Falafel Burgers

So here it is another meatless Monday and I had not planned ahead.  I find myself staring into my freezer and wondering what the heck I am going to feed my family in a few hours.  Then, peeking out from a bunch of other stuff is a box of Morningstar meatless burgers that I bought an embarrassingly long time ago.  Hmmm...I wonder if I could pass that off to the hubby and kids?  What the heck?  Along that same theory, I scanned the refrigerator and found 1/4 tub of sour cream that was about to expire, a bag of salad greens that had almost seen better days, a jar of kalamata olives with exactly 5 left, 1/2 an onion and 1/2 a red bell pepper.  At this point I was feeling pretty creative and just knew that I could come up with something really yummy, and guess what: I did!  The secret is in the sauce; isn't it always really?  So, here it is:

Sauce:
1/4-1/2 cup light sour cream (non-fat Greek yogurt would probably be even better)
1 clove garlic, pasted
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper
5 Kalamata olives, chopped.  Or six, or seven...

Mix all ingredients and let sit for a couple of hours if you've got it.  This was so yummy I could have spread it on anything and been happy!

Burgers:
1 package Morningstar Grillers burgers.
1/2 tub of feta cheese
1/2 package of mixed field greens, or any other greens you like, rinsed and dried
1/2 each red bell pepper and onion, sliced
1T Extra virgin olive oil
1 sprig fresh rosemary or Herbs de Provence (my magic "everything" herb mix)

Heat olive oil in cast iron skillet, add veggies with rosemary and cook 10 minutes or until soft and browned.  Remove to plate.  Add burgers and cook until brown and crispy-ish, about 5 minutes per side.  Once burgers are fully cooked (or warmed, really),  toss a handful of feta on top of each patty, cover with a loose tin foil "tent" and turn off heat.  Feta cheese won't really melt but it will get warm and "smooshy."  Assemble burgers and enjoy!

Looks super yummy, right?  Now, for a bit of a disclaimer:  I served this to my husband, a burger lover if ever there was one.  He took a bite, chewed, thought.  "What do you think?" I asked.  "It's...fine.  The sauce is great."  He added helpfully.  "What you have to do is just not think of it as a 'burger'.  Think of it more as a, as a, well, as a falafel."  He considered this, took another bite, then another.  "It's good."  He declared.  Then he finished his burger and had another. I even heard him saying to the kids "Eat your falafel!"  So, what I am saying is that this does not taste like USDA prime beef.  But, it was really pretty good.  Especially with the sauce and the feta.  Mmmmm....the sauce!  Give it a try.  If you're not a vegetarian this will probably not replace your regular burger, but it did make a nice change.