Today was different though because we had an important dinner mission. We were going to attempt to recreate the famous Northstar Burger. You can read about my love for Northstar and their burger here or here or my restaurant review here. You are lucky I don’t blog about every Northstar burger I enjoy! I have attempted to create the burger before and was semi-successful   my attempt .

This time was better then before though. I will use this recipe again and again!

Attempted Northstar Burgers
Inspired by the amazing burgers at our favorite restaurant Northstar Cafe in Columbus, Ohio
makes about 6-8 burgers

• 1 cup brown rice – cooking in a rice cooker works well because it makes it a little sticky
• 1 onion, diced small
• 1 can of diced beets, drained and rinsed
• 1 T. garlic, minced
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 T. lemon juice
• 1 T. EVOO
• 1 T. parsley
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh minced thyme
• 2 T whole wheat flour
• 1 T rolled oats
• 1 egg

Open, drain and rinse a can of diced beets.

Simmer the beets with a diced onion, garlic, black beans, lentils, and spices for a minute to infuse the flavors.

Transfer the mixture to a food processor

Pulse a few times, but don’t puree – you want the chunks of veggies!

Add rice, egg, flour and oats and pulse a few more times to mix together.

Form into patties and placed on a sprayed cookie sheet. Bake at 435 for about 15 -20 minutes or until burgers are held together and starting to brown. At Northstar they grill the burgers but I didn’t attempt that today. I think they would cook well in a cast iron skillet or grill pan or on a George Foreman though. Let me know if you try them!

Serve on a fresh roll with lettuce, spicy mustard, tomato, onion and cheese if you want!

We tried them for lunch and Anna loved them. She also enjoyed her cantalope and green beans. Tonight we are going to have them again for dinner – the proper way, on a bun with all the toppings. I will update you with a picture of those but I couldn’t wait to share the recipe!

We are off to enjoy the rest of the day with possibly another walk to the library or a play date in the yard with Jasper before I teach teen spin at 4:30pm! I took song requests last week and so I have added some more Bieber and Yeah 3X to the playlist! Should be a good time!

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Yesterday was a busy day. We had a ton of unpacking to do from the weekend and Anna had her 2month appointment and shots. She made it through but it was not a fun experience for any of us!
I felt like I hadn’t cooked a meal in a long time (it’s really been like a week!) so I was excited to make a good, healthy, clean dinner! After consulting some Cooking Light magazines, some of my favorite blogs and a few cookbooks, I decided on: Asian Salmon Burgers. My main inspiration was Natalie from The Sweets Life.

Asian Salmon Burgersfor 6 burgers
Ingredients:
- 2 cans Pink Wild Alaskan Salmon (I get mine from Costco), drained and picked through
- 1/4 cup oats- 1/3 cup oat bran – 1 egg and 2 egg whites
- 3 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp. lime juice -1 tsp sesame oil – 1 tbsp. hot chili garlic paste
- 1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
-dash of pepper

Directions:
1. In a large bowl combine all ingredients and mix well.
2. Form salmon mixture into 6 patties. 3. Heat a pan with cooking spray and add patties to skillet. 4. Cook for approximately 10 minutes, flipping a few times.5. Remove from skillet, place on bun or bed of lettuce.

I had my burger on a bed of lettuce and spiralized zucchini and Brady enjoyed a bun from the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program and Nature’s Pride!

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For dinner tonight we had leftovers.  I put my beet and bean burger over a salad with sprouted bread croutons and veggies and Brady had some leftover mini burgers.

Here is his recipe:

• 1 lb. Laura’s Lean Beef
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c. panko bread crumbs (they are what made the meat look like turkey)
• 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella
• 1 Tbsp. hot pepper relish
• 1 Tbsp. yellow mustard
• 1 Tbsp. BW3 Carribean Jerk sauce
• pepper

Mix meat and all ingredients together.  Form into patties and cook on the grill or in a grill pan.

Yay for tomorrow being Friday!

We have a weekend of birthday celebrations with both of Brady’s parents’ birthdays as well as his on Monday!  We will see if I workout in the morning or save it for the afternoon when I have my doctor’s appt.

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Anyways, school was good and so was tutoring.  I came home excited about making my Northstar burger creation.  I had googled the recipe before and found one that seemed similar so I thought I would give it a try. As many of you know, I am obsessed with the Northstar burger from Northstar restaurant in Columbus.  I have been there 4 times in the past 4 weeks – and I have only eaten out about 4 times…(does that make me crazy?)  Anyways here is a link to one my reviews from a dining experience there.

Here is the recipe I followed for inspiration and ideas – from the Kitchn.com

I adapted it a little bit, but there are a few more changes I would make after tasting it.

Delicious Beet and Bean Burgers
Attempting to create a similar burger to the best veggie burger at Northstar Cafe in Columbus, Ohio
makes about 6 burgers

• 1/2 cup brown rice
• 1 onion, diced small
• 1 can of diced beets
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 Tablespoons parsley, minced
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• salt and pepper

1. Cook rice according to directions.  I used a brown rice boil in a bag for ease.  Set rice aside.
2. Heat a skillet with water and cooking spray.  Add diced onion and minced garlic and cook until  translucent and softened.  When they are about done cooking, add the vinegar and cook until most of it has dissolved.
3. While the onion is cooking, open the can of beets and the can of beans.
4. Drain the beets – be careful of the juice!  It stains!! The beets should be diced small, but feel free to cut them smaller if you want.  I didn’t.
5. Drain the beans and mash with a masher or a fork until they are smashed – don’t food process them, they should be chunky still.
6. Mix cooked onions, beets and rice to the bowl of mashed beans.
7. Season with salt and pepper, thyme  and parsley.
8. Add flour and mix until flour is no longer there.

Such a pretty color!!

9. Then heat a cast-iron skillet until it is how.  I sprayed mine with cooking spray – but you could heat some oil in the pan.

10. Shape a burger with your hands or with a spoon and put it into the hot pan. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until it develops a nice crust.  Then flip the burger and do the same thing to the other side.

I served my burger on a piece of sprouted bread with spicy mustard, a little miracle whip lite, dill relish, tomato, fresh avocado and organic ketchup.

It was really delicious!  Next time I would skip the thyme  and parsley and maybe use 3/4 can of beets so it was a little less intense with the purple veggie!  While it will never be as good as the real deal – probably because when I go there, I am not the one cooking!    Overall – it was a winner!  I can’t wait to make it again for company!

Brady made some great looking burgers too!  I will post his recipe tomorrow.  Here is a sneak peak:

And a picture of his sandwich I somehow forgot to post yesterday!  How could I?!

Yoplait Smoothie Winner:

Hallie

February 12th, 2010 at 1:03 pm · Edit | Delete | Spam

yogurt, 1/2 banana, strawberries, blueberries, spinach, peanut butter or whole almonds chopped up, ice cubes- plain, easy, healthy and delicious!!

Email me your address Hallie and I will have them send your treat!

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Baked Potato Fries

• 4 semi-baked potatoes
• spray butter
• garlic wine seasoning
• salt and pepper

Cook potatoes in the microwave for about 5-8 min so they are softer but not baked completely. Cut into 1/2 inch slices. Spray the potatoes with spray butter and add garlic wine seasoning. Bake at 400* for about 20min. or until crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle.

Baked Zucchini Fries

(Similar to Cooking Light and Happy Herbivore’s recipe, but with less exact measurements.:))

• 2 zucchinis cut into 1/2 in. strips
• nutritional yeast ( 1/2c. ish)
• Italian bread crumbs (1/2c.ish)
• Parmesan cheese (1/4c. ish
• 1/2 c. milk
• salt and pepper

Cut up zucchini. Dip zuc. piece into milk then into mixture made of yeast, parm and breacrumbs. Bake at 400 for about 20 min. or until crispy and brown on the outside. These are AMAZING!!!

Tom & Moz. Salad (Tomato-Mozzarella that is:))

• cut up tomatoes
• fresh mozzarella pieces in similar size to the tomato
• fresh basil, chopped
• drizzle of EVOO and balsamic vinegar

Tyler’s  Decadent Burgers

• Lean ground sirloin
• Worcester sauce
• garlic seasoning
• A-1

Mix meat and all seasonings and grill!

The Grill Masters

We walked to get ice cream after dinner (Brady still gets bubble gum because it has big chunks of real bubble gum in it).  After ice cream a few friends came over to watch the Olympics, play Wii and drink Sangria!

* Tonight Brady’s parents are coming over for dinner!  Any good cookout recipes?!

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