Mediterranean Quinoa Burgers

Clockwise starting with the pita bread, cuke loaded tzatziki,
roasted red pepper hummus, sriracha mayo (sauces sprinkled
with smoked paprika) greek olives, quinoa burger topped with
tomato and baby greens.

The husband has informed me has informed me that this is one of his favorite dinners, and it always results in lots of "MMMmm!!" grunts while he's eating.  I guess I'll take that as a compliment.  These vegetarian 'burgers' are kind of falafel-ish, and like falafel, the fun part is topping them with whatever floats your boat.  Tonight, we had cuke loaded tzatziki, roasted red pepper hummus, Sriracha mayo, sliced tomato, baby greens, and olives, and served them bun-less with some pita bread on the side.

There are so many other awesome things you can put on them. Some of our other favorites are roasted eggplant, garlic roasted tomatoes, sliced cucumber, cabbage slaw, tapenade, roasted red peppers, and taboule. Also, I'd stay away from serving these on a hamburger bun, but if you want to make a sandwich, go with a toasted english muffin or some ciabatta bread - both are really tasty!

There's one variable in this recipe, and it is the moisture content.  It directly effects how mushy the patties are, so make sure your ingredients are always as dry as they can be when you add them, make sure you don't over process the mix, and know that you might need to adjust the amount of flour (add a little more if it's too wet).

Burger Ingredients

• 1 can garbanzo beans - drained, rinsed, and dried
• 1 egg
• 1 big handful of parsley, stems removed
• 1 packed cup cooked quinoa
• 1 T ground coriander 
• 2 T ground Cumin
• 2 tsp dried mint
• 1 tsp dried ginger powder
• 1 cup carrots, rough chopped
• 1/2 red onion, rough chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup wheat flour
• EVOO
• S&P (be generous!)
• 1 cup plain breadcrumbs 

Start by cooking your quinoa.  To make one cup, you'll need to boil 1 cup of water in a saucepan. Add 1/2 cup of quinoa, stir well, turn heat down to medium, cover, and let cook for 10 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.  Fluff with fork, remove from heat, and set aside to cool.

While the quinoa is cooking..... In a large sauté pan, heat small amount of EVOO over medium high heat.  Add the carrots and onion, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the garlic, and cook for another 3-5 minutes, or until the onions are translucent and the carrots just being to soften.  Add the coriander, cumin, mint, ginger, and a generous amount of S&P and cook for one more minute.  Remove from heat, and let cool.

In a food processor, add the garbanzo beans, egg, parsley, cooled quinoa, and cooled carrot/onion/spice mixture, flour, and a generous amount of S&P.  Pulse in short bursts just until the ingredients combine.  Don't over process, or the mixture will get pasty.  Remove the blade, and set the container on your counter next to a plate with the breadcrumbs on it.

Put a large saute pan over medium, medium high heat (like a 6 out of 10) and add enough EVOO to just coat the bottom of the pan.  With your hands, create a ball of the burger mixture, approximately an inch and a half in diameter (think honkin' meatball). Roll the ball in the breadcrumbs to coat, and then gently flatten it into a patty in your hands. Add the patty to the pan and cook without flipping until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes per side. Flip, and cook until the other side is golden brown.  You can cook several patties at once, and you'll need to add and heat oil as you go. Once pan fried, I like to keep them hot on a foil lined baking sheet in a 250 degree oven until ready to serve.

Once all patties are cooked, serve them as you like with whatever toppings sound good to you! My tzatziki recipe is below.


Cuke Loaded Tzatziki

• 1 T very finely chopped parsley
• 1 T very finely chopped dill
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 inch length of English Cucumber, finely chopped
• 1 cup of Greek Yogurt (I like Fage)
• S&P to taste

Mix all ingredients well, and let rest for at least 15 minute to allow flavors to marry.  Serve. Good for up to 1 week if left wrapped in the fridge.

Molly's Homemade ZESTY ketchup/bbq sauce

Tonight I was following a recipe that called for ketchup, but I was out, so I made this.  You might want to try it too - a nice change from traditional ketchup - and full of zip & zing.

Ingredients:
1 large (29 oz) can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 bottle of beer
7 cloves garlic, minced
1 red onion, diced
3 bay leaves
1 tsp Rosemary
1 T paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp cayenne
Few dashes of Worcestershire sauce (I always use Lee & Perrins)
Few dashes of reduced sodium soy sauce
Few dashes hot sauce of your choice
S&P

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan, and mix well.  Bring to a rolling boil and cook for 10 minutes.  Remove and discard bay leaves, then purée the mixture with an immersion blender until smooth (NEVER BLEND A HOT LIQUID IN A TRADITIONAL BLENDER). Put back on the heat, and let simmer over medium low heat until it reduces to your desired consistency. Let cool, and serve as you would regular ketchup, or use to baste meat like a bbq sauce.

This won't ever ben the consistency of store bought ketchup, but it's still good!

Molly's Macaroni & Cheese

Cheesy deliciousness 

Generally, my hubby is a very adventurous eater. However, he is a big kid at heart and some of his favorite foods come straight off the kid's menu - chicken fingers, pasta with parmesan, pepperoni pizza, etc. etc.  He has a huge anatomy test on Friday, and has spent this entire gorgeous fall day at the school library studying even when he'd much rather be on the golf course.  So, to surprise him and to fill his tummy with some comfort & love, I decided to make him Macaroni and Cheese (albeit, a more grown up version), which he adores. Side note, when studying anatomy for hours on end, a dish with meat isn't always the most appetizing, another plus for mac & cheese! Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 smallish red onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted red pepper
• 4 cups milk
• 6 parsley stems (leafy part removed)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp dried mustard
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 6 shakes of hot sauce (I like Frank's red hot)
• S&P
• 4 T, plus 2 T, plus 2 T Butter
• 4 T Flour
• 4 T bread crumbs (I like Panko style the best)
• 3 cups Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1 cup Shredded Medium Cheddar Cheese
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese
• 1 lb elbow macaroni

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small saucepan, combine the milk, parsley stems, bay leaf, and some black pepper.  Turn to medium high heat and bring to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to low and let simmer until ready to use.

Milk Mixture

While the milk is simmering, in a small skillet, sauté the onion in 2 T butter  and some S&P over medium low heat for 10 minutes.  Turn the temperature to low, and add the minced garlic to the onions.  Continue to cook until the onions are caramelized and reduced, approximately another ten minutes.

Caramelized Onions & Garlic

Now you're ready to make your roux.  A roux (pronounced 'roo') is a cooked mixture of flour and butter.  It is a thickening agent used to make sauces, as well as thicken gravy, soups, and stews.  Roux is something you might not get right on the first try - but that's okay!  Start off with just a little bit of flour and butter, and if it doesn't work out, you're not facing a major loss. New to this blog - I have added a movie along with some pictures to explain just how this works.  Click here to learn how to make a roux, and watch the first part of the movie.  For this roux, use 4 T butter and 4 T flour.

Once your roux is cooked, it's time to make it into a béchamel sauce.  Oh no!  Another fancy cooking term and complicated process!!  Well, not really.  Same as roux, once you've made one béchamel sauce, you'll find that it really isn't too tricky, and it is such a wonderful sauce to have in your repertoire as there are so many things you can do with it!  I also did a video on making a béchamel.  Click here to learn how to make it, and watch the end part of the movie. For this béchamel, use the seasoned milk mixture from above with the bay leaf and parsley stems removed, and add to the roux you just made.

Cheesy Sauce!

In a pasta pot, bring water to a boil and start to cook your macaroni noodles.

Once the béchamel is made, it's time to season it up.  First, turn the temperature to low/medium-low. Add the nutmeg, dried mustard, cayenne, hot sauce, and some more S&P. Stir well. Now add the caramelized onion/garlic, roasted red pepper, and all of the cheese.  Stir well and let it cook until the cheese is completely melted.

Ready to bake

When the macaroni noodles are cooked, drain them well and then add them back into the pot.  Pour your cheese mixture over the top, and mix well.  Grease a large glass baking dish, and pour the mac & cheese into the dish.  Set aside.

EAT ME NOW.

In a small saucepan, take the last 2 T of butter and melt it.  Remove from heat, and add the breadcrumbs and toss until they are all evenly coated.  Take this crumb topping and sprinkle over the top of your mac & cheese. Place the dish in the oven and bake until the breadcrumbs are golden brown and the mac & cheese is bubbling, approximately 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven, and let cool for 10 minutes or so.   The hubby and I like our mac & cheese with a squirt of ketchup on the side.  Enjoy!