Chef Jef's Veggie Burgers

These are my favorite veggie burgers in the whole wide world!

I have been in possession of this top secret recipe for about six years. It was given to me by Chef Jef (chef, drummer, friend, now father - yea - all around awesome guy) whom I had the pleasure of working with at Freedom Cafe. Having been a vegetarian, I have an interest and appreciation for veggie burgers and these babies were the first thing I ordered off the menu for my staff meal. The moment I had one of these for a staff dinner I fell in love. Jef finally divulged the recipe to me months later. SP distinctly recalls us "putting our heads together" to turn the restaurant kitchen recipe into a more family sized recipe.

This recipe yields about 6 patties and feeds our family for dinner - one burger each with the 6th split between SP and Puckstopper. You can happily double it, prep-cook and freeze, and save for later use. This recipe is perfect for the summer as it makes use of the garden vegetables and squash overload :D Thank you Jef, congrats on your son, and we love and miss you!

Ingredients
1 small zucchini, grated
1 small summer squash, grated
1/2 yellow onion, minced
1/2 red bell pepper, minced
2 Tablespoons chopped garlic
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
1 jar wheat germ
4 eggs
1 and 1/4 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients, but don't over mix.
3. Portion out into 6 parts, and shape into patties.
4. Lightly grease a baking dish .
5. Bake patties in oven for 10 minutes. Flip and then bake for 10 minutes more.
6. Cool and freeze.
7. Remove from freezer and throw them on the grill! :D

I took a total of three pictures before I froze them. Only the top photo came out ok, but here are the rest of the blurry iPhone photos I took before they went into our bellies. And the freezer.

Healthy Veggie Filled Burgers

These burgers are, hands down, fantastic! Especially for those with gardens or even family members with heart or cholesterol issues.

Ingredients
A tablespoon or two milk (to help bind)
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup finely minced scallions or onions
1/4 cup shredded zucchini
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
16 ounces ground chicken or turkey
4 or more whole grain burger buns
lettuce leaves
tomato slices
curried mustard (easy to make with mustard mixed with curry powder)

Process

1. In a large bowl, mix milk with carrots onions, zucchini, bread crumbs, and all seasonings. Add ground meat and mix well.
   
2. Divide meat into patties - shaping each portion to be 1/2 inch thick patty or so. if they do not bind well, add more bread crumbs.
   
3. Grill patties as you would any other burger, using a temperature or "sight test" to check if they are done.
   
4. Serve on buns with lettuce, tomato, and curry mustard. And if you are me, add a slice of cheese!