Ingredient: Ciabatta buns or your choice

Garden Grain Burgers

CELEBRATING HERITAGE DAYS!

Heritage Festival in our city of Edmonton, Alberta Canada is one of the world’s largest multicultural events, taking place every August. It features over 70 pavilions representing almost 100 countries set up in William Hawrelak Park. All ethnic minorities of Canada come together to exchange experiences, entertainment, cultures and to celebrate Canada’s diversity. Thousands of visitors come to enjoy the tastes, smells and sounds of different nations around the world.

Due to the Covid-19 world pandemic this year, the annual August long weekend tradition of the Edmonton Heritage Festival will not be celebrated in Hawrelak Park, and is instead being reformatted from an on-site event into a virtual festival. You will be able to enjoy performances from past events, entertainment from countries around the world, explore new cultures and authentic recipes, as well as order food from local Edmonton restaurants. More than 40 pavilions are ready to celebrate our heritage online.

These grain burgers are one of my favorite ‘burgers’. Heritage Day seems like a good reason to enjoy some!

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 Garden Grain Burgers
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword garden grain burgers
Servings
Ingredients
Course Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword garden grain burgers
Servings
Ingredients
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
  1. In a large saucepan, combine rice, bulgur wheat, seasoning blend, poultry seasoning & water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover & simmer for 30 minutes or until rice is tender. Remove from heat; cool completely. Cover & refrigerate overnight if possible.
  2. In a large bowl, combine mushrooms, oats, mozzarella cheese, cheddar & onion. In a food processor, process cottage cheese & egg substitute until smooth; add to the mushroom mixture. Stir in parsley, salt, basil, celery seed & chilled rice mixture. Divide mixture into 12 balls & shape into patties.
  3. On a large non-stick griddle, cook patties in oil for 5 minutes on each side or until lightly browned & crisp. Serve on lightly grilled Ciabatta buns with your choice of garnishes.
Recipe Notes
  • If using a BBQ, place patties on a oiled sheet of foil paper to grill.

Chicken Cheese Burgers w/ Portobello Fries

CELEBRATING CANADA DAY!

In Canada, July 1st marks the day for Canadians to show pride in their nations history, culture and achievements. From coast to coast the country’s birthday is marked with various events.

This is the date of the historical event in which Canada gained its independence from Great Britain in 1867.

Barbecues are definitely the preferred choice of food event for the day. Although we are experiencing some rainy conditions this Canada Day, nothing says you can’t modify the traditional barbecue with cooking indoors. For something different, I decided to try making some portobello ‘fries’ to accompany our chicken cheese burgers. Technically, they are not really fries at all, but they’re crispy and dip able and that is all anyone expects from a fry.. right? Sliced and breaded with crumbs and cheese then baked makes these portobello fries super tasty.

Of course, the staple at most barbecues, tailgates and picnics is the classic burger. But a burger doesn’t have to be just a burger and cheese isn’t just cheese. For ours, I’m making chicken burgers ‘infused’ with shredded Gruyere cheese. Then taking it to the next level and adding caramelized onions and guacamole.

What a nice ‘Canada Day’ meal it makes!

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 Chicken Cheese Burgers w/ Portobello Fries
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword Portobello fries
Servings
Ingredients
Chicken Cheese Burgers
Caramelized Onions
Guacamole
Portobello Fries
Course Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword Portobello fries
Servings
Ingredients
Chicken Cheese Burgers
Caramelized Onions
Guacamole
Portobello Fries
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Chicken Cheese Burgers
  1. In a large bowl, combine chicken, Gruyere, bread crumbs, parsley, egg & garlic. Season with salt & pepper. Form into 4 patties & place in refrigerator until ready to grill.
Caramelized Onions
  1. Heat oil in skillet until hot. Add onion & sprinkle with salt. Cook & stir about 15 minutes or until moisture is evaporated & onion is soft. Reduce heat; sprinkle with vinegar. Cook & stir until golden. Stir in brown sugar; cook & stir until caramel brown in color. Place in a dish; set aside.
Guacamole
  1. In a bowl, coarsely mash avocados with lime juice & salt. Stir in garlic, onion & cilantro; blend well. Cover with plastic wrap & place in fridge until needed.
Portobello Fries
  1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Place a wire rack on a large baking sheet lined with foil.
  2. In a shallow dish, whisk together the flour, spices, salt & pepper. In another shallow dish, lightly beat eggs with 1 Tbsp water. In the third shallow dish, combine panko/butter mixture with the Parmesan cheese.
  3. Gently toss mushroom slices in the flour mixture. Coat evenly & shake off any excess flour. Then, dip the floured fries into the eggs, drip off any excess eggs & then place them into the panko mixture. Gently press the panko mixture onto the mushrooms.
  4. Place the fries onto the wire rack, leaving an 1/8-inch space between each. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown & crispy. If you wish, you could serve fries with marinara sauce, ketchup or a roasted garlic mayo.
Assembly
  1. Once you have all the various components to this meal this far all that is left is to barbecue the chicken burgers over a medium heat for about 5-6 minutes per side or until cooked thru. Instead of baking the mushroom fries you can alternately grill them on the BBQ as well.
  2. Slice & lightly grill Ciabatta buns. Top each bottom half with a chicken burger, a slice of cheese, some guacamole, caramelized onions & a tomato slice, ending with the other half of the bun. The big question is, how to get your mouth around it!
Recipe Notes
  • Whether you bake or grill, either way its all good!

Stuffed Salmon Burgers with Fresh Cucumber-Dill Sauce

In the quest for a real good fish burger I turned my thoughts to using ground ‘fresh’ salmon. Living in the ‘prairie’ Province of Alberta, here in Canada, the most economical way to buy fish is either canned, frozen or smoked. The fresh fish we buy in our grocery stores here has to travel somewhat before it gets to us. Definitely, it goes without saying that the flavor is not going to be what people living on the coast experience.  Nevertheless, with a little ingenuity we make it work. Brion and I both enjoy to have fish or seafood at least a couple of times a week.

To complete my ‘stuffed burger series’, I’ve made a a serious attempt to come up with a Mushroom-Cheese Stuffed Salmon Burger. I like the idea of putting a filling in between the salmon meat patties. So often fish burgers are deep-fried and overcooked, resembling the taste of what I imagine cardboard would taste like. Using fresh mushrooms and cheese certainly makes for a nice moist burger. Then just to make it a little more ‘gourmet’, top it off with a dollop of Fresh Cucumber-Dill Sauce.

Hopefully, out of the seven options, you were able to find at least one that will become a favorite at your house. By using some of these strategies to save you time, effort and money you will be able to get the most out of those wonderful days of summer ahead.


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Stuffed Salmon Burgers with Fresh Cucumber-Dill Sauce

A flavorful moist stuffing compliments the fresh salmon in this burger which is equally as good served with rice instead of a bun.
The cucumber-dill sauce works as a good condiment in either case.

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Servings


Ingredients
Cucumber-Dill Sauce

Mushroom-Cheese Stuffing

Salmon Patties

Servings


Ingredients
Cucumber-Dill Sauce

Mushroom-Cheese Stuffing

Salmon Patties

Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Cucumber-Dill sauce
  1. In a small bowl, combine all sauce ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Mushroom-Cheese Stuffing
  1. In a saucepan, melt butter & saute mushrooms with onions until golden. Add the garlic & saute for one more minute. Season with thyme, salt & pepper. Remove from heat, drain any excess liquids from sauteed mushrooms; chop the cooked mushrooms into small pieces. Add bread & cheese to mixture. Set aside.

Salmon Patties
  1. In a bowl, combine all salmon patty ingredients; mix well. Shape into 12 patties. Divide filling among half of the patties. Top with remaining 6 patties & press gently to seal edges enclosing all the filling.

  2. Preheat barbecue grill to a medium heat. Place salmon burgers on a sheet of greased aluminum foil or in a foil baking dish. Set pan on barbecue & cook for 6-8 minutes on each side or until burger is cooked through. Serve on lightly grilled Ciabatta buns with Cucumber-Dill sauce.


Recipe Notes
  • Like in the case of some of the other burger choices, I made up a double recipe of the salmon patties ahead of time. Scoop them into an air-tight plastic container; cover them well with plastic wrap & freeze. When you want to serve, make the stuffing & sauce for however many your cooking, thaw some salmon 'scoops' & flatten into patties. Fill & cook as directed. Fast & easy, works for me!

Garden Grain Burgers

Some of my favorite foods have always been vegetables and grains. Being a farmer’s daughter I guess it all makes good sense. When ever I had the opportunity to try a ‘veggie’ burger in our travels I would do so only to be disappointed.

When my parents were still alive, they lived in Southern Alberta. Whenever Brion & I could take time from our jobs, we would make a weekend trip to see them. We would leave Edmonton right after work on a Friday night. We always made Red Deer our supper stop and then continue on. The trip usually took about five hours. 

Our favorite restaurant at that time was a place called Glenn’s. I came across the perfect Garden Grain Burger on their menu, which tasted like non other I had tasted before. For a long time I tried to replicate it with no real success. Then one day I happened to see a recipe on the tasteofhome.com website  that had all the same ingredients. I tried it, made a few very minor adjustments and loved it.

I’m passing it on to you today, adding it to the ‘burger series’. Even if you are not into vegetarian eating I’m sure you will enjoy the flavor. The ingredient list is long but it makes twelve patties so some can be frozen for another meal when time is of the essence. 

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 Garden Grain Burgers
A satisfying combination of brown rice, bulgur wheat, oats, mushrooms & cheese gives an almost nutty flavor to this meatless 'burger'.
Votes: 1
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Servings
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Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
  1. In a large saucepan, combine the rice, bulgur, seasoning blend, poultry seasoning & water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover & simmer for 30 minutes or until rice is tender. Remove from heat; cool completely. Cover & refrigerate overnight if possible.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the mushrooms, oats, mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese & onion. In a food processor, process cottage cheese & egg substitute until smooth; add to the mushroom mixture. Stir in parsley, salt, basil, celery seed & chilled rice mixture. Shape 1/2 cupfuls into patties.
  3. On a large non-stick griddle, cook patties in oil for 5 minutes on each side or until lightly browned & crisp. Serve on lightly grilled buns with mustard, lettuce & tomato slices.
Recipe Notes
  • If you decide to freeze some of the patties, do so before grilling. 'Flash freeze' them on a tray individually, then wrap in foil tightly & place them in a plastic bag in a air tight plastic container. When you are ready to use them just thaw & grill.

Portobello Mushroom Burgers

For as long as I can remember, I personally have had a love affair with the ‘Big Sur’ coastline in California, USA. The spectacular beauty of this rugged 145 km (90 mile) coastline, with the natural drama playing out between land and sea is breathtaking.

Over the years many of our vacations have either been in this area or it has made a fabulous ending to a long flight coming back from Europe, before returning home to Canada.

One of the special memories I have from this vicinity was the quaint little European-style village of Carmel-by-the-Sea, located about 190 km (120 miles) from San Francisco.

Some 30 years ago, actor Clint Eastwood, was elected mayor of Carmel for a two-year term. During that time he opened a restaurant/bar there called the ‘Hogs Breath Inn’. You had to enter it through a long , cobblestone alley corridor. The outdoor patio was nestled between the restaurant and the bar. A massive wall mural and numerous stone fireplaces all added tremendously to the wonderful ambiance. It was here that I first tasted a Portobello Mushroom Burger. 

Every time Brion and I have returned to Carmel, we have made a point of eating lunch at the Hogs Breath Inn, just so I could taste that burger again. The Portobello mushroom seemed to have been marinated and then grilled on a barbecue. On top of it were some battered onion rings, lettuce and tomato. All of this came in a grilled Ciabatta bun with pickles and a side dish of your choice.

Of course, never having been someone who could just leave it at that, I had to see if I could push this idea just a bit further. Along came some more recipes for the ‘Stuffed Burger Series’. If you like these ingredients, I think you will really enjoy them.

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 Portobello Mushroom Burgers
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Seafood-Avocado Portobello Mushroom Burgers
Spinach-Cheese Portobello Mushroom Burgers
Servings
Ingredients
Seafood-Avocado Portobello Mushroom Burgers
Spinach-Cheese Portobello Mushroom Burgers
Votes: 1
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Instructions
Seafood-Avocado Filling
  1. Remove brown gills from the undersides of mushrooms using a spoon; discard gills. Remove stems, reserve for another use if desired. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add leek & garlic, & saute until tender. Remove from heat; cool.
  2. Gently combine mashed avocado with next 7 ingredients in a medium bowl; stir into cooled leek mixture.
  3. Dip round side of mushroom caps into Italian dressing; drain slightly. Arrange rounded sides down in a foil baking dish. Sprinkle parmesan cheese evenly into mushroom caps; then top evenly with seafood/avocado mixture, pressing filling to compact slightly. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover & refrigerate if making in advance.)
  4. Preheat oven or barbecue to 350 F. Combine Asiago & mozzarella cheese; sprinkle mushrooms with cheese mixture. Place foil baking dish with mushrooms in oven or on barbecue. Bake until tender & filling begins to brown, about 35 minutes. If necessary, cover loosely with aluminum foil so tops don't burn. Serve on slightly grilled Ciabatta buns. Serves 6
Spinach-Cheese Filling
  1. Remove brown gills & stems from mushrooms. Dip round side of mushroom caps in Italian dressing; arrange, rounded side down, in a foil baking pan. Preheat oven or barbecue grill to 400 F.
  2. Place spinach in a microwave safe bowl, sprinkle with a few drops of water & microwave on high for one minute. Chop cooked spinach; mix with cheddar & cottage cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, salt & pepper. Spread spinach mixture onto prepared mushroom caps.
  3. Bake in oven or on barbecue until mushrooms are tender, about 12 minutes. Nice served on slightly grilled wholewheat buns. Serves 4

Savory Herb/Apple-Bacon Burgers

Today I have tried to incorporate another favorite ‘recipe’, this one is derived from the taste of my mother’s turkey/chicken stuffing. Most homemakers of her time did not have the luxury of opening their kitchen ‘spice drawer’ with all its many little bottles. Something I remember well, was this brown bag my mother always kept in the bottom of one of her kitchen cupboards. When I looked inside, what I found was some dried, prickly plant that had a wonderful smell. To this day, I’m not sure what it was, but every time she made stuffing she would crumble some of it into her mixture. For years, I have tried to recreate that exact taste in my own bread stuffing. The Savory Herb & Apple-Zucchini Bacon Burger   filling seems to have captured that ‘taste of a memory’ fairly close I think. The mixture seems to work well in anyone of the three meats used in the ‘Basic Meat Patty’  recipe from the previous blog in my ‘Stuffed Burger Series’.

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 Savory Herb & Apple-Zucchini Bacon Burgers
With the addition of three more items added to the original savory herb stuffing recipe, you have one more tasty 'stuffed' burger to try.
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Savory Herb Stuffing
Apple-Zucchini Bacon Stuffing
Servings
Ingredients
Savory Herb Stuffing
Apple-Zucchini Bacon Stuffing
Votes: 1
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Instructions
Savory Herb Stuffing
  1. Boil potato in salted water. Drain & mash; set aside. Saute onion, celery, garlic, mushrooms & seasoning in margarine. Remove from heat. Combine with fine bread crumbs, mashed potato & chicken broth.
  2. This stuffing will be enough for 8 burgers so you will need to double the 'Basic Meat Patty' recipe, using the meat of your choice. Divide stuffing mixture into 8 and place in the center of 8 meat patties. Flatten filling slightly, then place remaining 8 patties on top. Seal edges well.
  3. Place burgers on a greased piece of foil & place on a preheated barbecue grill over medium heat. Close lid & grill. Halfway through cooking time, turn & place a slice of cheese on each burger. Finish cooking, remove from grill & serve on slightly grilled buns. Lettuce & tomato slices with a little mustard all add to the nice flavor of this combo.
Apple-Zucchini Bacon Stuffing
  1. Using the SAVORY HERB STUFFING recipe, OMIT the MASHED POTATO. Instead, add the apple & zucchini; saute with the veg/seasoning mixture. Combine all with crisply fried bacon & chicken broth.
  2. Complete following steps 2 & 3 from above recipe.