Buffalo Burger with Mushroom Pate, Sauteed Veggies and White Beans

It never ceases to amaze me how if you just practice something you will improve. Such as with my cooking skills! This dinner I created last night was so delicious, so healthy, and so simple! My three favorite things :) I don't have a complete nutritional breakdown but this dinner is loaded with protein, fiber, iron, omega 3, and all sorts of vitamins and minerals. Yum!

Burger:
1/3 lb. ground buffalo/bison
1/4 c. chopped vidalia onion + portabella mushroom
extra virgin olive oil
*Shape meat into patty and pan fry until thoroughly cooked. In the same pan (wait a few minutes because the meat takes longer to cook) saute onion and mushroom.

Mushroom Pate:
Ok, confession. I don't have the proportions for this because I was like a mad scientist just dumping different ingredients in the food processor. This is a list of ingredients I used, but I have no idea how much I used of each! Just play around with it and food process it until the consistency is that of hummus. (Walnuts, onion, olive oil, mushrooms, white wine, garlic, sea salt, black pepper, tamari, basil).
*Spread the pate over the cooked burger and top with the sauteed onion and mushroom.

Sauteed Spinach w. White Beans and Walnuts:
1 c. fresh spinach
1/3 c. white (cannellini) beans
handful of chopped walnuts
chopped garlic
extra virgin olive oil
*Heat up the pan with the garlic in it for about a minute. Saute spinach and beans for a few minutes until the spinach is done. Top with chopped walnuts.


~~Helpful Hints~~
*We all know extra virgin olive oil has many health benefits, however oil is also very calorie dense. If you are watching your weight, use this really simple trick I learned from my mom. Pour the olive oil in the pan and then use a paper towel to spread it around the entire pan which also soaks up some of the excess oil. It's also just a great way to spread the oil around evenly.
*Because buffalo is so lean it will cook much faster than ground beef. Once the buffalo meat overcooks it starts to fall apart and taste a little gamey.
*I season the meat with a pinch of garlic salt or sea salt, black pepper, onion powder, and parsley. Sometimes if I'm feeling spicy I add a dash of cayenne pepper. Whatever seasoning you use, make sure you use a little bit of salt to enhance the flavor.