Veggie Burgers

Eww, Veggie Burgers.
If you're pondering that oddly seasoned hockey puck that comes in a pack of four and costs you about five bucks... stop right now.
Veggie burgers are not only a healthy option, but also ridiculously cheap to make yourself.
And should I mention they're easy?
If you're paying $1.25 or more a piece for those nasty, rubbery pre-packaged deals, you'll be thrilled to discover you can make them for less than half of that cost... and you get twice as much!

Roasted Garlic and Butternut Squash Veggie Burgers -  Makes about 8

1 butternut squash - $2
2 small sweet potatoes - $1.50
6 cloves garlic - ~10 cents
1 onion - ~75 cents
2 cups panko - ~30 cents

olive oil
Salt, pepper

----Total cost - $4.65. Per burger - 58 cents!----

Preheat oven to 350 F
Wash your veg!
Peel the garlic, squash and onion.
Chop everything up into bite size pieces (about 1/2" -ish)
Place on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper. Toss together to coat.
Sprinkle 1 c panko over the top.
Bake for about 20-30m, until veg are soft. Let cool.

Blitz up the mixture in a food processor, just a few pulses. Chunks is good - no baby food. In a bowl, fold in remaining panko.
Wet your hands (wet hands prevent sticking), grab a nice golfball sized ball of mix and form into a patty. Place on a clean sheet tray. Repeat until you've used up all your mix.

To cook them -
Heat a pan over medium-high heat, add in some oil.
Place the burger in the pan and cook on both sides, flipping after about 2 minutes.
Serve with sliced avocado with chile salt and lime juice.

To Store - Place the sheet tray in the freezer, and when frozen, place each frozen patty into ziplock bags (I got about 3 in each baggie), Label them with a marker. Put 'em back in the freezer.
Burgers will keep several months, frozen.
Thaw with a quick zap in the microwave on low, or at room temperature for a few hours. You can cook them from frozen, too, it just takes a little longer, just cook until its not cold in the middle.

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Useful Notes of Note:

I buy panko in bulk at my local international grocery. A 2 pound bag will cost me about $5 and it lasts me months. Note - Panko weighs next to nothing, so a 2 pound bag is a lot of panko!

To make some quick and handy seasoning mixes:
 Mix about 2 cups panko in a ziploc baggie
Add in 1-2 T each of salt and pepper and whatever seasonings you think sound good.
Shake and bake!
Or zip the bag shut, label with a marker whats in it.
Should stay good at least thru the end of the Zombie Apocalypse.

And One More Thing...
~ Use whatever veggies you can get ahold of. I happened to have butternut squash, its in season right now... but you can use anything at all. Depending on what you get and where you shop, you can even make these for less than I did.
~ Make it go even further by adding in cooked beans, lentils, quinoa, rice or other grains.

Cheese Toast!

Because who doesnt like cheese toast?

This is something I threw together out of items I had in my 'fridge one day while looking for something to eat. It was incredibly tasty and healthy. Maybe they'll let me put it on the menu at the restaurant one week..

Avocado and Chicken Cheese Toast with Kalamata Olives
3-4 kalamata olives, sliced
1/2 an avocado
1 slice of whole grain bread
2 oz of cooked chicken (a small handful)
1/2 slice of cheese
salt, pepper, olive oil

Toast the bread in a pan under the broiler for a minute or two to warm it up and start the toasty goodness. Remove from oven, spread avocado on with a butter knife or the back of a spoon.
Top with chicken, olives and cheese.
Season with salt, pepper and a cheffy drizzle of olive oil.
Return to broiler for another 2 or so minutes, until cheese is melted to your liking and everything is heated through.

Useful Notes of Note

• Make it Vegetarian - just X the chicken.