Meat-and-Grain Burgers {with spinach!}

I've said before that I am loving all of the spinach we have been getting in our Bountiful Basket lately.  I wish we would get a bushel every week!  It is so good for you and there are so many good, healthy things to make with it!

Here is a great recipe my best friend, Lara, gave me when she was up visiting week before last (I think she got it out of her Runner's magazine).

If you love hamburgers and wish you could just forget about all of the beefy fat and eat them a couple times a week, this is a great alternative.  I don't think we will make plain, straight beef burgers around our house very often with this recipe.  Both me and my husband loved these!

Meat-and-Grain Burgers

Serves six

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh spinach leaves

1 pound lean ground beef, ground chicken, or ground turkey (we used beef)

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced 

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne 

salt and pepper to taste

1 egg

2 cups cooked quinoa (or any cooked grains, such as cracked wheat, steel-cut oats, or whole wheat couscous)

Directions:

Boil a large pot of salted water; fill another bowl with ice water.  Put spinach in boiling water for 30 seconds.  Drain and plunge the cooked spinach into ice water.  Drain again, squeezing to dry, then roughly chop.  Put spinach into a bowl and set aside.  Add ground meat, onion, garlic, cumin, and cayenne.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Add egg and grains.  Mix until combined.  Shape into burgers.  Grill on medium heat, about four minutes per side. (Alternatively, place burgers in a rimmed, greased baking sheet.  Roast in the oven at 400 degrees until firm and browned, about 20 to 30 minutes.  Turn once or twice.)  Put burgers in a bun and add salsa or your favorite toppings (we did avocado, lettuce, and tomato and a cilantro lime mayo from this recipe.