Mushroom Not Burgers

Mushroom Not Burgers

I am absolutely NOT a vegetarian. I will tuck into a rare steak like a ravenous dog! However, we do go meat free on Mondays. I also have many friends who are meat free.  Mostly, though, I am making alternatives to ground beef burgers because I am trying to stretch my cooking talents. I have been creating original recipes for almost a decade. I want to try something new.

This was very successful. The trouble with making veggie burgers is finding a balance between patties that are juicy enough to be tasty but not so juicy that they fall apart. The trick with these Mushroom Not Burgers is to refrigerate them. So, make the mushroom mixture the day before and fry them up the next day.

I recently made Bean Burgers. How do these compare? The Mushroom Not Burgers have a consistency closer to a beef patty. They are also ‘meatier’ because of the umami in the mushrooms and soy sauce. Meat eaters would probably prefer the mushroom burgers. I personally liked the taste of the Bean Burger better, but I could eat my own weight in black beans. The mushroom burgers are more labor intensive and more expensive. Both beef alternatives were very good, and I would have either again any time. This summer, if you are having a BBQ, these are good options to offer your friends who don’t eat meat.

If you want, you can substitute a ½ teaspoon garlic powder and 2 teaspoons onion powder for the garlic and shallot. You may also add a teaspoon or two of your favorite steak seasoning to the mixture before refrigerating. I added 2 drips of liquid smoke, too. But that is unnecessary and if you get liquid smoke be very careful. One drop goes a long way.

Servings: 10 sliders or 5 burgers

Hardware: A can opener, a strainer, cutting board and knives, measuring spoons and cups, a food processor, a silicone spatula, a mixing bowl, a storage container with a lid, a spatula, a large, non-stick skillet (I used cast iron)

Time: Active time: 15 minutes; Cook: 30 minutes; the mixture must rest overnight

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of mushrooms (I used a mixture of button, shiitake and portobellos)
• 1-16 ounce can of garbanzo beans
• ¼ cup naked sunflower seeds
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 small shallot (1-2 ounces)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1cup plain Italian style breadcrumbs
• ½ cup flour
• Olive oil for the bottom of the pan 
• Buns and burger topping

1.       Rinse and drain the beans. Roughly dice the shallot and garlic cloves, set aside.

2.       Add the mushrooms, 8 ounces at a time to the work bowl of the food processor. Pulse until 8 ounces of the mushrooms are almost a paste. Place those into the mixing bowl. Grind the next pound into pieces about the size of aquarium gravel. Add those to the mixing bowl. Pulse the last 8 ounces of mushrooms, along with the shallot and garlic cloves, until they are roughly chopped. Scrape everything from the processor into the bowl.

3.       Cover the bottom of the skillet in a little oil and place over medium high heat. Cook the veggies until the mushrooms give up their liquid. This may take about 5-6 minutes. You may need to cook them in batches. Drain the mushrooms in the strainer. You can smash them a little with the back of the wooden spoon to remove even more liquid. Place them back into the mixing bowl.

4.       Place the beans into the processor and grind them up as small as possible. Scrape them into the mixing bowl. Do the same with the sunflower seeds. Allow everything to cool completely.

5.       Mix the eggs, salt, pepper soy sauce, crumbs and flour into the cooled mushrooms. Place this into the airtight container and refrigerate overnight.

6.       Heat the oil in the skillet over medium. Form the mushroom mixture into a little tiny patty. Cook it on both sides. Taste this and adjust the seasonings. Then make ½ to ¾ inch patties. Shape the patties to fit the buns you are using.

7.       When the pan is hot, sauté the patties 4-5 minutes on each side. Make sure that they are not burning. You may need to coat the pan between batches. You can keep the cooked patties warm on the lowest setting in the oven.

8.       Serve the Mushroom Not Burgers with the same toppings you would serve with hamburgers.

Southwest Corn Casserole

Southwest Corn Casserole

My mother-in-law gave us the recipe for Corn Casserole. It is so popular that one of my cousins gave us a wedding gift of a glass casserole dish with a lid and a carrying case so that she could get this stuff warm at holidays. I am not a big ‘crushed crackers, cream of anything soup’ sort of cook. However, for potlucks we make exceptions. And really this tastes so good.

This Easter my sisters decided we would have a taco bar rather than the usual ham and mac-n-cheese. Such a good idea. I decided to change up my M-I-L’s recipe to give it more of a Southwestern flair. Such a success. I will do this again.

I used a food processor to cut up the veggies. I also froze the butter and used the food processor to slice it into thin pats before I placed it onto the cracker crumbs. I will definitely do that again, too. But all of this can be done with a knife. I substituted crushed corn chips for of part of the crackers. You can choose to do that or not. Instead of frying and crumbling 8 pieces of bacon, I just bought the precooked pieces you can find in the salad dressing aisle. You could also omit the bacon and use cream of corn soup if meat isn't your thing.

You can make this up to step five, cover it and refrigerate it overnight. Remove it from the fridge 30 minutes before you want to bake it to allow it to come to room temp. Then top it with crackers and bake.

Servings:  8-10 side dishes

Time: Time:  Active time: 10 minutes; Cook: 45 minutes, casserole in in a little over an hour

 Hardware:  Measuring cups, knives, cutting board, food processor (optional), can opener, wooden spoon, large mixing bowl, and 8.5” x 13” glass baking dish

Casserole

• ½ cup finely chopped celery
• 1 cup finely chopped green pepper
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• ½ cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 cans of Mexican corn, drained
• 1 can of shoe peg corn, drained
• 1 can of cream of bacon soup
• ½ cup crumbled bacon (about 8 slices)
• 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
• Cooking spray

Topping

• 1 sleeve of Ritz crackers, crushed
• ½ cup crushed corn chips (optional)
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 stick of butter, sliced thin

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°
2. Chop the veggies-the smaller the better. Drain the corn. Set everything aside.
3. Spray the dish with cooking spray
4. Mix all the casserole ingredients together.
5. Pour the corn mixture into the cooking dish.
6. Crush the crackers and corn chips. Mix them together with the chili powder. Slice the butter as thin as possible. This is easier if you freeze it first.
7. Sprinkle the cracker mixture over the casserole.
8. Place the pieces of butter evenly over the crumbs.
9. Bake for 45 minutes.
10. Allow the casserole to cool slightly before serving warm.