Heavenly Earth Burgers

This was my first foray into veggie burgers. I had been wanting to try this recipe for a while, just to see how it would be received, but you need a food processor and I (still) don't have one. But I do have my Tupperware choppy thing, so I thought I would try it in there. It worked pretty well. I was going to make these on my George Foreman grill, but they didn't really hold together all that well so I just made them in a skillet like it says to. They were only a little crumbly. This recipe is from my Christmas cookbook from my mom, the TOH Cooking Through the Seasons. I haven't made anything out of it for awhile because there were so many recipes to make out of the Simple & Delicious magazines, but I made all the marked ones so I am back into this. The other day I got a new magazine so of course I'll start going through that one soon.

Heavenly Earth Burgers
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup sunflower kernels
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs (I ended up having to add more because I had bit less rice than it called for)
1/2 cup shredded carrot
3 tbsp minced fresh parsley
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 egg
1 egg white
1 cup garbanzo beans or chick peas, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 tsp canola oil
6 whole wheat hamburger buns, split (I also grilled them to make the kids want to eat them more)
6 lettuce leaves
6 slices tomato (nope)
6 slices onion (we had red onion left from another recipe so I used that)

In a large bowl, combine the first 8 ingredients. In a food processor, combine the egg, egg white, and garbanzo beans. Cover and process until smooth. Stir into rice mixture. Shape into 6 patties.

In a nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook patties in oil for 5-6 minutes on each side or until lightly browned and crisp. Serve on buns with lettuce, tomato, and onion.

I was pleasantly surprised by how well these were received. Of course the little ones didn't like them, but really you can't go by that. I just gave them some of the crumbles that came off the burgers while they were cooking, and gave them a grilled bun separately. They each tried it, and neither of them liked it. But Sam loved them! He said, "if we were vegetarians, we could eat these like 5 times a week." Steve and I were both surprised by how good they were. They were also extremely filling. Mine sat like a rock in my stomach for about 2 hours after I ate it. Good for appetite control, ha ha. So I will keep this recipe. I don't know how often I'll make it, but it was good. We had these with tater tots and/or curly fries (kids' choice). No veggie on the side since it was a veggie burger. Can't have too much of that at one meal, you know.