5 Star Vegetarian Dinner

Tonight I went vegetarian and gluten free. My dear friend Deb posted a meatless burger on her blog that I wanted to try and it was wonderful. This is a great dish with plenty of protein without the meat. This will definitely be served again. I served it topped with avocado, a side salad and Pao De Queijo (a brazilian cheese bread). I love Pao De Queijo and so do my boys!

Here are the recipes:

Lil Debs Meatless Burger

1 cup cooked quinoa
1 cup cooked brown rice (I didn't have time to make rice so I doubled the quinoa)
1 cup cooked black bean
1 cup finely chopped carrots
1 cup of shredded Mexican blend cheese(I used mozarella cheese)

2 eggs
2 tablespoons of brown rice flour (all purpose is fine)
2 green onions
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Oil for  cooking

Easy, Mix it all together. Heat Frying pan with a few teaspoons of oil over medium heat. Only coat the pan with the oil, you are not trying to drown the burgers in oil. Measure 1/4 cup and form into patties. Cook until golden-brown, about 3 min each side. I made about 15 patties.


Quick Brazilian Cheese Rolls {Pao de Queijo} – Gluten Free!
Recipe by Our Best Bites
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk (I used rice milk)
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup tapioca flour (sometimes labeled tapioca starch) no substitutions
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 C grated cheddar cheese* (preferably medium or sharp)
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
*you can play around with the cheese.  I’ve used Monterey Jack, low-moisture mozarella, swiss, and even gruyere in place of the cheddar.  All great!

Optional:  extra cheese to sprinkle on top and any herbs/flavorings you’d like to add.  Try rosemary and or garlic powder, my favorites!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place egg, milk, oil, tapioca flour, and salt in blender and blend until smooth.  Add cheeses and pulse 2 times.  Immediately pour batter into a mini muffin tin (if your muffin tin isn’t non-stick, spray lightly with non-stick spray first), filling each well about 3/4 full, or just slightly less.  If desired (and I recommend), sprinkle a bit of parmesan cheese on top and/or a tiny sprinkle of kosher salt.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until puffed and golden.  Remove from oven and cool for a few minutes before removing rolls from pan.  Serve warm. {Que Gostoso!}  These actually don’t re-heat well so I recommend making and eating fresh.

Yield: anywhere from 16-24 rolls, depending on how full you fill your muffin pan. I fill  mine pretty full (a good 3/4 full) and I generally get about 16-18.

These will go quickly!