Pintember: Veggie/Quinoa Burgers

I have really been wanting to try to make veggie burgers for so long! Seeing them all over Pinterest only piqued my interest even more (no pun intended). But none of the ingredient lists quite intrigued me enough to make the recipes on the pins. But 2 different ones inspired me to create my own...

Source: kblog.lunchboxbunch.com via Samantha on Pinterest

and...

Source: peasandcrayons.com via Samantha on Pinterest

After I made them I asked both Picky One and his friend if they wanted them for lunch. They both said, "Sure." Picky One ate one, but, amazingly...the whole thing not just a taste and then ask, "What else can I have?" His friend Carm actually had 2. Hey if 2 young teen boys liked them they had to be good right? I also gave them to my neighborhood gluten free buddy. She liked them too...But not quite as much as those cheesy quinoa pancakes I made a few days before. My other 2 didn't even try them. I had my lunch and froze the rest with wax paper in between. (I just had a frozen one yesterday and all I had to do was break one off and nuke it. It was just as good as the day I first made them)

Now it's funny...most of the veggie burger recipes out there have very little protein in them. I thought that was the point of a burger?! And well, since I had cooked waaay too much quinoa the other day, I had plenty to use up. Good! I wanted to get some protein into my burgers.

Also I had noticed that the ones that called for sweet potatoes had you peeling them first and then shredding...isn't it much healthier to leave the peel on? Hmm...Who wrote these recipes?

Anyway...Here is what I came up with... (and yes, the picture is blurry again...I'm working on it!)

Mixed Veggie/Quinoa Burgers

1-15 oz can of Garbanzo beans, mashed
1-2 T olive oil 
1-2 T lemon juice
I cup spinach (I used chopped frozen and defrosted, it's what I had on hand)
1 small sweet potato, grated with skin on (1 1/2-2 cups)
1/2 red bell pepper, shredded (probably any color but green would work)
1/4 cup sweet onion, shredded or finely chopped (I used Vidalia)
2 eggs, beaten
2 T gluten free Bisquick (I would think that any type of flour would work)
1 T minced garlic
2 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 t powdered ginger
1 t cumin powder
salt and pepper to taste

Mash beans with olive oil and lemon juice in large mixing bowl to make a paste. Add the rest of the ingredients to bowl. Mix until ingredients are well combined. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Make 1/3 cup patties. Cook covered over medium heat in olive oil for about 4 minutes on each side, adjusting for the heat of your stove/pan. Be gentle when flipping them. Serve as is or on a bun. Enjoy without the guilt of a real burger but still with a lot of flavor!

Pintember: Cheesy Quinoa Cakes

This was a great little protein packed side dish!

Source: spoonforkbacon.com via Samantha on Pinterest

Sorry...I do not have any pictures of mine. I never checked my pictures. And when I just looked for them, they were all really blurry! I guess I will be working on taking pictures, as my buddy suggested with a month of picture taking...in the future.

Most side dishes have little to no protein. this one on the other hand has the idea of  potato latkes but are made with healthy quinoa instead...so therefore...have a bunch of protein!

My hubby and the Picky One do not eat quinoa. They can't stand the texture! But they both liked these! This recipe does not make many pancakes so they each only tasted them and left them for me to eat. I can't remember what the other kid thought of them but how could he not like them?  (I made them a while ago) He actually loves quinoa. So he must have loved these. Also, since I made them gluten free I gave some to my friend/neighbor who has Celiac's Disease. (We usually share gluten free things that are new/different...or just sweet.) She said they were really good. A few days later she said she still had them on her mind...They must have been really, really good! I wonder if she ever made them herself?...Carrie? Did you?

I did end up tweaking the recipe a little from the start (I didn't have or didn't want to spend the money) and I also made a change after the first small batch ('cuz things weren't quite right)...

Cheesy Quinoa Cakes
(Makes 10 to 12 small pancakes)

2 cups cooked quinoa
2/3 cup grated swiss cheese
3 tablespoons Gluten Free Bisquick (you could probably use any gf or regular flour)
2 sweet onions,finely chopped (I used Vidalia)
2 eggs, beaten (lots of recipes call for lightly beaten, I always beat well)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste

olive oil cooking spray 

1. Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir together until well combined. Season with salt and allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes.

2. Spray large saute/fry pan with cooking oil spray. 

3. Form 1/3 cup patties with the quinoa mixture and place in the heated sauté pan. (This will have to be done in batches.)

4. Cook quinoa cakes for about 5 minutes on each side. Repeat with the remaining patties until all of the cakes have been cooked. 

5. I served mine with applesauce, since that is a standard potato latkes thing.

6. ENJOY!

Also...When I cooked the quinoa in preparation for this recipe...I messed up! I made waaay too much. So, tomorrow I will post the other recipe I made/created with some of the extra.