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.

Miam Miam Monday (Menu Plan) v3

This week's menu reflects me trying to add in more vegetarian options for my family. Basically, I'd prefer to eat a more vegetarian diet, both my darling husband and I could stand to lose some weight and I feel like it saves us some money too.

Typically my children are pretty good eaters, but my 2 almost 3 year old has recently decided that she is not going to eat anymore. Anything. Besides donuts, cookies, marshmallows and M&Ms.

That child has no reserves to get her through this self-imposed hunger strike, so I am turning to the power of the French to reign in her phase d'opposition and help her get back on track with enjoying some delicious foods that are also good for her growing little body.

Anyhow, here's this week's plan:

Monday

 Pasta with Carmelized Onion & Gorgonzola

This pasta is so delicious and easy to make. I feel like it's good for all year long because it isn't too heavy in the summer-time, but is comfort-foody enough to stand up to a cold winter's day. I really don't change anything in this recipe except that I use the entire 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water to make the "sauce" and I like to add more cheese than is called for. I've found that it melts quickly to form the sauce, but I add some additional Gorgonzola when I bring it to the table so I get a few hunks of cheese on my plate.

My kids might be a bit strange, but they love soft cheeses and anything in the blue cheese or feta cheese families.

Tuesday

Stuffed Rolled Chicken with Cottage Cheese Bread

 When I first saw this recipe, I put it on my list of must-eats. It was delicious! I'll tell you honestly that the stuffing is way more than what is needed for just 4 measly chicken breasts though. I made 6 chicken breasts and had lots left over. The stuffing would also taste great as stuffed shells. I'm just sayin'.

I had some leftover cottage cheese that was going to go bad soon. I don't want to waste any food so I started looking for a recipe I could use the cottage cheese in that wasn't lasagna or quiche. I came across several cottage cheese bread recipes so I thought I'd give it a shot. I found one that was meant for a bread making machine and tweaked it a bit and made it without a bread machine. It was perfect for sandwiches and french toast. We also ate it with this meal with some butter. I liked sneaking in a bit of extra protein for my kids without them noticing.

Wednesday

Leftover Night
Time to clean out the fridge. Seriously. So many leftovers.

Thursday

Pancake Muffins and Eggs Over Easy

I like to call these little muffins "Manna from heaven" because they are just the yummiest. And there are always leftovers so breakfast the next morning is a snap. These little muffins with eggs are a great easy dinner. The kids prefer scrambled eggs, but us grown-ups like our eggs over easy or over medium.

Friday

Spinach Rice Feta Pie & French Grated Carrot Salad with Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette

What a great vegetarian dish for a Friday! This one comes together in no time and is perfect for using up leftover rice. I pair it with a fruit salad and this amazing Grated Carrot Salad which is a French specialty. I can understand why the French love this salad; it is so fresh and perfect.

Saturday 

Grilled Hot Dogs & Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

Just hot dogs on the grill. With potato salad. But not just any potato salad. This stunner is made with roasted sweet potatoes. It's even better the next day when the flavors meld together a bit. Next time I make it I'm going to add some avocado. You can almost never go wrong by adding avocado. And maybe some bacon sprinkled over the top. Because bacon.

Sunday

Sunday is my usual day off from cooking. I'll be taking a break and chillin' at my parents' house.

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