Meatless Friday Ideas: Burgers

Here come meatless Fridays, folks!

I struggled for ages coming up with meatless meals on the Fridays of Lent...but now we eat a mostly vegetarian diet, so I have TONS of ideas.

We are a burger loving people in our house, so here's 5 meatless burger recipes to choose from when you just can't do fish sticks and macaroni and cheese one more time.

Roasted Zucchini & Quinoa Burgers with Garlic Whipped Feta
My tips on these: Make your quinoa ahead of time using veggie broth instead of water (extra flavor!!) Use 1 3/4 - 2cups of panko. If you don't have fresh basil on hand (and I never do) use 1/2 tsp dried basil. Be generous with the salt & pepper.

I form the patties by scooping 1/2 cup of the mixture into a measuring cup and emptying it onto silpat on a baking sheet, pressing it down and shaping it with my hands. Don't skip the fridge chill out session! Bake these in the oven instead of frying them; I do about 15-20 minutes per side at 400°F.

For the Garlic Whipped Feta: use 1 Tbsp fresh dill and 1 tsp lemon juice. Unless you like big lemon flavor and lots of dill...then just use her quantities. I found the dill & lemon to overpower the garlic & feta, and I reallllllllly like the garlic & feta.

So. Delicious. I love them with some raw purple onion and iceberg lettuce (soak the onion slices in ice water for 5 minutes to help take the "bite" out of them).

Smoky Sweet Potato Burgers with Roasted Garlic Cream
My kids loved these! The first time I served these, Miss A was not sure she wanted to eat them. She had recently declared herself a vegetarian (thank you Kindergarten lesson plans personifying turkeys in November) and also that she didn't like vegetables. I explained that this is the kind of food vegetarians eat, so if she was going to be a vegetarian, she'd have to eat this. She did and she loved it!

Epic Crispy Quinoa Burgers
Make the fries to go on top. And the egg. Oh, yes, the egg
                                                                                           gg
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See that runny yolk pooling on your plate just waiting to be sopped up with this epic burger??!!


Zucchini Parmesan Sliders
Oh my. I can't adequately express how amazing these are. I might have made a second batch after people went to bed just so I could eat more without sharing. Ah, who am I kidding?! I did.

Sloppy Lentils
This one was really easy to throw together on a weeknight. The kids gobbled it up and said these were the best Sloppy Joes I've ever made.  They didn't even notice it wasn't made of meat.

1 1/2 c dried lentils (green)

3 c veggie broth

1 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 sweet onion, chopped

1 can tomato soup (10 3/4 oz)

3/4 c ketchup

1 8oz can tomato sauce

1/4 c dark brown sugar

2 T Worchestershire Sauce

1 1/2 tsp yellow mustard

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Buns

Rinse lentils well under running water (pick our any rocks or deformed lentils). Add lentils & veggie broth to a medium saucepan. Bring to a rapid simmer, then lower heat to a slow simmer (few bubbles, a little bit of movement). Cook uncovered for 20-30 minutes (older lentils take longer to cook). As soon as they are tender, remove from heat and strain. Set aside.

Heat EVOO over medium heat, add onion. Saute until translucent (you can saute them until they begin to turn brown & caramelize a bit if you prefer). Add strained lentils and all remaining ingredients and combine well. Simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and serve on buns!

You can also add grated carrot and/or chopped peppers if you like that sort of thing!

Well, wishing you your BEST LENT EVER! And with these burgers, it will be.

In the Thick of Holy Week

Here we are in the middle of Holy Week. What are we doing in the Amen household to keep this week holy?

This year, our parish mission was an Unplug & Reconnect week. It was a fantastic theme and one sorely needed by me and my family. It was a great chance to spend time together as a family and a church family getting to know each other. Even better was the unseasonably warm weather we experienced that week. It can be hard in Michigan to find something to do in mid-March other than watch tv, play on the internet, or get out with the good old game system. Thankfully that wasn't a concern this March. We've had warm sunny days that allowed us to go outside and enjoy the new backyard. We spent mire time in prayer, more time talking to one another, and more time reconnecting with each other.

I am unplugging from tv again this week. I have to admit, there was a time in my life where, though I do have other interests, nothing much interested me besides watching tv. I needed the time to zone out, not having a single thought in my head. I've found, however, that over the last few months I would much rather spend my evenings doing other things. Honestly, laundry is almost more enticing than tv watching. There's nothing worth watching and very little that will actually build me up rather than drag me down. It really hit home when our priest was over on Saturday evening to bless the new house. As he went from room to room dousing the place in holy water, he also blessed our tv sets. I was surprised, but as he did it he said "bless this tv, that nothing harmful or damaging may be shown on it." Wow. Yea, nothing harmful or damaging. And there it was, smacking me right in the forehead. Don't let this boob-tube get in the way of our relationship with God. Don't let its influence in our home be greater than God's. Don't get drawn away from Him by the garbage of this world. This world doesn't love me and my dear family like He does. If my mind needs a rest, let it rest in Him.

So, there I was, staring down the barrel of a very exciting Holy Week and God is telling me to turn off the tv.

You've got it, Lord.

Now, before I leave you, a quick update. Baby Amen #5 is doing fantastic. We had our 20 week ultrasound last week and saw the baby yawning. Yawning. Who would've thought a yawn could bring tears to my eyes? We also peeked at Mr. Amen's insistence. I thought it was pretty pointless to peek since I felt certain the baby was a girl. Just goes to show...I am a trustworthy source. We confirmed we are expecting a little girl. We also got to see her in 3D/4D, which was much less creepy than I imagined, but she hid her little face from us...so what she looks like will remain a mystery for now.

Here's Baby Amen #5 in all her 3D/4D glory.

Here's my 20 week belly in my Easter dress. Even though I've gained less than 5 pounds so far, I think my belly looks like I've gained much more. It's actually looking like it did around the 32-34 week mark with Junior. Sew and I are due on almost the same day...and she's mentioned her growing belly a time or two, but I think I'm giving her some good competition.