Vegetarian Chili Burgers

I have enjoyed some delicious tasting vegetarian bean burgers over the years. The best one is still etched in my memory bank and was found at Munchies – a little basement restaurant in the mountain town of Ashland, Oregon. I have never found a recipe that could stand up to it’s flavor profile – until now! How can such simple ingredients create so much flavor? I don’t have the answer but, you must trust me on this one and give these a try. You might even have everything in your kitchen right now to make these. Pinto, kidney or black beans, onions, garlic, grated carrots, oats, Dijon mustard, ketchup, soy sauce, chili powder and cumin. See what I mean about simple ingredients – these go together without much fuss.

These burgers are huge! You could easily make them a tad smaller and get 8 or 9 if you would prefer a smaller portion. The seasonings are perfect, they have tons of flavor, texture and are oh so filling. Even the beef loving hubby Tom gave them a two thumbs up! Now that my friends is saying something!

Serve these up on a whole wheat bun if you wish. I prefer mine sans bun so I can enjoy the full flavor of every bite. These patties are dense and held together perfectly. They reheat in the microwave so go ahead and make a full batch on the weekend to enjoy all throughout the next week. Top with salsa, shredded lettuce and avocado or serve over a bed of salad greens and little tomatoes.

Vegetarian Chili Burgers

• 1 cup chopped onions
• 4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1/2 cup peeled and grated carrots
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2-15 ounce cans pinto, kidney beans or black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoon ketchup or 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• Salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onions and garlic with a couple tablespoons of water for about 5 minutes, until the onions begin to soften. Add the carrots, chili powder, and cumin and cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Set aside. Mash the beans in a large bowl with a potato masher or the back of a spoon. I put the beans in the food processor and broke them up using the pulse button until they were mashed but not pureed. Add the mustard, soy sauce, ketchup or tomato paste, and the sautéed vegetables. Mix in the oats. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Moisten your hands and form the burger mixture into six 3 to 4 inch patties. At this point I put them on a tray, covered them with plastic wrap and refrigerated them for about 30 minutes so they would hold together well. Preheat a nonstick skillet, cook the burgers on medium-low heat for 5-8 minutes on each side.

Yield: 6 patties

Serving Size: 1 patty

Recipe adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites Cookbook

 Nutmeg Notes

Sorry for the long absence between posts! Every day I think I will have time to post but there just hasn’t been any time to do so. Things have been busy around here for the past few weeks. We bought a new a car – you all know what fun that is! So time consuming getting it all figured out. That was followed by us being a fender bender – not with the new car –  and not our fault – but my vehicle has been in and out of the body shop a couple times this past week to get it fixed properly. Not that big of deal as cars can be fixed, but just inconvenient and one more thing to deal with.

Foot Notes

Well my foot continues to heal but I still have pain as it recovers from surgery. I know from prior experience that it just takes a long time for feet to heal. After all it does support all of my body weight which makes it swell daily. Most days I can go for an outdoor walk but there is a day here and there where I have to refrain and give my self a day off. We haven’t been hiking for almost two weeks as our weekends have been jam packed with other activities but we are anxious to get back out on the trail. I am finding the Dansko brand of sandals to be comfortable. It has taken a while to get use to them but I think they were a good purchase. Some shoes that I thought were comfortable prior to foot surgery no longer fit me well. It’s a learning curve!

Change

My son will be moving the blog to a new server and he doesn’t think the blog will down at all. I’ll post on the Nutmeg Notebook facebook page if there are any problems when we make the change.

My lap top has been shutting off all by itself. I think I will be in the market for a new lap top soon. I have the worse luck with computers going bonkers!

I am also making some dietary changes around here and have been spending quite a bit of time reading and studying about nutrition. Even though I think we have followed a fairly healthy food plan it has room for improvement. I have been trying new recipes and creating new food plans for us which takes up a lot of time. This also involves more trips to the grocery store looking for new ingredients. Hopefully I will find some time soon to post about it and share what I am learning. Hubby Tom is on board with me and enjoying new foods and recipes. It’s also resulting in some weight loss which is just awesome!

Spring is about new life and change so its’ the perfect time of year to make some healthy changes.

Wishing you all a blessed Easter and a Happy Spring!

Tami

Thanks for being here, feel free to leave a comment or ask question.

Are you making any healthy changes in your diet or exercise plan?