Walnut Mushroom Veggie Burgers - from Love & Lemons

OH MY GOSH. These are one of the best things I've ever made, hands down. I'm not even vegetarian, but I think I prefer them to your average beef burger. They are a bit time consuming (not a week-night meal) but so worth it. I topped them off with some homemade spicy mayo (sriracha, mayo, lime zest) and ate them bun-less!

Walnut Mushroom Veggie Burgers 

(from Love & Lemons)

makes about 6 mini-sliders (serves 2 people)

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup walnuts, toasted (I sauteed them without oil on a cast iron skillet)
• 1 tsp. miso paste (my new favorite ingredient, check out H-Mart)
• olive oil, for the pan
• 2 shallots, chopped (I used 1 shallot and 1/2 a yellow onion)
• 6 oz. mushrooms (mix of cremini & shittakes), chopped small (I had bought dried shitake mushrooms from H-Mart. Super cheap, and they keep forever! Rehydrate them by having them soak in warm water.)
• splash of soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp. chinese five spice powder
• Splash of mirin (I used apple cider vinegar)
• 1/4 tsp. of honey
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup panko (1/4 cup into the mix, 1/4 to roll the patties in)
• A few teaspoons sesame seeds
• 6 mini slider buns (or go bun-less and serve them over mixed greens with sesame ginger dressing!)

Instructions

1. Crush the walnuts and miso together to form a chunky paste, (I pulsed them in my food processor).
2. In a medium pan, heat a bit of olive oil. Add the shallots and let them cook down for about a minute. Add the mushrooms, a splash of soy sauce, garlic powder, onion powder and five spice powder. Stir together and let cook until the mushrooms are cooked down, about 5-8 minutes. Add a splash of mirin to deglaze the pan. Then add in the walnut-miso paste, and a small drizzle of honey, combining everything together. Remove from heat and transfer to a medium bowl. Set it aside to cool for a couple of minutes before adding the egg.
3. Add the egg and 1/4 cup panko, and let the mixture sit in the fridge for 15 minutes or so. While you wait, spread the remaining panko and the sesame seeds (together) on a plate.
4. Remove mix from fridge and form into small (approximately 3-inch) patties. Roll each into the panko. Use your hands to firmly press them into shape.
5. Wipe out the pan you were using before, and heat a few tablespoons of olive oil. Cook patties for 2-3 minutes per side.

Homemade Sundried Tomato Aioli

I made this for on top of black bean burgers and it is absolutely AMAZING! I found a recipe online and improvised off of it since I lacked about half of the essential ingredients - I love it when accidents turn out great!

- 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
- 1 whole egg (i found a recipe for mayo that called for just the yolk and another that used the whole egg)
- 1 glove of garlic
- olive oil
- cayenne pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard

So you can do this with a wisk, a blender, or a food processor (I used food processor) but the main thing with mayo is to add the oil SLOWLY. So I added the egg, pepper, lime juice, vinegar, and mustard to the food processor and turned it on until everything was blended. At that point I started adding olive oil, with the food processor on, little by little. I ran out of oil so I strained some oil from the sundried tomatoes as well. After it becomes recognizably mayonnaise, I added the clove of garlic and tomatoes and continued blending.

It's killer on sandwiches or as a dip and the cayenne gives it an awesome POP!

Quinoa Vegetable Salad with Lemon-Basil Dressing

I was looking for something summery-y that would keep well for lunches throughout the week, and I came upon this salad. Quinoa is filling and healthy and this recipe is really easy to modify with whatever veggies you crave or have on hand. This dish can be used as a side in a larger meal, or as a meal in itself. Here’s my version:

Ingredients:

For the Salad:

1 cup uncooked quinoa

15 oz. can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

4 roma tomatoes

1 orange bell pepper

1 ½ cups corn (I used frozen & thawed)

3 green onions

1 zucchini

For the Dressing:

(Once I saw how much salad this makes, I doubled the recipe so I ended up using these measurements).

4 tbsp. olive oil

1 lemon, juiced (or, 4ish tbsp. lemon juice)

AS MUCH BASIL AS YOU WANT

Garnishes:

I like to eat this on a bed of spinach with feta on top.

Directions:

1.       Rinse & cook quinoa according to the instructions. Let it cool while you do the other stuff.

2.       Whisk dressing ingredients together.

3.       Chop all veggies.

4.       Throw everything together, pour dressing over top, mix well to combine.

5.       Serve immediately; or, chill it and save for later. This makes a huge Tupperware container-full, so there’s plenty for leftovers.

6.       Enjoy your summer garden in a bowl.

Photo from The Garden Grazer

Baked Oatmeal

Whether I'm making it for Dave and I, my inlaws, or 40 of us young adults on the retreat, this recipe always seems to be a hit! I serve it with milk and fresh fruit, but you could also add yogurt or almond butter if that suits your fancy. Happy eating!

Baked Oatmeal

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats (if you use gluten free oats, add 10 min to the cooking time)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup dried fruit - I like dried blueberries, cranberries and golden raisins (optional)
3 tablespoons chopped walnuts (optional)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup applesauce
2 tablespoons oil
1 egg (beaten)

Combine oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and optional dried fruit and nuts in a medium bowl.
Combine milk, applesauce, oil and egg in a separate bowl. Add to oat mixture; stir well.
Pour into a greased 8 x 8-inch baking pan. Bake in preheated oven at 350F for 25 minutes. Serve warm with milk. Serves 3-4.
This recipe can be prepared quickly in the morning by mixing the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately the night before. Combine and pop in the oven as soon as you get up. Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator and can be reheated in the microwave in individual bowls.

Alison & Anna's Stuffed Squash

• Ingredients 

  • 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp curry powder
  • 1/2 tomato
  • 2 zucchinis (or summer squash)
  • 1 onion
  • cheese
  • pepper
  • bacon, ground meat, or chopped sausage (optional)

• Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 (200C).
  2. Wash zucchini/summer squash
  3. Slice them in half length-ways.
  4. Spoon out the guts - (leave about 1/2 an inch in) until you end up with boat like shells. Save the pulp.
  5. Chop a small onion and 1/2 tomato
  6. Sautee the onions in one tbsp oil or butter.
  7. When the onions are almost done, add 1/4 tsp curry powder and cook everything for an additional 30 seconds.
  8. Cook a few slices of bacon and let them drain on a paper towel.
  9. Add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt, a good pinch of pepper, the zucchini pulp, the tomato and crumble the bacon in as well to the sauteed onion.
  10. Spray a baking dish and put the zucchini boats in.
  11. Grab a spoon and fill the shells with the mix. Sprinkle some aged cheese on top (or Mozzarella for an pizza-ey twist)
  12. Put them in a preheated oven, give them about 20 minutes and then turn on the broiler until the top is golden brown.
  
  You could make this more Italian by subbing Italian or pizza seasoning in for the curry powder or dress it up with some fresh basil mixed in.
  

 

And yes... we're still working on our food photography.

California Avocado Breakfast Casserole

Recipe: California Avocado Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients

• an 8 ounce pack of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
• about 10 slices cooked bacon, cut into bite sized pieces(I prefer Trader Joe's "Ends and Pieces" - so smokey and heavenly!)
• 1 cup shredded hash browns – thawed (or if you have a food processor just shred potatoes in it!)
• 1 Avocado, diced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 5 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk(lactose free in my case)
•  salt and cracked black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Lightly spray with cooking spray a 9×13 glass cake pan. Press crescent rolls on bottom and up sides of pan to form the crust.
2. Layer bacon, hash browns, California avocado, and tomatoes on top of crescent roll dough.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and milk together. Pour egg and milk mixture over the top of other ingredients in the 9×13 pan.
4. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the top. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and sprinkle Kosher salt and cracked black pepper over to taste. Serve and enjoy!

This recipe is great because you could really add anything you wanted as long as you include the crescent roll crust and the egg+milk combo. Make it Italian and do Italian breakfast sausage, basil, and Parmesan! Go Greek with feta, artichokes, and maybe some olives! throw in some jalapenos, sals and cilantro and you've got a Mexican breakfast casserole! I mean, it's breakfast - enjoy yourself for cryin' out loud!

Jessica's Heavenly Lentils

This is a lentil recipe from a coworker. I added some sauteed zucchini and yellow onions in when I tossed the lentils as well as some fresh garlic.
 
Ingredients: 
1 cup split lentils
1 tomato cut in quarters
¼ cup red wine
2 cups chicken broth
Olive oil
Salt/Pepper
Italian Seasoning
Optional:  zucchini, garlic, onions

Steps: 
1. Heat olive oil in a pan and toss dried lentils in enough to coat them well and toast a little (2minutes)

2. While you are preparing lentils, throw some halved tomatoes in the oven drizzled in olive oil and sea salt in a 400 degree oven

 3. Add the wine and chicken broth

 4. Bring to a boil reduce heat, simmer and cover until most of the liquid is gone and lentils are soft (15 minutes give or take)

5. Add a dash or two of Italian seasoning and freeze dried garlic ....(if you want fresh garlic you could either roast it or dice and cook briefly with the lentils and oil

6. Add the roasted tomatoes - juice and all. Stir well.

7. Salt to taste


And there you go! Looks like mud, but tastes like gold :)