Quinoa Veggie Burgers

So my obsession with quinoa will definitely be shown over the course of the blog. This super-food really is super with lots of protein AND fiber, I just can not resist its power. I wondered if the usual rice-based veggie burger could be made quinoa-based for some added protein, and the experimenting began. A lot of different batches were made, but a final product was developed- quinoa lovers rejoice! This recipe may take a bit more time then the others I put up so far, but the extra burgers are great to freeze individually for quick and easy meals in the future. These burgers are great on top of a salad or in a whole wheat bun with avocado, tomato, lettuce and some mustard. Mmmm mmmm mmm.

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

1 tsp. salt

1tsp. pepper

2 large carrots, shredded or food processed

4 oz. Baby Bella mushrooms, chopped finely or food processed

3 full scallions, chopped

2/3 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese ( can substitute cheddar cheese, jack cheese if that's what you prefer)

1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese

4 large eggs

1 tbsp. black pepper

1/2 tbsp. white pepper

1/2 tbsp. coarse salt

1 tbsp. cumin

1/2 tbsp. nutmeg

1/2 tbsp. garlic powder

1/2 tbsp. paprika

Olive oil, or olive oil flavored cooking spray for pan-frying

Procedure:

First, bring quinoa and water to a boil, add salt and pepper, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Next, if you have a food processor or blender of any sort that will help save some time in preparing the veggies. Either grate or food process the carrots, set aside. Finely chop or food process the mushrooms, set aside. Chop 3 scallions into small thin circles, set that aside. In a large bowl combine all the ingredients; cooked quinoa, carrots, mushrooms, scallions, cheese, cottage cheese, eggs, salt, black & white pepper, paprika, nutmeg, garlic powder and cumin.

Heat a frying pan with olive oil (for extra-crunchy burgers) or olive oil spray (less calories, less crunch) on medium heat. Place one heaping spoonful of quinoa burger batter and cook approximately 3 minutes on each side. Yields about 12 burgers. Enjoy!

Note: You can use red quinoa instead of plain quinoa for some color. Also, shredded beets could be added, when I tried that they were delicious but added a pink hue to the burger.