MacGyver Chickpea Veggie Burgers and Fries!

You may be wondering what MacGyver has to do with my veggie burgers so allow me to explain. I really wanted to make some veggie burgers last night and as I was looking at a veggie burger recipe I had found several weeks ago, I realized that I basically had none of the key ingredients I needed. Rather than letting despair get the best of me, I conjured my MacGyver skills and made my own veggie burgers! So, I give you MacGyver Chickpea Veggie Burgers and Fries!

BURGERS: (You can change it up, but this is what I used.)
* 1 15oz. can of Chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
* 1 Orange Pepper
* 3 cloves of minced garlic
* Black Pepper
* 1/2 tsp of dried thyme
* 1 cup of breadcrumbs divided
* 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
* 2 tsp of fresh lemon juice
* 2 tablespoons of Frank's Hot Sauce
* 1 yellow onion (Since I didn't have one, I just used some dry minced onion)

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

The first step is sauteing some of the veggies, so grab a fry pan, set the stove on medium heat, and drizzle some olive oil in the pan. Chop up your orange pepper and toss it into the pan along with the garlic, thyme, and onions. Saute them until the veggies are no longer firm and the garlic is a nice toasted brown color.

While that's cooking, drain and rinse your chickpeas.

Once the veggies are done, toss them into your food processor along with the chickpeas, pepper, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tsp of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of Frank" Hot Sauce (you can use your favorite or omit this ingredient), and ONLY 1/2 CUP OF BREAD CRUMBS (you'll use the other half AFTER you have pulsed the mixture). Once everything is in the processor, pulse it until it become a thick paste like texture. Scoop it out of the processor and into a mixing bowl. Toss in the rest of your breadcrumbs and mix until it is all combined.

The recipe makes six burgers, so I formed the mixture into a ball and cut it into 6 equal pieces. Flatten them out into a patty shape and place them on a covered baking sheet (I used parchment paper with a little Pam sprayed on it). Place these in the oven for 15 minutes. Once the timer goes off, flip the burgers and cook them for an additional 15 minutes. And there you have it!

FRIES:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees (when the burgers had about 5 minutes left, I upped the temperature and put the fries in).

* 2 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil
* 1/2 tsp of paprika
* 1/2 tsp of chili powder
* 1/2 tsp of garlic powder
* 1/2 tsp of onion powder
* Salt to taste

Slice two potatoes into wedges or small fries, however you like. Place them on a baking pan covered in aluminum foil.

Mix the oil and spices together in a bowl and drizzle it over the fries. Toss the fries around so most or all of them get coated.

Place them in the oven and let them cook for about 30 to 35 minutes (I took them out a few times to shuffle them around).

While I was finishing the fries, I covered the veggie burgers and kept them on the stove. The heat from the oven kept them nice and warm until the fries were done and Suzanne and I were ready to eat.

And that's it! I really enjoyed making these burgers and they were crazy good. I'm already thinking of alternative ingredients I could use to jazz them up a bit. Hope all is well, friends!

-Bearded Vegan