Where's the beef? Who cares?

I love a great burger.  I used to be willing to pay an indecent amount of money for a great burger,
because I feel like a burger entrée can be as good as the finest filet mignon.  Sometimes it even sounded better than a filet mignon, even though I did love a good filet mignon. 

I have stated in the past many times that I thought I could be plant based, except I would need to have a really good burger every now and then.  I thought that was real do-able.  I would just cheat every now and then and have that great burger.  Little did I know that I would lose my desire for meat, including those luscious burgers. 

My daughter stepped in to save the day with a great veggie burger recipe.  I think she got it off of the blog "Oh She Glows", but not sure about that.  The thing about a veggie burger is that you can't expect it to taste just like a beef burger.  I find that to be true with many plant based recipes.  If you don't compare it with the original non-plant based recipe, you will most likely be able to appreciate the new, plant based recipe.  At least that is how it has been for myself and my husband. 

We honestly like the veggie burgers just as much as our old, beloved beef burgers.  We saw a picture of a beef burger this weekend, with grease dripping down the side, (which was supposed to make it look appealing), and we both thought it looked rather unappetizing. 


The recipe I have included in this post makes a lot of burgers.  I think this time I came out with 17 good sized burgers.  I freeze the veggie burgers, and they make a great, quick week night meal.  I sometimes take them out of the freezer, and by the time I change my clothes and get ready to cook them, they have already started to thaw on the countertop. 

If you try this recipe, don't cook them on too high of a heat, just a medium heat.  If they are cooked at too high a heat, the sunflower seeds can tend to scorch.  I like to cook them in an old, heavy cast iron skillet.  If you have access to really great whole wheat buns, so much the better. 

VEGGIE BURGER

1 ½ cups onions, diced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
Flax eggs:  7 1/2 Tbsp ground flax plus 1 ½ cups warm water, mixed in a bowl
3 cups oats, processed into a flour
4.5 cups bread crumbs, homemade preferred, any type of bread
3 cups grated carrots
3 cups cooked black beans, rinsed and roughly pureed or mashed with a potato masher
¾ cups finely chopped parsley, (or fresh herb of choice)
1 cup toasted, unsalted almonds, chopped
1 ½ cups toasted, unsalted sunflower seeds
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp tamari or soy sauce
4.5 tsp. chili powder
3 tsp. cumin
3 tsp oregano or Mexican oregano, dried
salt, 2 ½ tsp, approximate
black pepper to taste, about 1 ½ tsp

In a large skillet, saute onions and garlic in oil of choice.

Mix flax egg together in a small bowl and set aside for at least 10 minutes.

Place all ingredients into a large mixing bowl and stir very well. 

Make mixture into patties of desired size.

Cooking methods:  Can fry the burgers in a bit of oil on a skillet over medium heat for about five minutes on each side.  If baking in the oven, bake for 25-30 minutes, (15-17 minutes on each side) at 350, until golden and crispy.  To cook on an outside grill, need to pre-bake burgers for about 15 minutes in oven before placing on a pre-heated grill until golden and crisp on each side.  Suggested preferred method of cooking is frying in a skillet.