Mini Madness

I bought a mini-muffin pan the other week and I have been going crazy for all things mini. Mini portions are easier to make and you don't feel as guilty eating a few :) Two mini cheesecakes equals one actual dessert, right?

My favourite mini creation has to be these mini mac and cheeses. I made them as an appetizer for a party and they were a big hit. The thing with mac and cheese is that I always think I'm putting in way too much cheese and milk, but then when I go to eat it, it just doesn't seem cheesy enough. Oh well, at least now that I make my own mac and cheese, I can ignore those boxes of Kraft Dinner hidden at the top of the cupboard.

You don't really need a special recipe to make these. Just make mac and cheese as normal and bake it in a mini-muffin pan, but if you insist...here's the official recipe from Food and Wine Magazine.

I also made mini lemon tarts, butter tarts and strawberry cheesecakes--not in the same day, I swear.

Veggie burgers for a rainy/lazy day

Forgive me bloggers for I have sinned; it's been months since my last food post. I have been busy with a great, new full-time job, so I have been neglecting my blog as of late. I have missed blogging and showing off, I mean writing about, my favourite meals and creations.

At the beginning of the year I started Project 365 (foodie version). Basically I vowed to take a food picture everyday and post it on Flickr. I have been trying to post as many pictures as I can, and it's almost been like my mini blog for awhile, but I have still missed blogging. So, here I go again...

I'm not a vegetarian, vegan, or gluten hater. I like meat, cheese, and eggs too much, but I do like to feel good about the food that goes into my body. Lately, I've been eating a lot of beans, lentils and grains. They're cheap to buy, easy to make and good for you.

I've been searching for a lot of neat recipes using lentils and beans and I came across two delicious veggie burger recipes from one of my favourite food bloggers, Ohsheglows.

Like I said, I'm not a vegetarian or vegan, but these veggie burgers are awesome.

Lentil Walnut Burgers (full recipe):

Just add cooked lentils, toasted walnuts, breadcrumbs, spices, olive oil and an egg into a food processor, then form into patties and bake for 40 minutes in the oven. I used a regular egg instead of the chia/flax seed egg used in the original vegan recipe.

I topped the burger with cottage cheese, sprouts, spinach, tomato and dijon mustard.

Chickpea burgers ("Crispy chickpea bites"): Full recipe

These are great by themselves and in a burger bun or on bread. The recipe is almost the same process as making hummus except you add flour and then coat in breadcrumbs before baking in the oven for 30 minutes. I made them more "burger" than bite-like as in the original recipe.

They almost look like those awful processed chicken burgers. I'm sure some Moms could fool their kids with these healthy burgers.

On the weekend I made a batch of each burger and put them in the freezer. I've been also trying not to buy lunch at work (the Tim Horton's drive-thru is right on my way to work), so one of these veggie burgers on a bun with some spinach and mustard made a great lunch today.