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Bento Mini-Burgers
- Okay all you burger connoisseurs, here's one to try. My long time friend, Amanda, gave me this recipe. I have yet to follow a recipe to the letter, so I'll put it as it is written and anything I "tweeked" will have an asterisk next to it. Original Source: Pepperplate (www.pepperplate.com)
- Course
- Cuisine
| Servings | Prep Time | Cook Time |
| 12 med patties | 15 minutes | 8 minutes |
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 8 oz lean ground pork or lean ground turkey*
- 8 oz Tofu, soft or silken
- 1 cup fresh soft breadcrumbs Can make by throwing 2 slices of your favorite bread into the food processor
- 1 large onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 egg or 2 egg whites*
- 1/2 cup ground flax seeds*
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp nutmeg optional...but does give it a nice subtle flavor
- A little milk or soy milk to add to the breadcrumbs, if needed
- Oil spray for cooking
Servings: med patties
Instructions
- Make fresh breadcrumbs by chopping up 2 slices of bread (white or whole wheat) in a food processor. Moisten with a little milk or soy milk.
- Chop up the onion finely (can be done in the food processor, after you do the bread crumbs.) Saute in a little oil in a frying pan until soft. (I did it until golden brown...great flavor!)
- Drain the tofu well and crumble.
- Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix with your hands until a bit sticky and paste-like. The tofu should be all smooth and incorporated into the meat.
- Heat up a frying pan with a little oil. Form the meat mixture into various shapes, as follows: a. Mini-burgers: Take about 3 tablespoon-portions and form into little patties. Fry on one side, then turn and fry on the other with a lid on the pan for about 4 minutes until the patties are a bit puffed up. b.Meatballs: Take 1 tablespoon-portions and form little balls. Roll around in the pan with a little oil until browned on all sides. c. Stuffed tofu slices: Cut a slit into a small block of tofu, and stuff with about 1/2 Tbs. of the meat mixture. Dust the tofu with cornstarch and fry, turning all around, in a hot frying pan until browned on all sides. (Becareful of the amount of oil you use in the pan...the tofu will absorb it up quickly.)
- I used 1lb of lean ground beef, 1lb lean ground turkey and 1lb of silk tofu. I increased the breadcrumbs to 2 cups. With this I was able to make 7 medium patties and about 3 dozen meatballs. I froze the meatballs for a later dinner. The hamburgers were excellent...they were so moist they melted in our mouth.