium-low until mushrooms have released their juices and onions are soft. Remove from heat and add to a food processor. Along with mushrooms add cooked rice, oats, parsley, and egg. Pulse until mixture is combined. 

Remove and add to a large bowl along with quinoa, Worcestershire, mustard, hot sauce, salt and pepper. stir to combine. 

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Form 3 inch patties with hands and add to oil. Cook for about 3 minutes per side, until golden brown, then transfer to a baking sheet. These are a little more delicate then the last burgers, so flip with caution!

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. This will make your burgers nice and crispy and mush more stable! 

Thai Chickpea Burgers

This is going to be burger week! YAY! I am actually going to do more than one post and a few will be burgers! The biggest complaint about vegetarian burgers I have is that the usually fall apart and don't really hold up to be put on a bun. 

I saw this show on the food network called "You gotta eat here!". It is like a Canadian version of Man vs. Food, but with out the challenges. So maybe more like Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Either way, it sounds like I watch too much Food Network.  

There was a cool place featured called Boons Burgers, and it was totally vegetarian! They had so many cool veggie burger combinations it really inspired me to make a few different kinds of veggie burgers to expand my options.  This is an exotic burger with curry, cilantro, and cumin. A much needed change from the average burger ingredients. I actually caught my husband in the kitchen eating one right out of the oven. With nothing on it. BAZINGA!

Thai Chickpea Burgers

1 can chickpeas. drained

1 cup quick cooking oats

1 cup cooked quinoa

1/2 cup onion

1/2 cup red bell pepper

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon grated ginger

2 teaspoons red curry paste

1/2 teaspoon chili paste

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

1 egg

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

I could literally eat these with a spoon!

In a food processor add:

 chickpeas, 1/2 cup oats. onion, bell pepper, garlic, ginger, curry paste, chili paste, egg, honey, soy sauce, salt, cumin, and cilantro. Pulse until mixture is smooth. 

Add to a large bowl and add remaining 1/2 cup of oats and 1 cup of quinoa. Stir together until mixture is uniform. In a large pan heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Once oil is hot. form 1/3 cup of mixture into patties and add to pan. Cook for 2 minutes on each side. 

Place on a baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes until nice and crispy. These hold up so well, do not fall apart at all, and have a great spicy kick! I love them with barbeque sauce or a yummy curry mayo. 

Nate's Ultimate Bacon Burger

The other day my husband and I were talking to our friends Nate and Kelly on the phone (by talking I mean he was talking, and I was yelling in the background), and they started to talk about the blog and how it was slightly vegetarian. After TJ hung up, he turned to me and said, "You need to make a burger for Nate". TJ and Nate were college roommates and ate their share of burgers. So I did something I rarely do, and cooked red meat. This burger may be the ultimate bacon lovers burger, maybe even the ultimate burger lovers burger.... Bacon on the inside, bacon on the top, caramelized onions, and cheddar cheese.....my heart is stopping just talking about it! But you only live once, and this is a treat you are sure to enjoy.

Nate's Bacon Burgers

1 pound lean ground beef

12-14 strips of bacon

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 egg

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

dash of hot sauce

3/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon pepper

Toppings

1 large yellow onion

 1 tablespoon olive oil

8 slices cheddar cheese

Lettuce

8 whole wheat buns

Makes approximately 8 burgers

First, slice your yellow onion into even rings and place into pan with olive oil. Heat over medium heat, occasionally stirring. This will take a while so start here first! They should be done and ready to top the burgers by the time everything is cooked.

Heat a large pan over medium heat. When hot, add all strips of bacon, cooking to desired crispiness. After bacon is cooked and cooled, reserve 8-10 strips for topping your burgers, and place the remaining bacon on a large cutting board. Chop bacon into small pieces and add to a large mixing bowl.

In the same large mixing bowl as the crumbled bacon, add ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, oregano,  pepper, diced onions, and minced garlic. Using your hands or a large spoon mix well, until mixture is uniform. Using 3/4-1 cup of the mixture at a time, form into round patties. Be sure to make the patties an even thickness, so they cook the same, all the way through.

I like to brush my burgers with a little soy sauce after flipping to make them a nice deep brown with a little flavor!

Heat your grill to medium-high heat. No need to use spray here :) Place each patty on hot grill and grill for 5-7 minutes on each side or until no longer pink in the middle. Remove from heat a get ready to top!

To assemble, place burger on whole wheat bun, add one slice on cheddar cheese, 1-2 strips of bacon , a spoon full of caramelized onions, lettuce and your favorite condiments. Then....hit the gym :)

Garden Chicken Burgers with Caramelized Onions, Mushrooms, and Leeks

Sometimes even vegetarians have to cook meat. For me that is everyday. I can only get away with saying "meatless monday!" to my husband on mondays.  That being said, I would rather my meat-eating friends eat chicken if they are going to eat meat, and these burgers are just the ticket. They have veggies hidden throughout and even flax seed for what might be the healthiest burger around! When topped with caramelized onions, mushroom, and leeks they are sure to be a hit. My husband approved.  I will be honest, I had to take a bite to make sure I wasn't poisoning you :)

Yes, all of that is going in the burgers!

Garden Chicken Burgers

1 pound ground chicken breast

1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

1/2 cup oats

1 egg - beaten

1/2 cup chopped onion 

2 cloves garlic - minced 

1 medium carrot - grated

 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 green onion - thinly sliced

2 tablespoons flax seed

1 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon Sambal Oelek ground chili paste or hot sauce

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Squeeze of fresh lemon

This recipe makes about 6 burgers

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  In a large bowl combine chicken, egg, onion, garlic, carrot, bell pepper, green onion, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, chili paste, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. Mix well until all ingredients are evenly distributed. In a food processor or blender pulse oats and bread crumbs until combined and oats are finely chopped. Add oat mixture to bowl with chicken mixture and combine until evenly distributed.  Using around 1/2 cup of the mixture at a time, form into patties of desired thickness and place on a greased cookie sheet.  Place in oven 30-40 minutes or until internal temperature is 165 degrees. Top with caramelized onion mixture and your other favorite burger toppings.

Caramelized Onion, Mushroom, and Leeks

1 large sweet onion (Yellow, Vidalia, Maui)

2 leeks

1 cup mushroom

Olive Oil

Heat olive oil in large pan on medium heat. Slice onions to and even desired thickness and add to pan. Stir until softened and reduce to low heat. This may take a while, but sauté until onions begin to slowly brown. Slice mushrooms and leeks to similar thickness of onion. Add mushrooms and white/light green part of leeks to pan and sauté with onions, until fully caramelized. This may take up to an hour, but slow and steady wins the race!