Broccoli Burgers (w/ potatoes on the side)

A few months ago I found this recipe for Broccoli Bites on Pinterest and I've made them at least a dozen times. I don't make them according to the exact recipe as I kind of eyeball the ingredients. I use fresh broccoli rather than packaged or precooked and I also add chia seeds. 

• 2-4 bunches of (organic) broccoli-I just wash and chop the broccoli and throw it in a large bowl. If I had to guess I'd say I throw in about 3 or 4 cups total. 
• Cheddar cheese-I just shred an entire brick of organic cheddar 
• 2-3 eggs
• Whole wheat breadcrumbs- I don't care for all of the "extra" ingredients in Italian breadcrumbs so I just use plain and then toss in a few sprinkles or basil, oregano and pepper. 
• Hydrated chia seeds-these serve as both a binding ingredient (just as the eggs do) as well as a nutritional boost. Before I start prepping any of the other ingredients, I throw about a tablespoon of seeds in a glass with about 3 tablespoons of water (I eyeball this ratio). Stir them up good and in a few minutes the seeds will have absorbed the water leaving you with a gelatinous gooey mixture. *Note-Sometimes I throw chia seeds in a little almond milk and just eat the gooey mixture with a spoon. It's a little interesting but really quite good and such an energy boost!

I just toss all of the above ingredients together and then gauge whether or not to add an extra egg or more breadcrumbs. I don't really measure anything out when I make these, rather I go by the consistency of the mixture. It needs to be "wet" enough to stick together but not too wet otherwise you'll never be able to form patties. It's just like making burgers. I end up mixing this by hand to bind everything evenly and then form into patties. I make some large patties for our burgers and then some smaller ones for the kids. Lay them on parchment paper and bake at 350. I flip them after about 15-20 minutes and then bake them for another 15 minutes or so. 

I like to make a big batch so that I end up with extra patties. My kids really like these so I freeze them in between sheets of parchment paper and send them in their lunches regularly. They're delicious on a burger with ranch and spinach (or any kind of lettuce) and ranch dressing. They're also great by themselves or dipped in ranch (I have a recipe for homemade ranch that is super simple and SO GOOD)!

For our side dish with these burger, I thinly sliced some red potatoes, tossed them in some olive oil, salt and pepper and baked them (above the broccoli patties) for about 30 minutes.

Turn them with some tongs or a spatula about half way through otherwise they will stick. I also sprinkled some rosemary on these (after I took this photo).

Don't mind the paper plates. We almost NEVER use paper plates but my dishwasher was already pretty full and it had been a long week (meaning I was freaking tired)!! I just wasn't in the mood for extra dishes and I happened to find 2 red paper plates in my party supply cupboard. It was random and too good to be true!