5 Minutes to Lunch
With the help of a (vegan) hamburger. And a butternut-squash trick.
Katie, how can it be “5 minutes” if one of the ingredients is butternut squash? Those things take ages to cook! True, but here’s what I like to do: Buy the BIGGEST butternut squash you can find.
Roast the whole thing (see: How to Roast a Butternut Squash… sorry in advance for the creepy photo! :-?). Then portion it out into single-serving amounts and freeze whatever you don’t plan to use within a few days. Unlike spaghetti squash, butternut defrosts quite well.
Hamburger Veggie Burger Helper
- Steamed Broccoli (or other veg)
- Roasted Winter Squash (or sweet potato)
- Burger, crumbled (I highly recommend these burgers)
- Optional: Nutritional Yeast for topping
Mix everything together, season with salt, and sprinkle nutritional yeast on top, if desired. Try to mix/chop everything well enough that you get a little of each component in every bite :). (You can even pulse with a hand blender a few times if you wish!)
For a gourmet twist, try drizzling with coconut milk immediately prior to eating.
Seriously, why bother with complicated recipes that take hours when simple things can taste just as good? My dessert was just as easy and quick-to-prepare as lunch.
Three-Ingredient Peanut Butter Balls
Life is too short to spend it slaving over a stove (unless, of course, you enjoy the cooking process. I just don’t happen to be one of those people.)
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Question of the Day:
Do you ever freeze leftovers?
I love to cook in bulk and freeze extra servings of things. Cook once, eat twice… or three or four times! Soup is a favorite meal to freeze. But I like freezing foods like pancakes as well. The only problem is that my freezer can get pretty crowded! 😕
Other question: Have you ever eaten Hamburger Helper?
For the Stevia Giveaway Winners: click here.
Artisana winner: bottom of this post.
I’ve never had hamburger helper, but I’m sure this would be way better!
I’ve never had hamburger helper (doesn’t sound very appealing), but I recently made the tempeh helper recipe from the Appetite for Reduction cookbook. Your recipe looks even easier!
Ooh tempeh helper? I might have to check out that book!
Yes, unfortunately, I have eaten Hamburger Helper. But yours looks a lot better than any of those ever did! 🙂
Hey girl, click the bottom link! *hint hint*
I have had hamburger helper years ago when I was a kid! It tasted good at the time 🙂 I would definitely just make a healthier version of it now myself.
And I dont really freeze leftovers but I do freeze all bread and meat products so that they dont go to waste!
I LOVE this idea!! As a kid I used to love Hamburger Helper, but this looks waaay better 😀 Costco sells pre-chopped butternut squash in cubes…all I gotta do is cook it for about 10 mins and it’s done! I can’t wat to try this!
Hamburger Helper…when we were little. Stuff makes me gag now. Eewwww.
That looks mighty tasty. I’m a fan of crumbling veggie burgers over all kinds of dishes. As for freezing, I ALWAYS freeze leftovers. Those portioned leftovers make up my daily lunches, and I never have to buy overpriced frozen meals. And yes, I used to eat Hamburger Helper all the time in my vegetarian days. I’d always use veggie burger of course, but I didn’t think twice about cooking from a box back then.
I never freeze leftovers and I should since I’m cooking for one!
I LOVE freezing leftovers! It comes in handy when my “cafeteria lady syndrome” comes out! Anytime I break out the crock pot I end up with 6+ servings! I also like to freeze baked goods, but like you, my freezer gets SUPER full! I can never find anything in there without digging for it!
Oh, and I’ve never had hamburger helper before…just the thought of it makes me wanna gag for some reason! :-/