Meatless Monday: Quinoa Burgers

 

Is there seriously anything better than a good burger? There are few things that I miss since dropping the meat out of my diet, but every once in a while I crave a big, juicy cheeseburger! As a side note when we were at Albertson's this weekend there were some employees outside with a giant grill, grilling ribs and chicken and all kinds of wonderful smelling things smothered in BBQ sauce. We had to run by them so we wouldn't buy all of it! We've tried our hand at making a few veggie burgers and they've been pretty good. My favorite so far is one that Chad made a few weeks back, his favorite so far? This lovely little quinoa burger!

The original recipe says that they serve it with a tzatiki sauce, and I tried my hand at making some and f-a-i-l-e-d! Horribly in fact. After mixing everything up I suddenly realized that our plain greek yogurt was anything but plain. We buy the big tub at Costco and then mix in our own honey once we get home. So... I had this super sweet yogurt with lemon and dill and parsley.... blegh. I immediately rinsed it down the drain and pretended like it never happened :)

We served up our cheesy quinoa burgers with lettuce, tomato, avocado and some tzatzki sauce ketchup, and fry sauce for me! I thought they were pretty good! The flavors were great. They were nice and cheesy and crispy on the outside. Chad had two in fact. They were still a little mushy in the middle, which is the problem we are finding as we are trying to find a good replacement for our beloved burger. I think they would be great just served on their own with some sauce on the side, that's how I had my second one! At any rate we will definitely be making them again, but our search for the perfect veggie burger continues!

Ingredients:

• 2 rounded cups cooked quinoa
• 3/4 cup pepper jack cheese
• 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
• 1 medium carrot, finely grated
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 2 green onions, including white parts
• 1 /2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• Olive oil for frying

Directions: 

1. In a large bowl combine the cooked quinoa, pepper jack cheese, cottage cheese, carrot, eggs, flour, green onions, sugar, pepper, cumin, salt, and garlic powder.

2. Heat a frying pan and a couple teaspoons olive oil over medium-low heat. Mixture will be slightly sticky, so using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, drop mixture into pan and lightly flatten to 1/2 inch thick. Fry until golden-brown, about 4 minutes on each side. Makes approx. 12 burgers.

I love a two step recipe so that was an added bonus! :)