"Veggie" patties with mushroom soup

This stuff is SO yummy. Gary was upset because I had promised to cook him some meat, but got lazy and didn't feel like being a short-order cook, so I made one dinner for all of us. He was surprised at how good they turned out.

I took a (bad) short cut and used some lipton's onion soup mix, but hey... I've been cooking so much lately I figured I deserve a short cut every now and then! These are a 9 out of 10 for me! (and Gary, too)

Veggie patties:

3 eggs

1 1/2 C cottage cheese

1 tsp thyme

1 envelope onion soup mix

1 1/2 C oats

1 shredded carrot

1/2 shredded zucchini

3/4 C cheese (any kind will do)

1/2 C+1/2 C breadcrumbs

Oil (for "frying")

Mushroom soup, about 1 C ( I made my own and will post the recipe below. It is SO yummy. I used the leftovers to make beef stroganoff for Gary)

Heat about 2 T oil in saucepan on med heat (I used canola oil). Mix the first 8 ingredients together in a bowl until combined. Mix in 1/2 C breadcrumbs. Form into patties (if you have a hard time with them sticking together, add more breadcrumbs). Place the remaining 1/2 C breadcrumbs on a plate and coat the patties. Cook until (dark) browned on each side (about 3-4 min on each side). Serve topped with mushroom soup

Mushroom soup:

2 T butter

12 oz mushrooms

1/2 tsp ground pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 T all purpose flour

1 C chicken broth

1 C half and half

salt, to taste

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, salt, pepper and cook (stirring occasionally) until the mushrooms start to release some of their juices (about 5-7 min). Add garlic and nutmeg and cook for another 2 min. Sprinkle the flour over and stir to combine, cook for 1 more minute. Add broth and simmer for 2 minutes. Decrease heat to medium-low and add half and half. Simmer until mixture thickens (stirring occasionally), about 8 minutes.