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SALMON BEAN BURGERS

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SALMON BEAN BURGERS

I’ve been hit with the “I don’t feel like going to class” bug. I’m just not motivated. I don’t particularly enjoy writing papers or taking quizzes..much less walking 2 miles to class in sub-zero weather. However, I do like learning. If only I could just listen and not participate or do any additional work. I may or may not be blogging while in class right now…

Okay I need to get a grip and stop complaining. I think it’s this weather though. I’m really just craving some sunshine and a warm breeze? Maybe an April shower. Heck, I’d take anything above 32 degrees at this point.

Anyways. On to some good eats  I originally planned on making hummus, inspired Chef Katelyn, but then I realized I didn’t have half the ingredients. Back to the drawing board. What can I make with garbanzo beans that is creative, filling, and delicious?

soup? nah…

salad? mmm nope.

Remember when you were a kid…”Mom we have NO food.” That’s how I felt today.

I rummaged through my cabinets and fridge and just wasn’t feelin’ anything I found. And then. I did the unthinkable..I opened the freezer.

Okay I’m really bad at trying to make a story sound suspenseful…but anyways, I forgot I bought some frozen salmon filets which I realized would be perfect paired with garbanzo beans to make some homemade salmon bean burgers.

This is what I came up with…

Not bad for a spontaneous recipe.

Salmon Bean Burgies

  • Makes 4 hockey puck sized patties: serves 2
  • 3/4C garbanzo beans, canned
  • 1/4C cooked quinoa
  • 4 oz. steamed salmon
  • 1T egg whites
  • spices: garlic salt, cumin

Directions: In a medium sized bowl, mash together all ingredients. You may need to add a bit more egg white depending on how well your mixture is holding together. Separate mixture into 4 patties, packing each one together in the palm of your hands. Next, heat ~1/2T olive oil on medium heat in a medium sized sauce pan and saute you patties for about 2 minutes per side.

Salmon Bean Burgers
Salmon Bean Burgers

Mr. Aged Balsamic topped off my Salmon Bean Burgies. Nothing but perfection ladies and gents. 

Salmon Bean Burgers

I love mixing sweet and salty. Aged balsamic vinegar is very sweet and much thicker than the normal balsamic vinegar. I heard you can even use this stuff to top fruit and ice cream!

Hokey Doke. It’s time for me to listen. I’m really bad at multitasking.

What is your go-to meal when you “have no food?”

How do you stay engaged with school or work?

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Black Bean Quinoa Veggie Burgers

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Black Bean Quinoa Veggie Burgers

What I really like about this recipe is that it matches the color scheme of Fit Foodie Finds. I totally planned that…

Black Bean Quinoa Veggie Burgers

What’s in em? Exactly what the post title says: Black beans + Quinoa + Veggies + Other Random Stuff + Toppings Galore

Black Bean Quinoa Veggie Burgers

Ingredients

  • 1 can black bean, rinsed and drained
  • 1/4C aged balsamic vinegar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 – 1/2C garbanzo bean flour (or any kind of flour)
  • 2C cooked quinoa
  • 1/2 large onion, finely chopped
  • 1 zucchini, finely chopped
  • bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 2t cumin
  • 1/2t chili powder
  • 1/4t salt
  • 1/4t pepper

Method

  1. Begin by pureeing black beans and balsamic vinegar in a small food processor, set aside.
  2. Next, finely chop your vegetables and mix together in a large bowl. Add in cooked quinoa, pureed black beans, and spices.
  3. Then, depending on how soft your  batter is, gradually add in garbanzo bean flour. I started with 1/4 cup and then added more because it was still too soft.
  4. Next, refrigerate mixture for ~30 minutes or over night, to harden it up a little bit.
  5. At this point you should be able to form them into patties. Mine were around 1 inch thick. I individually wrapped my in plastic wrap so I could make them throughout the week, so this step is optional.
  6. To cook your patty, coat a medium-sized pan with EVOO and heat on LOW/MEDIUM heat and cover. You’ll want to let each side cook for about 3-4 minutes. Be careful when you flip, they are fragile little things!
Black Bean Quinoa Veggie Burgers
Black Bean Quinoa Veggie Burgers

What is a burger without toppings? We (Carly (Hey Chuck!) and I) were craving a “California” style burger so we added sliced avo, tomatoes, and a little bit-a feta.

Black Bean Quinoa Veggie Burgers

You can definitely sandwhich these burgers in a hamburger bun(I recommend whole wheat), but those guys contain gluten. Hence my big ol’ bed of spinach!

Black Bean Quinoa Veggie Burgers

I just wanted to let you know, that I am obsessed with the lighting in these photos. Carly and I made this recipe while we were at home in Milwaukee (Idk how I waited so long to post this), and my mom’s kitchen has phenomenal lighting. #jealous

Black Bean Quinoa Veggie Burgers
Black Bean Quinoa Veggie Burgers

I totally ended up adding salsa to the mix. I’m telling you, salsa goes good with everything! And that’s just the truth!

Black Bean Quinoa Veggie Burgers

The balsamic really added some amazing flavor to this recipe. Have you tried aged balsamic yet? It is a lot sweeter than the normal kind, and I am obsessed! You can definitely use different vegetables and/or beans too! I’ve made this recipe with garbanzo beans and it was just as good.

One last thing before I go…

Today’s workout was a 4 mile interval run! For the first 3 miles I did 30 seconds hard at 9.4, 60 seconds jog at 6.2. For the last mile I jacked it up and did 30 seconds hard at 10.0, 30 seconds jog at 6.2.

I haven’t done an interval workout in a while and I felt like I was on top of the world after that one!

Are you a hamburger bun person or spinach person like me?

Have you tried aged balsamic yet??

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Lemon Grass Ginger Soy Pork Chops

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Lemon Grass Ginger Soy Pork Chops

A few months ago, Sam’s Club sent me a year long membership and I’ve been meaning to post about some of my purchases. One of my favorite things to buy at Sam’s is MEAT! Surprisingly they have a great selection with outstanding prices. Blake and I ventured to Sam’s the other week and picked up some pork chops, which I haven’t had in years.  

I’m used to a little salt and pepper on my chops, however…we decided to marinade them in Stubb’s Lemon Grass, Ginger, and Soy Pork marinade. *heaven*

Lemon Grass Ginger Soy Pork Chops

I’m telling you, it’s all about the spices! We let these guys marinade for about 20 minutes before popping them on the grill.

Lemon Grass Ginger Soy Pork Chops

Blake mans the grill, I man the veggies. He let the chops cook for about 8 minutes on the first side and 7 on the second.

Lemon Grass Ginger Soy Pork Chops

“Or until the grill marks look awesome.”

Lemon Grass Ginger Soy Pork Chops

Yah, that’s what I’m talkin’ bout!

We served these guys up with some sweet taters & brown sugar and balsamic cranberry brussel sprouts. This is pretty much my perfect meal.

Lemon Grass Ginger Soy Pork Chops

Maybe we’ll have to make something similar for my birthday tomorrow  Can’t believe I’m going to be 22.

What are your top finds from Sam’s/Costco?

What is your favorite marinade?

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lemon pepper salmon

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lemon pepper salmon

Another day of grilling, another great recipe! On my way home from work one day last week I stopped at a local grocery store, hoping to find some juicy chicken breast. However, the butcher had a beautiful piece of salmon that I couldn’t pass up!

I could always go for a good piece of salmon, especially when you have the perfect combination of flavors: garlic + lemon pepper.

lemon pepper salmon

I know what you’re thinking right now…squeeze garlic? All be damned. I was thinking the same thing when I first saw this stuff. However, I think it’s genius.

lemon pepper salmon

Fresh garlic is fresh garlic. Squeeze garlic is almost just as good! And it’s SQUEEZABLE! That means no mess, no clean up!

Lemon Pepper Salmon ingredients

  • 1 piece of salmon (16ish oz)
  • 3 thin slices of lemon
  • 1T olive oil
  • 1T minced garlic
  • 1T lemon pepper
lemon pepper salmon
lemon pepper salmon

Turn your grill to about 400F and cook the salmon for about 12-14 minutes, covered.

lemon pepper salmon

For easy clean up, throw a piece of tin foil between the grill and the salmon.

lemon pepper salmon

This is probably the most genius grilling trick Blake taught me. (I’ve yet to put it to use because Blake’s always the one who mans the grill, but I know one day it will come in handy!)

salmon
salmon

Along with our salmon, I sauteed some veggies (sweet potato, onion, and green beans) in EVOO, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic, and more lemon pepper. We also had some fluffy brown rice.

lemon pepper salmon
lemon pepper salmon
lemon pepper salmon
lemon pepper salmon

Salmon quite honestly might be my favorite meat to throw on the grill.

What is your favorite kind of meat to grill?
What kind of spices do you prefer with salmon?

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Shrimp Stir Fry + BUTI

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Shrimp Stir Fry

I could eat stir fry with quinoa every single day. Like Saturday’s recipe, I used leftover quinoa for this too. Just another incentive to make quinoa in big batches.

This recipe is pretty simple and very easy to make, especially for busy people! Why?

  • I used used pre-packaged stir fry veggies, instead of purchasing all of the vegetables on their own and prepping them. Of course it was fresh, just a variety of veggies bundled and ready to go.
  • I used a pre-packed stir fry sauce, instead of making my own.
  • I used pre-cooked, frozen shrimp.

Usually I am all about doing it myself, but when you don’t have a lot of time, it’s nice to have these items on hand for a quick and easy dinner! 

Shrimp Stir Fry

Here is my favorite Stir-Fry Sauce. You can get it pretty much anywhere. I got mine at Super Target!

Shrimp Stir Fry
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Shrimp Stir Fry + BUTI

Shrimp Stir Fry + BUTI

  • Author: Lee Hersh
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Ingredients

Scale
  • 8C fresh veggies (I used pea pods, broccoli, and broccoli slaw)
  • 1C frozen shrimp, thawed
  • 1T olive oil
  • 3T water
  • 3T Stir Fry Sauce

Instructions

  1. In a medium sized pan, heat 1T oil on medium/high heat. Then add in mixed vegetables.
  2. Let cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Add 3T water and cover for 2 minutes.
  3. Add stir fry sauce and shrimp, and cook for an additional minute.
  4. Serve over a bed of cooked quinoa.

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can’t wait to see what you’ve made!

Shrimp Stir Fry

Yum, yum, yum. Every time! Other meat options are….

  • Chicken
  • Tofu
  • Steak
  • Nada Meat

You could also substitute different whole grains such as….

  • Brown Rice
  • Amaranth
  • Millet
Shrimp Stir Fry
Shrimp Stir Fry

One last thing before I let you enjoy the rest of your beautiful Monday. Have you ever heard of BUTI? BUTI is a high-intensity workout that fuses yoga and dance with circuits of plyometrics and conditioning. Classes range from 60-90 minutes and consist of deep stretching, BUTI shaking and heart-pounding cardio. BUTI dance moves are taken from various styles that focus on an intense shaking of the hips (and BUTI) including Miami Booty Dance, Brazilian Baile Funk, Hip Hop, Crunk and African Tribal. BUTI is sure to get your energy high and your abs tight!

Watch this video…

I’ve gotten to know a pretty well-known group fitness instructor here in the Twin Cities. She is one of 3 instructors in the state of Minnesota that is certified to teach BUTI at the only studio with it, Sparrow Studios in Eagan. PS: If and when I ever own a studio, I want mine to be just like Sparrow. Obsessed with their branding!

I signed up for a free week at Sparrow and took class last night.

It was bomb. I was a little hesitant to take this class because I grew up in sports, not dance. What. Ever. It was so much fun and such a great way to mix up my workout. Amanda met me and we both Buti-ed it out! 

Shrimp Stir Fry

Post class sweatiness…Amanda, Me, and Lisa (the instructor).

I am excited to explore the rest of the class selection at Sparrow. Here’s what they have…

  • BarreAmped
  • BarreAmped Bootcamp
  • Power Yoga
  • Yoga Sculpt
  • Candlelight Yoga
  • BUTI

I am actually thinking about applying to teach Yoga Sculpt at this studio because I was so impressed! The only downfall is that it is a good 16 miles from my house. BUT. On the way to work! (remember I have about a 35 mile commute to Anytime Fitness Corporate!)

I am traveling to Chicago for work today. Happy Monday! 

Have you ever taken BUTI?

If you could take any class at Sparrow, which would it be?

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homemade beef broccoli fried rice

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homemade beef broccoli fried rice

This has been a weekly favorite in the Blake/Lee household. I do have to give major props to Mr. Blakester…this was basically all him, minus my help with the chopping. 

We are both Chinese food LOVERS, so I think this meal was an easy win for the both of us.

homemade beef w/ broccoli & [brown] fried rice

We made homemade Brown Fried Rice…that really isn’t really “fried” at all. We just added in some classic ingredients to get a healthier version of “fried rice.”

homemade beef w/ broccoli & [brown] fried rice

The Beef with Broccoli is really easy to make as well. It’s made with flank steak, which is rather inexpensive. We used fresh broccoli, onion, and garlic to finish it off. 

homemade beef w/ broccoli & [brown] fried rice

Most of this meal was “homemade,” but we did use a spice packet for the beef with broccoli. I know what you’re going to say…it’s high in sodium and has MSG…

I am actually a big fan of Kikkoman’s Beef and Broccoli Seasoning Mix. It’s an easy way to get some flavor in a healthy dish.

homemade beef w/ broccoli & [brown] fried rice
homemade beef w/ broccoli & [brown] fried rice
homemade beef w/ broccoli & [brown] fried rice

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