Burgers and Sides...Veg Style!

The best meals are sometimes those you don't plan.  I try to choose one thing as a "guide" to what I will prepare for a meal.  Tonight's star was rosemary.  As some of you know, I'm trying my hand at an herb garden this summer.  The cilantro has died...sadly.  However, the rosemary is thriving.  I had used it about a week ago, amazed at how sticky it was.  It's not surprising.  It looks a lot like pine.  So, I decided to use some tonight on sweet potatoes. I bought some a couple of weeks ago, and I was getting tired of looking at them.  I decided to have them with vegan burgers.  I also have a large amount of canned beans in my pantry and leftover buns.  I was getting tired of looking at those too.  I had a mango, avocado, and a yellow tomato in my fridge that were about 1 day away from going bad.  Basically, I was trying to use whatever I had on hand to produce a good meal.  Tonight's was successful.  I was thrilled.  Brendan was even happier.  I love it when I have to make an additional vegan burger for him.  It warms my heart.

Our menu was as follows:

Ancho Pepper Veggie Burgers with Salsa and Avocado

Mango Salad

Roasted Rosemary Balsamic Sweet Potatoes

Ancho Pepper Veggie Burgers with Salsa and Avocado

Blend the following in a food processor:

1 can mixed beans (or beans of your choice), rinsed and drained

1 tbs tomato paste

2 tbs. minced onion

1/4 c. chopped yellow bell pepper

1/4 c. chopped green pepper

3 cloves garlic

1/2 plus 1 tbs. quick cooking oats

1/2 tsp. ancho chile pepper

1 tsp. worcestershire sauce

2 tbs. basil or cilantro (use whatever you've got)

Juice of 1/2 lime (1-2 tsp)

Process well, scraping down sides as needed.

Makes 4 large patties

Garnish:

Sliced onion

Lettuce

Salsa

Avocado

You can refrigerate this mixture for an hour to make it easier to handle.  I didn't have time for that, so I just dealt with it.  They may fall apart when you pan fry them...just FYI, but they go back together just fine.  Just pull a "Julia Childs" and roll with it!  I wouldn't recommend grilling these.  It would stress me out to run back and forth from the kitchen to the deck.  They'd probably fall apart and fall into the grill if I tried, but if you feel like you can handle it, go for it!

Form into patties with spatula.  Just scoop out a bit and pan fry it with a little nonstick cooking spray over medium-high heat for about 1-2 minutes per side.  

Serve with a dollop of your favorite salsa, sliced onion, lettuce, and sliced avocado.  Serve with or without a bun.  (I'll be eating mine without a bun for lunch tomorrow...because I ran out of buns.)

Mango Salad:

4 cups chopped red leaf lettuce

8 cherry tomatoes, halved 

1/2 mango, chopped

1/2 avocado, chopped

1/2 c. chopped yellow pepper

Your favorite dressing: Mine is Ken's Lite Balsamic.   (I didn't make my own tonight.  I was being too creative already.)

You can add feta cheese to this salad if you'd like.  It's very good that way.  I know it's not vegan, but as I said, I'm not a vegan.  I just cook like one at times. :)

Roasted Rosemary Balsamic Sweet potatoes

I made this for 2 people.  I should have made it for 4, then I could have had more to eat...maybe I would even have had leftovers.  They were so good.  Just double, triple...whatever the recipe to make more.

Preheat oven to 400

Peel and cube 2 medium sized sweet potatoes

Toss sweet potatoes in the following:

2 tbs. olive oil

1-2 tbs. chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 tsp salt (add more if you want it)

1 tbs. balsamic vinegar (use your fav)

Spread potatoes on a cookie sheet

Cook at 400 for 15 minutes, watching for burning and tossing occasionally.  I just popped them in the oven while I was prepping the burgers, and tossed them every few minutes.

Decrease oven temp to 300 and allow to sit for about 10 minutes, while you're frying the burgers and cleaning up everything.  

Put it all together for a fantastic, filling, fresh summer dinner.  Just be ready for folks to ask for seconds, especially if you have a husband named Brendan. :)