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Daily Archives: January 5, 2011

Chicken Patties

Back to work we go… Holidays over, a new year and new term has begun. I had a pretty easy and fun day teaching today. Some gems from the kiddies:

“I was in pajams until at least noon everyday during the holidays. Just getting dressed this morning was a big deal!”
~ Mark, age 8

“Mexico was ok. It was cloudy. I got sick. It was not my best vacation.”
~ Sophie, age 10

🙂 Oh, cute kiddies!

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Onto some of our tasty eats in the past few days…

One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to re-commit to at least one vegetarian dinner per week. It really shouldn’t be so hard, but I’m not that versed in vegetarian cooking yet, and my mother is still rather skeptical of the whole idea.  But I shall persevere! And I secretly hope to eventually up that to 2 or 3 vegetarian dinners per week, but don’t tell my mom that yet…

So with that goal in mind, I set out to win my mom over with Angela’s Ultimate Vegan Lentil Walnut Loaf. I pretty much followed her fabulous recipe to a tee, save for a few minor adjustments; I only used 2 instead of 3 garlic cloves because my mom doesn’t like a strong garlic flavour; I ran out of thyme so I used oregano instead; and I didn’t have apple butter, so I subbed in unsweetened applesauce with a bit of cinnamon and sugar.

The end result was super tasty!

This was our vegan twist on the classic “meat”(loaf) and potatoes dinner: 🙂

Len loved it and used a slice to make his nostalgic “meatloaf” sandwich for lunch the next day. He said it was awesome. 🙂 The next day, I crumbled a slice on top of a big salad for lunch and it too was awesome. As for my mom, she was pleasantly surprised and said she would happily have this meal again. Excellent. 🙂

Don’t worry, mom, I have no aspirations to become vegan anytime soon, or ever, for that matter! Especially if you bring home and cook such extraordinary delicacies as abalone!

Whoa. Delish! But did you know this baby cost $20?? Yes, we each had one, so that’s $60 already. Whoa indeed. It was an experience to remember!

For tonight’s dinner, I made my super versatile Chicken Patties.

Makes 6 – 8 patties (depending on how big you make them)

  • 1.5 lbs extra lean ground chicken
  • 1/3 C zuchinni, finely diced
  • 1/3 of a red bell pepper, finely diced
  • 1 green onion, finely diced
  • 1/4 C onion, finely diced
  • 1 tsp finely minced fresh ginger
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 1 C quick oats
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • pinch of freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp Montreal Steak Seasoning
  • 3/4 tsp organic cane sugar
  • 1.5 tsp canola oil
  • 2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1/4 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/2 tsp canola oil (for pan-frying)

You can sub many different veggies for the zuchinni and/or bell pepper; I’ve used mushrooms, parsley, more onion, and corn before. Just make sure everything is finely diced. Likewise, the flavourings can easily be changed depending on what kind of flavour you want. Today I used a sorta asian-inspired slew of flavours, with the soy sauce and sesame oil, that went well with the green onion and ginger. Other ideas include chili powder/cayenne pepper, cumin, curry… The sky’s the limit! Just use your imagination and have fun experimenting!

And it’s so easy; just put everything into a big bowl and mix with your hands until everything is well combined. But careful not to overmix, as that will make the meat tough.

Before forming the patties, spray a cookie sheet with some cooking spray, then place patties on there as you form them.

Heat 1/2 tsp oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Pan-fry the patties for 5 mins on each side (covered with lid), to a total of 10 mins of cooking time, or until the patties are browned and cooked through.

Len ate his as a burger, with bread, mustard, and sriracha sauce, and he said the combination was awesome. My mom ate hers alongside rice, veggies, and with chopsticks. 😛

I had mine atop spinach leaves, alongside brown rice and veggies, and ate it with a fork and knife: 😛

Any way you eat it, it’s flavourful, moist, and satisfying!

And with that, I’ll say good night and head to bed, as tomorrow is a long teaching day!

 

Posted by on January 5, 2011 in Kitchen Adventures

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