These patties are a bit different from my regular bean burgers, as I've added vegetables and cheddar cheese to the dough and left out the usual egg and bread crumbs.
What I like about these patties -- the veggie content and the cost
I'm working at increasing my vegetable consumption, so these patties help in that regard. I think that the amount of carrots and greens could be increased, perhaps up to double the amount. The patties are flavorful and the texture is soft. As a bonus, these patties freeze well for 1 to 2 months (to be reheated individually as needed) or keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
I had been looking at veggie patties in the frozen section at Dollar Tree. Their veggie patties were 50 cents each (package of 2 patties for $1). My homemade veggie patties cost me about 6 cents each, or almost 1/10 the cost of the Dollar Tree version. I used greens, oregano, and garlic from my garden and pinto beans, onions, carrots, flour, and cheese from SmartFoodservice Cash & Carry. If I had to pay regular grocery store prices for all of the ingredients, these might cost as much as 10 cents per patty. That would still be 1/5 the cost of the Dollar Tree veggie patties.
Remember the other day, when I discussed my 4-step method to getting what I want for less? My end goal in wanting the veggie burger patties from Dollar Tree was to have high protein, veggie-filled entree items that I could easily heat for my lunches. But I didn't want to spend 50 cents apiece. So, I thought I could make something that would provide the protein and veggies that I wanted, but at a fraction of the cost. I've made a variety of bean-based patties and balls over the years. However, this time I was interested in adding vegetables. I was pleased with how these patties turned out. The above recipe made 15 patties. I wrapped and froze what we didn't eat at dinner the other night, leaving me with a half-dozen heat-and-eat veggie burgers.
