These days I feel like I am constantly trying to please my 15-month old. I am always trying to entertain her and figure out what she wants in order to be happy. I feel like the more she communicates, the more frustrated she gets, because what she thinks makes sense doesn't always make sense to me and Greg. Meal time has become a bit of an ordeal. There are things that she used to like that she now refuses by throwing it down on the floor in protest. She used to love bananas, but now she only wants them in the form of a
cookie. I have had to experiment a lot to figure out what foods she will eat well at meal time. I have found that she seems to really like food in the form of a patty. She loves salmon burgers,
cauliflower burgers, and these carrot burgers. I also absolutely love these carrot burgers, and so does Greg. I made them for the first time when my friend came over with her daughter who is just about Wendy's age, and it was a big hit with all of us. I ended up making them again to serve for dinner the next evening, and I've made them a couple times since then. I made the mistake one night of serving the carrot burgers with ketchup, and during dinner all Wendy wanted to eat was the ketchup and no carrot burger. She kept begging for ketchup and made a nice big mess with it. I was worried that she was over the carrot burgers, but I served them again the next night without the ketchup, and she gobbled them down (Greg had to top his with ketchup before coming to the table, to prevent her from seeing it)! Greg likes the carrot burgers on a bun with lots of ketchup, and I enjoy them dipped in a mixture of sour cream with a little bit of maple syrup. I think they would also taste good on a toasted bun spread with a little butter, and topped with some mozzarella cheese. I really had no idea how these would turn out, and they totally exceeded my expectations. They are great because each burger has about 1/2 cup of carrots, so you can easily get your kids to eat a serving of veggies. If you're looking for an easy vegetarian meal that will please even the pickiest eaters in your family, I suggest you try out these delicious carrot burgers!
Recipe for Carrot Burgers or Patties -A Meal the Kids will Like!
INGREDIENTS:
4 cups of shredded carrots (make it easier like I do by buying packaged shredded carrots)!
1/4 cup of finely chopped yellow onion
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| Look at all those carrots! Each one has about 1/2 cup of carrots. |
1/2 cup of whole wheat flour (or all-purpose)
1/4 cup of yellow cornmeal
1 Tbsp. of dried dill weed
1/2 tsp. of baking powder
1/4 tsp. of black pepper
3/4 tsp. of salt
1 tsp. of sugar or pure maple syrup (optional)
4 Tbsp. of half and half
2 eggs, lightly beaten
*2 Tbsp. of extra-virgin olive oil
*2 - 3 Tbsp. of unsalted butter
DIRECTIONS:
Put all of the ingredients (except olive oil and butter) into a large bowl and mix well
. Cover the
bowl and set in fridge for at least one hour and up to 12.
Heat 1 Tbsp. of the olive oil and 2 Tbsp. of butter in an electric frying pan or in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Once butter has melted and is sizzling, turn the heat down to medium. Use a 1/3 measuring cup to scoop up the mixture and turn it onto the pan or skillet. Use a spatula to flatten into a patty. Cook as many as your pan or skillet allow at one time. Cook on one side for about 6 minutes, then use a spatula to carefully flip and cook for another 6 minutes on the other side. Remove patties with the spatula and transfer to a lightly oiled baking sheet. You may want to place them in an oven preheated at 300 degrees to keep them warm if you have another batch to cook. *Add more butter and olive oil as you see needed during the cooking process.
Salt the burgers as desired. Serve on a bun with ketchup and baby spinach leaves, or serve as a patty. I liked mine dipped in a tablespoon of sour cream mixed with about 1/2 tsp. of pure maple syrup!
Recipe makes about 8 carrot burgers.
Recipe Source: Food.com
