Crave Wednesday: Vegetable Burgers

Happy Belated Easter!

While St. Patrick's Day was a bit of a disappointment, Easter was a complete success.  Maybe one of the best ever?  Best traveling Easter ever.  I still prefer Easter at home, but of all the Easters we've spent with the inlaws, this might have been my favorite.

We flew in Saturday morning and headed right over to MIL's house.  The boys got to hang out with their cousins and dye eggs.

We had our big Easter dinner, which I could actually eat this year since it's not Passover!  And then, AND THEN, we headed back to the hotel.  Yup, you read that right, THE HOTEL.  Which makes all the difference for me.   I got in a run at the hotel gym, we all got some good sleep, and in the morning we discovered the Easter bunny had paid a visit to our hotel room. 

There were baskets for all my boys, and Thatkid ate his weight in candy before getting dressed.  Then the boys put on their dapper duds.

We spent the morning with my inlaws, then the boys took a nap while their cousins hid eggs.  My SIL's family all came over to celebrate Easter.  There were 9 kids ranging in age from 9 months to 16 years.  While supper finished cooking, the kids went egg hunting.

Thatkid totally cleaned up.  Thatbaby started strong.  Getting a head start and locating an egg before the hunt even started.  But he peaked early.  That was the only egg he found.

And at the end of the night, back to the hotel we went.  Monday morning we headed to the airport.  It was quick, it was painless, and now it's over.  YAY!

Getting in Monday morning, I headed straight to work.  With two little tow-heads in tow.  This meant I needed a dinner all ready to go when we got home.  These veggie patties freeze beautifully.  In fact, I think they work better after being frozen.  Fresh they tend to be a little mushy.  But when you cook them from frozen, they tend to hold together a little better.

With chickpeas as their base, these have a very falafel feel to them.  But so much more flavorful.  The potatoes, jalapeno, and red onion ensure there's nothing boring about these.  They may be the tastiest veggie burgers I've experienced.

Vegetable Burgers (From Cooking Light)

1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 cup fresh cilanrtro

1/2 cup coarsley chopped carrot

1 1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp amchur powder

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and quartered

2 lbs red potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces

1/4 cup coarsley chopped red onion

1 cup dry  breadcrumbs

2 Tbsp canola oil, divided

2 2/3 cup spinach

8 red onion slices

4 whole grain pitas, cut in half

1. Place chickpeas, cilantro, carrot, salt, garam masala, amchur powder, black pepper, red pepper,  and jalapeno in a food processor.  Process until finely chopped.
2. Place potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with water.  Bring to a boil; cook 13 minutes.  
3. Add chopped onion; cook 2 minutes or until potatoes are tender.  Drain.  Cool 10 minutes.
4. Place mixture with a potato masher or fork.  Stir in chickpea misture and breadcrumbs; cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.
5. Divide potato mixture into 8 equal portions (about 2/3 cup mixture), shaping each portion into 1/2 inch thick patty.  
6. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add 4 patties to pan; cook 5 minutes on each side or until browned and heated through.  Repeat procedure with 1 Tbsp oil and 4 patties.
7. Place 1/3 cup spinach, 1 patty, and 1 onion slice in each pita half.