Finally!! A Perfect Veggie Burger...

Everyone has that dish that they can NOT seem to perfect.  I bet you can name one right now can't you?

Mine is a veggie burger.  I've altered every possible aspect of the recipe.  I've tried more online recipes than I can count but, none of them have seen truely delicious until this one.  

I used TVP as my base.  One of the biggest problems I've had with veggie burgers in the past was that they fell apart on me when I would take them out of the pan.  These stayed together very nicely.  

My binders were canned pumpkin and breadcrumbs.  The flavors comepletlly belend.  Nother pverpowers anything else.  They are all together harmoniously.  

I had a bit too much time on my hands so Sunny and I decided to make Naan bread to use as a bun.  

Naan
1.5 cups flour
.5 T active dry yeast
.25 cup warm plain nondairy milk
.5 cup plain nondairy yogurt
1-2 T garlic

Directions

1. Heat milk in microwave for 20 seconds until warm
2. Sprinkle yeast on top and let sit for 10 minutes until frothy and bubbly
3. Mix all the ingredients together and stir until combined
4. Let rise in a warm dark place (like the oven) for 60-90 minutes
5. Divide into 10 pieces and roll into either a circle or a square. 
6. Heat a skillet sprayed with pan spray on high heat.  
7. Heat naan for about a minute on the first side then flip and cook for another minute on the other side.  Both sides should be golden brown and bubbly.  
8. Cover with a lid and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute.
9. Use 2 per burger.  One on top and one on the bottom.

TVP Burger
2.5 cup TVP (I use Bob's Red Mill)
2.5 c boiling vegetable broth
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 onion, grated

Directions

1. Put TVP in a bowl, pour boiling water over it and cover.  Let sit for atleast 10 minutes
2. Mix all other ingredients into the TVP and mix thuroughly.  (I find using my hands is the easiest way but, make sure your TVP is cool enough before you do!)
3. Form into 5 patties.  
4. Heat a skillet sprayed with pan spary on medium high heat and cook for about 5-7 minutes each side until golden brown

You can also broil them 5-7 minutes each side

What is the dish that you have been having trouble perfecting?

What Says Summer Better Than Tomatoes (and a giveaway)?

As an unknown blogger there are a few things that make me happy.  

1. People leaving comments on my posts
2. The idea that companies will send me things to try.

Well, number 1 has happened a handful of times.  And a few weeks ago number 2 happened!  I got an email from Christi at Red Gold Tomatoes.  She sent 6 different varieties of tomatoes, a couple cool tomato aprons, and a bottle of jalapeno ketchup for me and the family to try.  

All the yummy samples Red Gold sent me

Red Gold has been around since 1942.  They have focused on growing local in the Midwest, where true seasons positively impact the flavor of tomatoes. The Midwest, while it's cold in the winter, has the perfect growing season for tomatoes, perfect angle of the sun, perfect temps -- and even the winter is good for tomatoes, as it breaks up the soil for tiny root systems.

Links to Red Gold's webpage and Facebook are located at the end of the post.  Plus, Red Gold is running a contest until August 23rd.  Go to their Facebook page and register to win a Big Green Egg and a bunch of other prizes!


Not only do these tomatoes taste great there are also some added benefits of using canned tomatoes. Canned tomatoes have more lycopene than fresh tomatoes.  The cooking process causes more lycopene to be released and makes it easier for our bodies to use.  What is lycopene?  Lycopene is an antioxidant.  It reduces our cancer and cardiovascular disease risk. 



Since my parents were in town I decided to make burgers.  Plus, tomatoes are an essential part of summer. Everyone loves burgers and they went wild over these. Moist and juicy, filled with flavor, simple yet awesome. 

Tomato Burgers
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1 can Red Gold Tomatoes, drained
1 egg
1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Directions

1. In a bowl combine all the ingredients
2. Form into patties
3. Grill until done

The second recipe I did with the tomatoes is what I call Triple S Salsa {the first two S's are for Super Simple}  I served this with some homemade tortilla chips.  Then we realized that it would be great warm so, I mixed it in with some rice.  Voila!  A second meal to make with your leftovers!!  Double duty foods, I love them.

Triple S Salsa
Serves 8
Calories:  82
Fat:  0.6g
Carbs:  18.1g
Protein:  4.2g

Ingredients
1 can Red Gold Tomatoes with Lime and Cilantro
1.25 cup corn kernels
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 onion, diced


Instructions

1. Mix ingredients together
2. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour so the flavors can deepen
3. Serve with tortilla chips

And what's a better way to start a weekend but with a giveaway???  The Red Gold has generously given me a gift pack to give away to one lucky reader!  The gift pack will include a sample of Red Pack goodies (ketchup, Red Gold w/Green Chilies, Red Gold Lime Juice & Cilantro), as well as coupons and recipes for a Spicy Tomato Burger and Caribbean Chicken Burger.  

 Enter using the form below between now and September 1st.  




Links
Red Gold Website
Red Gold on Facebook 

Pie Burger

I love Next Food Network Star.  I've watched it religiously for the past 4 seasons.  This season the owner of a pie company, Dangerously Delicious Pies is on there.  Last nite's challenge was a Burger challenge.  He made a pie burger.  A burger sitting on top of a piece of pie dough.  It was so stupid.  As soon as he said his idea I started thinking about how I would do a pie burger.  My first thought was to wrap the burger in pie dough.  Ken agreed that my idea seemed like a logical one.  Since I can't make pie dough fat free I used a simple bread dough.  The dough was wrapped around some mushrooms and onions, seasoned with some garlic and worcestershire sauce {to help give it a "burger-y" taste}, and cheese.  It was really good.  I will definitely be adding this to my monthly rotation.

"Pie" Dough
Adapted from Whole Wheat Slider Bun Recipe from Fleischman's
Makes 10 (2 per person)
Calories: 230
Fat: 0.9 grams
Protein: 7.9 grams
Carbs: 46.5 grams


 1.75 -2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
5 t yeast
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 cup water


Directions


Mix together flour, sugar and yeast

In a small saucepan combine milk and water.  Heat over medium until the temp reaches between 120 -130

Add milk mixture to the flour mixture.  Stir together and knead for 8-10 minutes

Let sit for 10 minutes.

Divide into 10 equal pieces and roll out.  Let rise for 30 minutes


"Burger" Mix

1.5 lbs of mushrooms (I used a mixture of button and baby bella), sliced
1.5 medium onions, diced
2 T garlic
1 T Worcestershire sauce

Directions

Heat a large skillet sprayed with a bit of nonstick spray

Add onions and mushrooms and garlic and saute until soft

Stir in Worcestershire sauce


Extras
Cheese
Jalepenos


To Put Together

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
 
After dough has risen place cheese on each 

Place 1/3 cup of mushroom mixture on top of cheese followed by any other toppings you'd like

Fold sides of dough up around fillings

Place it on a greased baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes until dough is golden brown



Now I need y'all's help.  I've been trying to think of things that I could add to the burger to amp it up.  I'm drawing a blank.  What would you do to bump it up?

New Recipe For New Tools

Ever had this happen to you?  You ask for a new gadget for Christmas/your birthday and when you get it you can't find a reason to use it?  Yep, that totally happened to me.  Ken gave me a mini-food processor for Christmas.  I had been asking for one for MONTHS, since my normal sized one died.  But, I haven't made anything that's called for using it.  

I finally found a use for it.  Happy Herbivore's Mushroom Burgers.  The recipe came out of the Happy Herbivore cookbook my sister, Sarah, got me for Christmas.  This book is awesome!

Here's the recipe:

2 slice of whole wheat bread (I used reduced calorie oatmeal bread)
8 oz button mushrooms
1 15oz can dark red kidney beans
1 medium onion
1 T minced garlic
1/4 cup whole wheat flour  (I only added this to try and stiffen the mix)
2 T soy sauce
2 T steak sauce
2 T barbecue sauce

1. Put the bread in the food processor and create crumbs. Put them in a mixing bowl
2. Process the mushrooms until very finely chopped.  Put in bowl with breadcrumbs
3. Do the same thing with the beans and onion
4. Add all of the wet ingredients and flour to bowl with the veggies and beans.  Mix well.
5. Form 7 or 8 patties with your hands
6. Put patties on a baking sheet that has been greased with pan spray.
7. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes
8. Flip the burgers and respray.  Bake for 8 minutes.
9. Flip again and spray again.  Bake 5 minutes.

I topped it just like I would a normal burger. The recipe was a bit thin and that's why I added the flour.  Now if I could only find my camera for a picture....But, I'll post a picture once I find my camera.  Enjoy!  

The best part about these burgers?  According to Caloriecount.about.com They only have 111 calories and 0.6 grams of fat.