Tag Archives: Veggies

Shredded Veggie Burgers

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This is the fourth little veggie burger I’ve shared with you.

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You see, I am obsessed with veggie burgers. I’m talking homemade veggie burgers. Burgers with loads of veggies and beans and spices and flavor. And toppings. Sometimes the toppings make the burger.

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But, for the longest time, I was afraid to make veggie burgers! Yes, I was afraid. I thought veggie burger making was reserved for veggie burger gods or something. I don’t know what I was afraid of.

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So finally I tried this little veggie burger. Some smashed beans, tons of veggies, and breadcrumbs and egg for binding. Easy and delicious. That is a great basic veggie burger. Then, I got a little more adventurous with this sweet potato burger. I wanted to make a super quick, and also vegan burger. It worked! I love those burgers, with not as many veggies but with tons of delicious sweet potato. And then this corn + pepper burger happened. Because corn and summer and it just seemed right. It is similar to the first one I made, but the corn makes it even more awesome.

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This past weekend my parents came to Philly for a little visit (we had so much fun!). We did a little touring of Independence Hall and then we ate at the National Mechanics restaurant. OMG, it was so good. There were so many things on the menu that I wanted to order, I just couldn’t decide. Greg was deciding between the veggie burger and the crab cake sandwich, so I told him that I would order whichever he didn’t and we could try each others. He ordered the veggie burger so I ordered the crab cake sandwich. Our meals came out and I just stared at his burger, in total jealousy.

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That thing looked too amazing. Of course, everyone at the table noticed my stare (and shared a laugh) and Greg reassured me that we could really share.

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The burger was all veggies and no beans. The veggies were shredded. And it looked messy. It looked messy but tasted delicious. I wanted so badly to recreate it.

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So, this was my attempt, and I think it turned out really well. These burgers are awesome! Shredded zucchini and carrots with garlic, broccoli and mushrooms. Some flour and egg and that is it! They are sort of like crispy veggie patties, but I really don’t like the word “patties” so I’ll just stick with burger.

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Also, I apologize for the bun-less and topping-less photos, but to be honest, these are so good without buns or toppings! And I know I said above that toppings many times make a burger, but these needed none for me. We ate some of these burgers bun-less and all of them topping-less!

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If you love veggie burgers or even if you don’t, I think you will love these. These work great as a burger main dish with sides but would also work great as a side dish. No matter how you have them, I hope that you enjoy!

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Ingredients
3 medium zucchini
2 medium carrots
2 cups raw mushrooms
2 cups raw broccoli
Olive oil
1 large garlic clove
1 cup flour
2 eggs

In a food processor, shred the zucchini and carrots. Place in a large bowl and set aside.

Chop the mushrooms and broccoli. In a pan over medium heat, add about 1 tablespoon olive oil. Once hot, add the minced garlic, then the mushrooms and broccoli. Stir around, and cook for several minutes, until the veggies just begin to get soft. Add the broccoli/mushroom mixture to a food processor and pulse several times, just to break the veggies up a bit.

Add the broccoli/mushroom mixture to the bowl with the zucchini and carrots. Also add the flour and eggs. Mix well, to combine.

Add olive oil to a pan over medium-high heat and once hot, add veggies that have been formed into patties. I “pattied” the veggies as I was adding them to the pan, rather than before. Cook about 7 minutes on each side, or until not longer mushy and crispy and nicely browned. I cooked these longer than other veggie burgers just to ensure that all the egg was cooked through.

Enjoy!

Salmon + Veggie Salad

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I’ve got another salad combo for you.

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Juicy tomatoes.

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Creamy avocado.

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Salty capers.

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Pickled red onions.

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And fresh, delicious salmon.

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Piled high on a bed of greens.

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This salad is amazing. Everything goes so well together. Also great for these warm days. It requires very little cooking and prep work.

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In the directions, I tell you how I prepared my salmon for this salad. But you should definitely prepare it your favorite way. If you have a grill, I am sure that would be perfect {dreaming of the day I can have a grill}.

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I suggest an oil-based dressing for this salad, but again, use what you love. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

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Oh, I have to mention! This salad was inspired by a delicious meal we ate the The Tomato Bistro.

Ingredients
*This is for two salads. Double, triple, etc., as you please.
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 avocado, sliced
4 tablespoons capers
1/4 of a red onion, sliced
Red wine vinegar
Olive oil
2 fillets of salmon, whatever size you like to eat
Juice from one half of a lemon
Salt and pepper
Mixed greens (or your favorite lettuce)

First prep your veggies. Cut the grape tomatoes in half. Slice the avocado. Slice 1/4 of a red onion. Place the onion slices in a bowl and completely cover with red wine vinegar. Let this sit while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Pour about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a pan over medium-high heat. Let the oil get hot and then add the salmon fillets. I cooked mine for about 2 minutes on each side. Once the first side was done, I sprinkled salt and pepper on each fillet, squeezed some lemon juice into the pan over the salmon and then flipped them. I cooked the other side for 2 minutes and squeezed the rest of the lemon juice on the salmon.

To arrange the salad, I would suggest tossing the greens with dressing first. You can do this in a big bowl and then transfer the dressed greens to smaller serving bowls. In each serving bowl, arrange the tomatoes, 1/2 of an avocado, 2 tablespoons capers, one half of the red onions and one fillet of salmon.

Enjoy!

Notes:
– Letting the onion sit in red wine vinegar is sort of a really quick pickling process. It takes the bite out of the onion, makes them soft and almost sweet. You can let the onion soak in the vinegar as long as you want, even overnight!

Summertime Pasta Salad

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Another cool salad for these hot summer days.

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And this pasta is so, so good. And, I just realized, it’s not actually summer yet. This is still summertime pasta salad. 🙂

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My mom has always made a pasta salad that I like. She uses Italian dressing and salad supreme. I have always enjoyed it. It kind of reminds me of more “traditional” pasta salad compared to this one.

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This idea came from Greg’s mom. Last summer she made some amazing pasta salad with this Gazebo Room Greek dressing on it. I loved it. So did Greg. We made it several times on our own that summer.

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I have made this pasta salad  three times in the last two weeks. It is that good.

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I don’t know what it is about the dressing. It just has the perfect taste. It’s flavorful but not overly Greek-y. Sometimes Greek dressing can be very strong, but this one is just enough.

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And for noodles, any noodle can work in this! Use what you love. We have made it with these spinach linguine noodles, with spiral noodles and, this time, with whole wheat chiocciole noodles (which I also used in this pasta). It has been good with every single noodle we’ve tried.

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Same with veggies. Add what you like. Add a lot or add a little. In this one I used cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes and corn. Also good in this is cucumber and black beans. You have got to try  those too (I just didn’t have them).

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Also, cheese. Try cheese. I didn’t have it on hand, so I left it out this time. It’s just as good without, but cheese is never a bad decision. I would suggest mozzarella, any kind of cubed cheddar or feta. But try any that you like!

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It’s delicious, simple and completely customizable. Pick your favorite noodle, pick your favorite veggies and pick your favorite cheese. Use this Greek dressing. If your store doesn’t have this brand, I would just try another one. I just know that I love using this one for this noodle salad.

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Boil noodles, mix in veggies, pour on dressing, stir well and enjoy! Delicious food can be that simple.

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Ingredients
1 pound of noodles (I used chiocciole noodles)
1 bottle of Gazebo Room Greek salad dressing and marinade 
2 cups of cauliflower, chopped small
2 cups of broccoli, chopped small
1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, quartered
1 can of corn, drained and rinsed
Other ideas: chopped cucumber, black beans, cheese, or any veggie that you love (I would love to hear what you would use!)

Chop all of your veggies. I chop the veggies very small for this pasta salad. Use cauliflower, broccoli, tomato, corn, cucumber or any other veggie that you love. Also chop or prepare the cheese, if using.

Bring a pot of water to boil. Cook noodles according to directions on package. Rinse the pasta with cold water when it’s done cooking so that it won’t be sticky in the salad.

Add the noodles and the chopped veggies (and the cheese, if using) to a very large bowl. Start with once cup of the dressing and give everything a very good stir. If it seems like it needs more, add more dressing until you are satisfied with the taste and “wetness” of the salad. A lot of times pasta salad will dry out as it sits in the refrigerator so it is nice to have some dressing left over to add when you are ready to serve it.

Serve cold and enjoy!

Notes:
-This makes excellent leftovers. Like I said above, if it seems like it needs more dressing after a day or two, add more right before serving. The amount of dressing you use will vary depending on the type of noodle you use, the amount of veggies and how long you have it as leftovers.

Asparagus + Red Onion + Pesto Creamy Quesadilla

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This is my new favorite meal.

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My new favorite lunch. It requires very little cooking (I love cooking, but for now, the less heat, the better). It really requires very little work at all.

And this quesadilla tastes special. It’s like I’m eating something from an exciting, new restaurant. I can’t explain it, it just feels special.

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Even though I was a bit afraid to, I made this for Greg two nights ago. You see, he is not the biggest fan of cream cheese, sour cream and “other white stuff like that.”

I love cream cheese on a bagel, him not so much. A dollop of sour cream on a fajita? I love it, but not him. When I thought of this quesadilla using cream cheese, I knew I would love it. But I was worried about him.

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I decided to give it a try anyway. I didn’t tell him what was in it. I told him to try one bite — if he didn’t like it, I would make him another one, differently.

I watched nervously, as he took that first bite.

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He loved it! I could barely believe it.

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And then. “Is that sour cream?”

Great..I was hoping he wasn’t going to ask. I should have known better.

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“No,” I said.

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“What is it?” he asked.

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My first response? “I don’t want to tell you!”

But, after a few tries with that answer, and his plea of “C’mon tell me, I said that I like it!” I gave in and told the truth.

I put cream cheese in his quesadilla.

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Luckily, it turned out well for both of us. I get to make quesadillas with cream cheese, and we both like eating them.

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It does sound like cream cheese in a quesadilla could be overwhelming. But, it is the only cheese I put in this one. It actually feels light compared to other cheese-packed quesadillas you can get at restaurants.

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The flavor of this is unbelievable. Crispy asparagus and red onion + the creamy cheese + the flavor punch from the pesto = a tasty combination that will leave you wanting more.

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And, I used my cast iron skillet to make these — it was perfect!

Ingredients
*This is what I used to make one quesadilla. It can be very easily doubled, tripled, etc.
1 soft tortilla
5 asparagus stalks
1/4 of a medium red onion
8 chive sprigs
1 1/2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 tablespoons of pesto
Olive oil

Chop the asparagus into 1/2 inch pieces. Thinly slice the onion. In a pan over medium-high heat, add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Once hot, add the onion and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the asparagus, give it a good toss, and cook the veggies for another 5 minutes. While cooking, the pan should be very hot. This way, the veggies get crisp and cook quickly. Once the veggies are done, set them aside.

Place a skillet over medium heat (I used my cast iron and it worked perfectly). Place a tortilla into the hot skillet. Carefully spread the cream cheese on one side of the tortilla. Tear the chives into small pieces and place on top of the cream cheese. Next, spoon the veggies onto the tortilla followed by the pesto.

At this point, your tortilla should be crisp but not burnt. If it is still soft, turn the heat up a bit and let it cook longer. Once done, it should be slightly crispy and crunchy, but able to fold over nicely.

Fold the tortilla in half, making a quesadilla.

Cut in half, and enjoy!

Notes:
– For dinner, I made three of these for Greg and I. I did make them one at a time. Unless you feel confident having several skillets going at once, it is definitely okay to do one at a time.

Smoky Black Bean + Cilantro Veggie Burgers

19 Replies

I made veggie burgers for your Monday!

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Have you guys heard of Meatless Monday?

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It is a national campaign encouraging people to limit their meat consumption by not eating it on Monday.

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By going meatless on Mondays!

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I think that it’s a great idea.

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What better way to start a week than with something fresh and healthy? That makes you feel satisfied and nourished. And with these veggie burgers, also delicious.

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They are smoky from paprika, cumin and chili powder.

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They have a bit of spice from crushed red pepper.

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They are bright and fresh from lime and cilantro.

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The thick and creamy texture from the black beans is perfect.

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Try serving on a bun and topped with avocado, salsa and an extra squeeze of lime. Or, over a bed of greens. I’ve been loving both ways.

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Whether you are trying to cut out meat or not, you should try these burgers! They will please meat lovers and veggie lovers alike!

Ingredients
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
1/2 of a red pepper
1/2 of a green pepper
1/2 of a yellow onion
Olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
2- 15 oz. cans of black beans
1 c. bread crumbs (I used panko)
1 egg
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
Large handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice from 1/2 lime
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Dice the carrots, celery, peppers and onions very fine.  I used a mini food chopper to get the veggies diced very small. Add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a pan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, to flavor the oil. Add diced veggies to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes, or until veggies are soft. Remove from heat and set aside.

Drain and rinse black beans. Add to a large bowl and mash using a potato masher or the back of a fork.

To the bowl with the black beans add the breadcrumbs, egg, onion powder, paprika, cumin, chili powder, crushed red pepper flakes, cilantro and lime juice. Stir well. Then add the cooked veggies. Stir well to incorporate everything. Add salt and pepper, if desired.

Make this mixture into rounded patties. This should make about 6 to 8 burgers, depending on the size.

In a pan over medium heat, add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the patties and cook 5-6 minutes on each side, or until slightly crisp and cooked through.

Enjoy!