So the Amanda and Mr. Amanda household has made a MAJOR change. We have gone meat…less…HA HA…literally, we are eating LESS meat (we still eat meat, people!). My “amazing” idea of cutting back on the meat came a couple of weeks ago when realizing I wanted to do SOMETHING…..ANYTHING….to jumpstart my weight loss again. So, I decided I was going to cut back on the meat. And to be quite honest? We are LOVING IT!
I’m sure you’ve noticed by most of my recipes that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE meat. Let’s think about my favorite foods—Prime Rib and gyros (lamb meat). Hmm, what’s the common theme? Fatty, fatty meat! So, my goal when starting this “lifestyle change” was to make things that didn’t taste meat-free. This recipe was one of the firsts that I tried, and I’m so glad that I did. I used these “burgers” to make two other meat-free dishes this past week, along with eating two as burgers. It was a time saver, and I have to say that not once have I felt “deprived” or unsatisfied.
You are probably thinking, “Come on, Amanda…i’m not going vegetarian.” And that’s fine, but I do think this recipe is worth a shot if you are wanting to cut back on the calories, but not the flavor or nutrients! And be sure to check out my next posts on how to use the ‘fake outs’ in other recipes!
A Meat-Lover Fake Out: Delish & Versatile Veggie Burger
1/2 c dried lentils
3/4 c water
3/4 c broth (chicken or vegetable)
EVOO spray
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 large carrots, grated
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 T tomato paste
1.5 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 c cooked quinoa
1/2 c panko breadcrumbs
1 T dried parsley
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 egg whites
1 egg
1 Tb oil (sunflower, safflower…both handle high heat well!)
Directions:
First of all, this may a bit time consuming in that it has several steps; however, these veggie burgers can be used for so many different recipes. So, by taking a little extra time to make these awesome burgers, you can save time on other recipes during the week!
So, let’s get started….
You might be asking, “I’ve never cooked quinoa before…how do I do it?”. And here’s your answer….for 1 cup of cooked quinoa, you will use 1/4 c dried quinoa. This article discusses the steps of how to treat and cook perfect quinoa, but remember you only need 3/4 cup cooked for this recipe (this article has you use 1 cup dried). I have other quinoa recipes I will be posting, so if you want to cook 1 c dried (to make ~3 cups cooked) I promise to help you make use of it!
Now…to the rest of the recipe……
Combine the lentils, water, and broth in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 25 minutes or until tender. Drain. Place half of the lentils in a large bowl and the other half in a food processor. Process until smooth, and then combine with the unprocessed lentils in the large bowl.
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Spray generously with EVOO Spray.
Add onions and carrots and cook until tender–around 8-10 minutes–being sure to stir occasionally. Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds-1 minute, but DO NOT burn that garlic (EWW!).
Add in tomato paste, cumin, oregano, chili powder, and salt. Mix in well and cook another minute to be sure everything is evenly distributed (NOTE: You could use any seasonings you enjoy–simply use these as an idea. I haven’t tried it yet, but I would think a hamburger seasoning and seasoning salt would be delish, maybe some paprika, etc). REMOVE from heat and add to the lentils that are already in the large bowl.
Add the remaining ingredients to the large bowl (COOKED quinoa, panko, parsley, black pepper, cayenne pepper, egg whites, and egg). MIX WELL. The processed lentils like to stick together, so be sure to mix thoroughly to ensure it evenly distributes throughout the mixture.
Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
After it has chilled for at least 1 hour, remove from the refrigerator, and divide the mixture into 8 patties. Place the patties on a wax paper lined baking sheet and place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes.
A few minutes before removing your patties from the freezer, heat the oil over medium to medium high heat.
Remove the patties from the freezer and cook the burgers for 3-5 minutes per side. As always, once put into the hot oil, DO NOT move around until ready to flip–you want the burgers to get a nice brown and crispy outside! Once cooked through, remove the cooked burgers to a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with remaining burger patties….
EAT UP & ENJOY!
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTSPLUS INFO:
Servings: 8
Per Serving: 1 patty
WW PointsPlus: 2 PP
That’s where you, my awesome readers come in! I know nothing about how to freeze meals–do they get cooked first, then re-heated? Or just mixed together, frozen, and cooked when you pull it out of the freezer? What freezes well, what doesn’t? See my dilemma? I need answers! I have a large freezer, I have frozen things before (we freeze meat, breads, etc, OFTEN)….but entire meals are foreign to me!
