Baked Cheese and Broccoli Patties

It's Labor Day Weekend, and I've got a new recipe to share with you.  I made this one last night for the guinnea pigs taste testers in the house, and we decided it's a keeper.

Unfortunately, I cannot give credit where it's due.  I'm pretty sure this is one of the bazillion recipes I've seen shared on Facebook, yet I've tried without success to find its sharer.  At the time I saw it I wrote it down onto a recipe card, and that seems to be the dead end to giving proper credit.  If this is your recipe, please notify me and I will update the post.

It's possible you are having friends or family over at some point during this holiday weekend, and this recipe is a winner.  One good thing about it is that you can mix up all the ingredients and make the patties ahead of time.  All you'd have to do is pop them in the oven right before dining, and you will have an impressive and unexpected dish to share with your guests.

Let's get down to it.  The ingredients are probably mostly already located in your cabinets or frig.  All I had to shop for was one bag of broccoli.

INGREDIENTS:

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 12 ounce bag frozen broccoli florets, defrosted
3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup sharp light cheddar cheese
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
2 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly grease it.

Heat the oil in a small pan over medium heat.  Add in the garlic and onions.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Saute until onions and garlic are tender.  Set aside to cool a bit.

Put the thawed broccoli in a strainer.  Cover with a towel and press down to remove any excess moisture.

Pour the drained broccoli into a large bowl, add the onions and garlic, and mix gently.

To the same bowl, add the panko crumbs, the cheeses, and the beaten eggs.

Mix together and form into patties.  Place onto baking sheet.

Bake for about 15 minutes, then flip them and bake for another 15 minutes or until browned and crispy.  This recipe made six large patties.  Roughly two per person is plenty filling.

Once a week I try to have a vegetarian type dinner, mainly for the purpose of eating more fruits and vegetables and less red meat.  As this was our night to do so, I served these patties straight up with a side of crock pot apple sauce and some dinner rolls.  You can find the Crock Pot Apple Sauce recipe here.  It was a tasty, satisfying meal.  

We will be spending time with our children and grandchildren this weekend.  Whatever your plans are throughout the weekend, have a healthy, happy time of it!