Cheddar Stuffed Saucy Burgers

Recipe courtesy of Charmaine Broughton, Food Styling and Photography by Meagan Broughton.

A ‘lighter’ version of a BBQ classic – perfect for any backyard or dockside gathering. The only ‘filler’ in these burgers are finely chopped Canadian mushrooms and a hunk of Canadian cheddar.  Happy summer grilling and eating!

Ingredients:

Sauce:
3 tbsp (45 mL) prepared mayonnaise
2 tbsp (30 mL) grainy Dijon mustard
1 tbsp (15 mL) Canadian maple syrup
2 tsp (10 mL) finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

Burgers:
250 g (8 oz) cremini mushrooms, wiped clean and cut in half
1 tsp (5 mL) vegetable oil
1 tsp (5 mL) quality balsamic vinegar
½ tsp (2 mL) each; salt and pepper
1 lb. (500 g) lean ground Ontario beef
¼ cup (60 mL) chopped fresh parsley (*or 1 tbsp (15 mL) dried parsley)
1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh thyme (*or 1 tsp (5 mL) dried thyme leaves)
1 tbsp (15 mL) grainy Dijon mustard
2 cloves minced garlic (*or to taste)
4 oz (120 g) Aged Canadian cheddar cheese, cut in 4 even pieces
4 hamburger buns and garnishes of choice

Directions:

Stir together sauce ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Place mushrooms in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until very finely chopped. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add chopped mushrooms. Cook, stirring for about 5 minutes. Add balsamic, salt and pepper and cook for an additional minute until brown. Remove from heat and place mushroom mixture in a large bowl. Crumble in beef. Add remaining ingredients except for cheese. Using your hands mix ingredients until evenly combined. Form into 4 even size patties. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes (*or up to 2 days). Preheat grill to medium high. Using your thumb, make a well in the middle of each burger. Place one piece of cheese in each well and cover with beef. Place burgers on well greased preheated grill. Turn heat down to medium, and grill for 5 minutes. Flip burgers and grill for an additional 1 to 2 minutes or until internal temperature reads (160 F). Remove from grill. Place on buns and garnish evenly with sauce and additional garnishes of choice.

Nutritional Information:

Per Serving (based on burger and sauce *no bun): 466 Calories, 28.1 g Total Fat, 11.7 g Saturated Fat, 0.5 Trans Fat, 93 mg Cholesterol, 682 mg Sodium,10.4 g Carbohydrate,1.7 g Fibre, 4.9 g Sugars, 34.6 g Protein

Makes 4 Burgers

Who doesn’t adore spring rolls? This oven baked spring roll recipe brings classic flavours to the table, while maintaining a robust nutritional profile. Blending mushrooms into the ground meat mixture lowers calories, sodium and cholesterol, making for a tasty guilt-free dish.

Ingredients:

Store bought phyllo pastry
200 grams ground chicken
200 grams thinly sliced mushrooms
1 small carrot, grated
3 Tbsp. minced ginger
2 Tbsp. finely chopped garlic
2 Tbsp. sesame oil

Method:

Add a splash of olive oil to a heavy base fry pan on medium high heat. Add 200 grams ground chicken, good pinch of salt, 200 grams thinly sliced mushrooms. 1 small carrot, grated, 3 Tbsp. finely minced ginger and 2 Tbsp. finely chopped garlic. Sauté until chicken takes on colour and mushrooms sweat down. Then add 2 Tbsp. of sesame oil. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Lay out single rectangular pieces of phyllo pastry (roughly 8 by 16 inches). Brush one half with canola or vegetable oil. Fold over pastry to create a 2-layered square piece. Place 2 to 3 Tbsps. of mixture into the corner, roll the pastry up like a burrito. Paint a dab of oil on the remaining corner to seal up the spring roll. Lay spring rolls on a parchment lined baking tray. Brush rolls lightly with oil and bake at 400F for 10 to 15 mins or until golden. Remove and serve with a store bought sweet chili sauce.

Store bought pastry makes this savoury tart a simple, family-friendly meal. Blending mushrooms into the ground meat mixture means lower calories, but a lot more flavour!

Ingredients:

Store bought packet of puff pastry
400 grams grounds beef
400 grams mushrooms, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp. olive oil
100gms Chevre (goats cheese)
Bunch of fresh thyme

Method:

Add a splash of olive to a heavy base fry pan on medium high heat. Add 400 grams ground beef, pinch of salt, 400 grams finely chopped mushrooms and 3 Tbsp. Dijon mustard. Continue to cook off for another 2 mins. Remove from heat and set aside.

Slice store bought puff pastry into 5 to 6 inch squares and place on a parchment lined baking tray. Brush side inch or so of each square with olive oil. This will help crisp it up. Add a couple of Tbsps. of mushroom mixture onto each pastry square. Add a few knobs of Chevre to each tart, then a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Bake for 425F for 10 to 15mins or until golden. Remove, slice into halves and drizzle with a little olive oil.

By buying local, you’re not only getting nutritious, delicious and environmentally friendly groceries – but you’re supporting your neighbours, friends and the local economy.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 package (227 g) sliced Ontario white button mushrooms, finely chopped
1 lb/500g lean ground Ontario Corn Fed Beef
1/2 cup (60 mL) seasoned Italian breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 small shallot, finely diced
1 clove Ontario garlic, minced
1 tbsp (15 mL) fresh Ontario parsley, chopped
1 (650 mL) jar of marinara
5 white sub rolls
15 bocconcini medallions

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C. Spray shallow baking dish with non-stick spray.
2. Place the mushrooms in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until finely chopped.
3. In a large bowl combine chopped mushrooms, beef, breadcrumbs, egg, shallot, garlic and parsley; mix until incorporated. Shape mixture into 1½ inch meatballs. Place 1 inch apart in dish. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove baking dish and pour marinara over meatballs. Return to oven for 15 minutes.
4. Assemble subs by spooning 5 meatballs onto sub roll. Top with warm marinara and three bocconcini medallions. Place subs on baking tray and broil on high until cheese is melted, approximately 3-5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve.

Recipe by Mardi of eat. live. travel. write.

I’ve taken the ingredients for the classic lettuce wrap and popped them on steamed rice – giving you all the freshness of a summer dish in the comfort of a bowl.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion
200g mushrooms (white or cremini)
450g minced beef
1 tablespoon fresh ginger
2 tablespoons runny honey
1.5 tablespoons fish sauce
1.5 tablespoons soy sauce
zest and juice from 1 lime

To serve:
Steamed rice
Crushed unsalted peanuts
Finely chopped green onions
Fresh mint
Finely shredded romaine lettuce

Directions:

1. In a food processor, chop the mushrooms with the garlic and onion until uniform in size.
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, sauté the onion, garlic and mushroom mixture until the onion and garlic are translucent and fragrant.
3. Add the beef, breaking it up with the back of a spoon, stirring to combine with the mushroom mixture, until fully cooked.
4. Lover the heat to medium, add the ginger and honey and cook until any liquid has evaporated.
5. Add the fish and soy sauces along with the juice and zest of the lime and cook, stirring until nearly all the liquid has evaporated.
6. Serve over warm steamed rice. Top with shredded lettuce and mint, chopped peanuts and green onions.

Serves 4

Click the picture above to watch the recipe video.

Recipe by Brittany of My Daily Randomness

Mushrooms are blended with ground beef and seasoned to create the perfect appetizer-style meatball. Serve with Spicy Sriracha Aioli for an added kick.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

½ lb. mushrooms, finely chopped
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 small onion, finely diced
1 clove minced garlic
½ cup breadcrumbs
1 egg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking tray with foil and spray with cooking spray.
2. Place the mushrooms in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until finely chopped.
3. In a skillet over medium heat cook chopped mushrooms until brown and most moisture has been released, about 3-5 minutes. Set aside to let cool.
4. In a large bowl combine cooled mushrooms, beef, seasoning, onion, garlic breadcrumbs and egg; mix all ingredients until incorporated. Shape mixture into 1½ inch meatballs. Place 1 inch apart on pan.
5. Bake 35-40 minutes or until meatballs reach 160°F, are cooked through and center is no longer pink.
Makes approximately 20 meatballs

Spicy Sriracha Aioli

Ingredients:

4 egg yolks
4 large cloves garlic peeled and pureed
1-2 tbsp Sriracha sauce (depending on desired spice level)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste

Directions:

In a food processor add egg yolks, pureed garlic, and Sriracha sauce. Place the top on the bowl and turn on the machine and slowly drizzle in the oils. Once the oil is added stop the machine and check for consistence, if to thick you can whisk in a little water too thin as needed. Add the salt to taste.

Click the picture above to watch the recipe video.

Recipe by Carole of The Yum Yum Factor

A spicy blend of mushrooms and beef are packed inside a flaky pastry, making these appetizers hard to resist.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

2 sheets of puff pastry, thawed but still cold
1 egg beaten with splash milk and 1/2 tsp turmeric
beef/mushroom filling
Kosher salt or fleur de sel

Beef/Mushroom Filling:
2 tbls butter
250 grams ground beef
100 grams button mushrooms (approx 4 large), rough chop
1 onion, rough chop
3 scallions, greens included, rough chop
1/4 cup frozen peas
2 cloves garlic, rough chop
1 scotch bonnet pepper, seeded and chopped or to taste
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp kosher salt
a few grinds of fresh, black pepper
1/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
between 1/4 and 1/2 cup chicken stock

Directions:

First whiz up your bread to make your fresh crumbs. I use a crusty Italian style bun and put aside.
Next, throw your mushrooms into the food processor and pulse until finely ground and put aside.

Now, put the onion, scallion, garlic and scotch bonnet pepper into the food processor and pulse until minced.

Melt the butter over medium heat in a frying pan and saute the scallion mixture for about five minutes until softened but not browned. Using a spatula, scrape the mixture out into a bowl and set aside. Now add the ground mushrooms and the beef to the pan and start to cook it, smashing the beef down with your spatula as you stir so that you don’t end up with big chunks of meat. You want the meat/mushroom mixture to be crumbly.

When it’s almost cooked, add the scallion mixture back into the pan and continue to cook until there is no pink colour at all left to the meat.

Throw in the curry, salt and pepper, frozen peas, bread crumbs and 1/4 cup of chicken stock and stir well to combine. Cover the pan and let it cook for about ten minutes, checking it from time to time to make sure it’s not getting too dry. You want it to be very moist but not liquid so if you need to , add a slurp more stock during this time to keep the mixture the right consistency.

Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature while you prepare the rest of the stuff. You can make this a day ahead and refrigerate it until you need it as well.

Preheat the oven to 375F

Lay out one of your sheets of puff pastry ( I worked with it right on the parchment it was wrapped up in). Keep the other roll of pastry in the fridge until you need it. If you use something else, put a piece of parchment on to your baking sheet.

Cut the pastry into squares (approx 4″ square)

Lay out the puff pastry and brush each one with the egg wash Put a heaping tbls of filling in the middle. Fold the edge over to make a triangle and seal the edges with the tines of a fork. Prick two rows of holes on top and move to a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Repeat with the second roll of pastry and when you have all the patties on the cookie sheet, brush them all with the egg wash and sprinkle the whole thing with some coarse salt.

Pop those in the oven and cook them for about 35 minutes, until they have puffed up and are starting to brown a bit. they are best right out of the oven but are still really good at room temperature.

Recipe courtesy of Sarah of Kiwi & Bean

These bowls are banh mi inspired, I guess you could say: a bed of rice topped with a quick ground beef and mushroom stir fry, cilantro, mint, cucumber, pickled carrots, lime juice and green onions.

Servings: 4 | Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

For the beef:
¼ cup tamari or soy sauce
1 thumb size piece of fresh ginger, finely grated
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 pound lean ground beef
½ pound (227 grams) white mushrooms, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Sesame seeds and green onions to garnish (optional)

For the pickled carrots:
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
5 medium carrots, peeled and julienned

For the bowls:
Cooked rice
Pickled carrots
Sliced jalapeno peppers
Fresh mint
Fresh cilantro
Green onions
Lime wedges
Cucumber

Directions:

For the beef:
Combine the tamari/soy sauce, ginger, honey and sesame oil in a small bowl.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until the ground beef is mostly browned. Stir in the mushrooms and garlic and continue to cook until the mushrooms are very soft.
Stir in the tamari mixture and bring it to a boil. Turn down the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes, or until the sauce is syrupy and the meat is fully cooked. Transfer the beef to a bowl and garnish with sesame seeds (optional) and green onions.

For the pickled carrots:
Combine the vinegar, sugar and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
Put the carrots in a medium-sized bowl and pour the hot vinegar mixture overtop.
Let the carrots stand until they are cooled to room temperature, then transfer to the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes before serving.

For the bowls:
Arrange the rice, beef and toppings in small bowls on a large serving platter or cutting board and let everyone assemble their own bowls.

Nothing will get the family’s attention like a cheeseburger quesadilla. Filled with all your favourite traditional burger toppings, this fun new way to eat a “cheeseburger” will surely have the kids asking for seconds.

Servings: 4 | Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

8 oz (227g) fresh crimini mushrooms
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 lb (225g) lean ground beef
1 clove garlic, minced
8 (8 inch) flour tortillas
2 cups cheddar cheese
½ small red onion, sliced
2 small roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
¼ cup (60 mL) dill pickles, sliced
1 cup (250 mL) shredded lettuce

Burger Sauce:
½ cup (125 mL) Miracle Whip
2 tbsp (30 mL) ketchup
2 tbsp (30 mL) yellow mustard
2 tbsp (30 mL) relish
2 tbsp (30 mL) onion, finely diced
1 tsp (5 mL) white sugar

Directions:

1. Place mushrooms in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until finely chopped.
2. In a large saucepan, brown mushrooms until moisture has been released, approximately 5-6 minutes. Add onion, beef and garlic, continue to cook for 10 minutes or until ground beef is cooked through.
3. Meanwhile, combine all burger sauce ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
4. Place one tortilla in the bottom of a dry grill pan. Sprinkle with cheese, red onion, tomatoes, and dill pickles. Spoon on meat mixture. Top with the second tortilla. If your grill pan comes with a Panini press (lid) place preheated press on top of tortilla. If no press is available, carefully flip the quesadilla over using a spatula.
5. Remove from skillet and cut into wedges. Serve topped with fresh shredded lettuce and burger sauce.

Looking for a weeknight meal that comes together in a snap? These Mexican style baked potatoes combine all the fun flavours of Mexico into a meal the whole family will love.

Servings: 6 | Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

6 large russet potatoes
8 oz (227g) fresh crimini mushrooms
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 lb (225g) lean ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 package Tex-Mex seasoning
2 tbsp adobo peppers in chipotle sauce, puréed
1 can (769 mL) diced tomatoes
1/2 cup (125 ml) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup (250 mL) frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
1 cup (250 mL) shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup (60 mL) fresh chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F/204°C. Pierce potatoes, several times, with a fork and place on a baking tray. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until softened all the way through.
2. While potatoes bake, place mushrooms in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until finely chopped.
3. In a large saucepan, brown mushrooms, onion and beef, approximately 10 minutes. Add garlic, Tex-Mex seasoning, adobo peppers and tomatoes. Simmer 15-20 minutes allowing flavours to combine and sauce to thicken.
4. Split baked potatoes lengthwise and spoon in meat mixture. Top with black beans, corn cheddar cheese and chopped cilantro. Serve with a side of salsa, sour cream and guacamole.