Bangin VEGGINIZED BURGERS (Vegan)

I use to not really eat burgers, until i started to go out to dinner with friends. A waiter misheard my order and delivered a burger to my table, instead of my usual pasta dish. I liked it a lot and my love for burgers was born! Burgers are great and hit all the nutrition boxes, proteins, vegetables, and carbohydrates. However like all things in life the good comes with bad. Whenever I eat a Burger, I'm pretty tired afterwards, have occasional digestion issues, and feel past the point of full. I wanted to Vegginize a Burger, but wanted it to be tasty enough that even the pickiest eater would enjoy it. I decided I would go to my local health food store and purchase Texturized Vegetable Protein (TVP) along with a few other vegetables and came up with a recipe even the most notorious non-vegetable consumer would happily eat. Below is the recipe for my Vegginized Burger. Don't be shy, give it a try!

What You'll Need:

Burger:

1/2 cup Texturized Vegetable Protein (TVP)

(you can find TVP at most health food stores)

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup Vegetable Stock

1 Cup Rough Chopped Portabella Mushrooms (use baby Bella mushrooms if you cant find Portabella)

1/2 Cup Diced Eggplant

1 Can Chick Peas

1/4 Cup Diced Beets

1 Cup Oats

Seasoning:

1/2 tblsp Seasoned Salt

1/2 tblsp Miss Dash Steak Seasoning

1/2 tsp Chipotle Chili Powder (add 1 tsp if you like spicy things)

2 tblsp Liquid Smoke

1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika

1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Pepper

Secret Sauce:

1/2 cup Vegan Mayo

2 1/2 tblsp Ketchup

2 tsp Yellow Mustard

1 tblsp Relish

1 tsp White Vinegar

Extras:

Pretzel Buns (i found some at my local walmart)

Cheese Style of your choice

Baby Spinach

Recipe:

Pre-Heat Oven to 425 F

While oven is preheating Open can of Chick Peas,

Drain the Water and Place Chick peas on a greased baking sheet

Season with Seasoned Salt and olive oil, and set aside

Take Mushrooms, Eggplant and Beets Toss in Olive Oil season to taste with salt and pepper (about two tsp of salt and pepper if you need to measure and 2 tblsp olive oil )

Place on Veggies on Large Greased Baking Sheet(s)

(don't let the veggies touch to ensure they roast)

Place Veggie Tray and Chick Pea Tray in Oven and Roast for 13-18 mins

(check on roasting veggies half way through to ensure nothing is burning, your mushrooms will take the least amount of time so be sure to monitor them closely)

While Veggies/Beans are roasting Add 1/4 cup Veggie Broth and 1/4 cup water into a sauce pan and bring to a boil

Place Texturized Vegetable Protein (TVP) in A Bowl and Add Boiled Liquid to it and set Aside to cool

(once TVP is cool take a few paper towels to absorb excess liquid, then fluff with fork)

Now Take Roasted Vegetable Trays out of oven and Let Cool

In a food processor or high power blender Put Cooled Veggies, Roasted Chick Peas and process for a few seconds. Then Add half of the oats and process again. Add about 1/3 cup of vegetable stock and the remainder of the oats and process until well incorporated NOT pureed.

At this point add the processed veggies and oats to the TVP in a large bowl. Add your liquid smoke, Steak Seasoning, and Chipotle Chili Powder, Garlic and Onion Powder, Smoked Paprika, Salt, Pepper and seasoned salt and mix with wooden spoon. Form the mixture into 1inch patties.

Pro tip: it's easy to roll the burger into balls then placing it between two pieces of plastic wrap and pressing down with your palm to form a burger.

Now its time to cook your burger, Place burgers in frying pan on medium/high heat with a little bit of non-stick spray and fry for about 5 minutes on one side. Flip the burger over and add your favorite cheese (to keep it Vegan I add Choa Cheese made by Field Roast). Cook Burger until Cheese is melted, remember this isn't meat so you do not need to worry about consuming anything raw.

Last But Not Least the secret Sauce for the Burger!

Add Your Mayo, Ketchup, Mustard, Vinegar, and Relish into a small mixing bowl and whisk together then Assemble your Burger with it and whatever other fixings you'd like, Enjoy!