Veggie Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries

With Hirsh out of town this week, I took the opportunity to make a dinner that I knew he wouldn't like but I would love. I thought it would be fun to make homemade veggie burgers. I looked around for recipes for veggie burgers and picked one that was oatmeal based instead of bean based, since I'm not a huge fan of beans. I figured that sweet potato fries would be a great accompaniment to veggie burgers, so I found a recipe for oven baked fries. The dinner was very good, and I was able to freeze some burgers for future nights when I'm having dinner on my own!

Veggie Burgers

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 small onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt

Pepper

2 carrots

1 small yellow squash

1 small zucchini

1 1/2 C oatmeal

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 C italian bread crumbs

1/2 C flour

1. Mince onion in food processor and saute with garlic in olive oil for about five minutes, adding a few shakes of salt and pepper.

2. Shred carrots, zucchini and squash in food processor and add to skillet, cooking for a few minutes.

3. Transfer vegetables to a bowl and add oatmeal, beaten egg, soy sauce and bread crumbs.

4. Refrigerate mixture for at least one hour.

5. Wet hands and form into 8 patties (it will be sticky). Dip each side in flour. You can grill now or store the patties in the fridge for a day.

6. Grill patties for about 5 minutes on each side. (I used our George Forman grill and grilled them for 10 minutes total on medium high).

7. Serve on a kaiser role with a piece of cheese.

Difficulty: Medium

Debbie's Rating: 8- definitely a success although they did get flattened a lot by the Foreman grill-- might be better to cook them on a real grill!

Sweet Potato Fries

1 small sweet potato per person

Olive oil

Kosher salt

Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into thick strips.

3. Toss strips with olive oil, a few grinds of pepper and a bit of kosher salt.

4. Spread evenly on a foil-lined baking sheet.

5. Bake for 15 minutes, flip and bake for another 15 minutes.

6. Serve with an additional sprinkle of kosher salt, if desired.

Difficulty: Easy

Debbie's Rating: 9- very tasty with crisp outside and soft inside. To get crispier fries, I would cut them thinner and bake for longer at a lower temperature.