Mozzarella Stuffed Sausage Burgers with Garlic Mashed Fauxtatoes

We're a few weeks away from Canadian Thanksgiving, the first Monday in October. Being American, I'm so used to all the excitement and tradition that surrounds Thanksgiving in the US, but here it's different - very laid back, celebrating the end of harvest and all the bounty God's given through the year.

God has without a doubt abundantly provided for us. We have SO much ... but our budget is tighter now that I'm only freelancing, so I'm always looking for ways we can save.

Of course groceries are a big part of our spending - it's significantly more to purchase basic food items on this side of the border. I collect as things go on sale, and every other week we make our US Sam's Club / Target / Meijer trip to stock up on cheese, meat, baking and cooking supplies, etc.
 
But this week, as I began to plan our meals, I took a good look around. My cupboards, freezer and pantry are bursting with miscellaneous eats.

So ... I decided to challenge myself to empty the cupboards and use only what I have on hand for the next three weeks (until Canadian Thanksgiving weekend).

It will take some creativity, but as I took inventory, I was shocked at how many very substantial meals I had completely overlooked! I have enough for 20 meals - not including leftovers!!! So, tonight is the first night of the challenge. I had purchased, vacuum sealed and froze Italian sausage sometime back and I had few leftover burger buns ... so I created these juicy and delicious Mozzarella Stuffed Sausage Burgers with Garlic Mashed Fauxtatoes!

I'm really looking forward to cleaning out and truly appreciating each item in my cupboard - a great reminder of all God has given us ... and how important it is to not waste these blessings. I will still have the quick trips to the store for my smoothie ingredients and fresh fruit/veggies for lunches, and I'm sure it will be tempting ... but I know we can do it. :)

INGREDIENTS

Burgers
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 lb. Italian Sausage (I removed the casings before freezing)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Chili sauce for basting
4-6 buns

Fauxtatoes
1 head cauliflower
4 triangles of Laughing Cow Cheese
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan
2 small cloves of roasted garlic (see here how to easily roast garlic)
3 tbsp butter
A pinch of chicken bouillon or salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Preheat you BBQ to medium. Divide the sausage into 4-6 parts. Make a thin, flat patty with your hands ... Not too thin, but thick enough to hold together. Take a finger pinch of cheese and place in the middle. Fold all sides of the sausage party in to cover the cheese, forming a ball with the cheese safely hidden on the inside - you don't want leaks. ;) Flatten and shape the ball into a patty. You should have 4-6 patties. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Grill, basting with the chili sauce, on medium heat until the patties are cooked through.  Garnish like you would a burger ... I garnished with fresh tomatoes, red onion and baby kale because it's what I had on hand.

A few minutes before the sausage burgers are done, steam the cauliflower until it falls apart. The BEST way I've found is with Glad Microwave Steamer Bags.

My cauliflower was from a local farm, so it was pretty big - it took me two bags to steam it all! :) (Gotta love that delish Ontario produce!!). Place all fauxtato ingredients in the food processor and mix until creamy. Garnish with chives, if you have them on hand.

This burger ROCKED.  We loved them!!  The fauxtatoes were good ... but we did end up giving them a little sprinkle of extra cheese ... "everything's better with cheese". :)