Cajun/BBQ Veggie Burgers

A new recipe for veggie burgers! I thought of making these this way after making the cabbage rolls and thinking that similar ingredients would make a good burger. The great thing is you could really go any direction, spice-wise, after the main ingredients. I decided I wanted something similar to Amy's Texas Style Burgers. 
So here's what I did:

Ingredients:
1 C mixed nuts toasted  (I used walnuts, pecans, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, and almonds)
1 C oats
1 16 oz can great northern beans (can use any beans - pintos, chickpeas, black, etc.)
1/2 C dry brown rice - cooked
1 4 oz can mushrooms (or fresh would do)

1 C mixed vegetables frozen or fresh (I used 1/2 C carrots, 1/4 C corn, 1/4 C peas all frozen)

1 4 oz can green chilies
1 1/2 Tbsp double concentrate tomato paste
1 1/2  Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp lemon juice (concentrate)
1 Tbsp hot sauce (more or less to taste preference) 
1/2 tsp honey or sugar

1 egg
About a cup of bread crumbs
1 Tbsp Paprika
Spices I used:
1 1/2 tsp Old Bay (Cajun) Seasoning
1/2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Onion Powder or Dehydrated Onion Flakes
1/2 Tbsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Dried Cilantro
1/4 tsp Ground Mustard
1 1/2 tsp McCormick Ground "Barbecue" seasoning
Black Pepper to taste
White Pepper to taste
Salt to taste
Directions:

1. Toast 1 Cup of nuts in the oven at 400 degrees on a dry cookie sheet for about 5 minutes or until slightly golden and aromatic (Be careful these can burn fast).  
2. Puree toasted nuts, rolled oats, beans,cooked rice, mushrooms, and mixed vegetables in batches that your food processor can handle. 
3. Add all pureed items to a large mixing bowl.  
4. Mix in green chilies, tomato paste, vinegar, lemon juice, hot sauce, and honey or sugar. 
5. Add all spices to taste and then mix in raw egg. 
6. In a separate bowl add the bread crumbs and paprika for coating the patties. 

• For baking: Preheat oven to 375 degrees, then form patties into 1/4 to 1/2 inch rounds, coat in bread crumbs and place each on a greased cookie sheet.

• For skillet: Form patties in the same manner as with baking, but first allow patties to freeze before cooking them in a (greased, pammed) pan over medium heat.

IN PICTURES


I started out by measuring out the nuts and putting them on a cookie sheet in the oven at 400 degrees for about 5 minutes. Then they went into the food processor and ground finely:

Walnuts, pecans, almonds, peanuts, pumpkin seeds

Ground nuts

  Meanwhile I had 1/2 Cup brown rice to 1 cup water plus 1 Tbsp oil and a dash of salt boiling on the stove. When that was done I added rice and beans to the food processor and pureed till it was a thick paste:

Northern beans and brown rice

Added Nuts and pureed beans and rice to mixing bowl

 Next I processed the rolled oats and the thawed mixed veggies and mushrooms:

Oats

Mixed veggies or baby food?

Everything added to the mixing bowl

 Next came the liquids, pastes, and gels. Everything you can't take with you through the security checkpoint at the airport. I really like this squeezey tube of tomato paste I found at the store; so much better than the canned tomato paste. I always ended up throwing half a can of paste in the garbage. I used Texas Pete's hotter hot sauce but you could really use any hot sauce or even none.

Flavor

After everything in the above picture plus honey was added, the spices were added and then everything got mixed well. I added the egg in after all the spices so I could keep tasting without possible salmonella poisoning :).

Used a potato masher and a fork. If daring, you could use your hands.

 Next I mixed panko bread crumbs, regular bread crumbs, and a healthy dose of ground paprika to a bowl for dipping the veggie patties into before they got put either on the greased aluminum foiled cookie sheet to be baked or the greased plate to be frozen:

Bread Crumbs

 I decided to try both ways: baked in the oven and cooked in a skillet, in order to see which tastes the best.

So for baking these go in at 375 degrees for 13 minutes per side (flip half way through).

Yum, these made the house smell really good while they were in the oven.

 The rest I put just like this into the freezer so they stay together when I put them into a skillet later.

Freezer Patties

Out of the oven

I decided that I prefer the baked patties better. It takes less prep time, less dirty dishes, and turned out really well. If you make a bunch it's really easy to freeze the already cooked burgers and pull them out for later use. Wrap each burger individually in aluminum foil then add all the aluminum wrapped patties to a freezer zip lock bag; make sure to label/date it. That way you can just pull out a wrapped burger and either grill or bake or even microwave it fast. This is a lot cheaper than the frozen veggie  burgers at the store.

So yesterday I ate it like this with a side of steamed veggies. That was really good.

And today I ate it like this with melted provolone cheese and on my homemade bread with lots of veggies!

Delish

Don't worry I ate a WHOLE sandwich, not just the half.