Homemade Black Bean Burgers

This week's recipe is also from allrecipes.com.  That is a really rockin site, I tell you what.  I have a habit of buying pre-packaged vege burgers so often that they are truly a staple of my diet...so I was so happy to find this recipe!  I really thought these tasted better than the store variety!  The recipe suggests using a food processor, which I did not have (shocking!), so I just sort of mashed everything together by hand with my big spoon.  I also used about 1 c. of mashed croutons instead of bread crumbs, so my pre-baked burgers were a bit crumbly, and it made six burgers.  I also used only 1/2 can black beans and added in 1/2 can corn.  I do so love the taste of black beans and corn together.  It's almost better than chocolate.

I do think I'll invest in a food processor to see how they turn out when not so crumbly.  Can you buy bread crumbs at the store? Or are you supposed to let bread go stale?  Or just mash it up?  In any case, I've never found bread crumbs in the store.

I really loved this recipe!

Without further ado, here it is:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1/2 onion, cut into wedges
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS

1. If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a baking sheet.
2. In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.
3. In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans.
4. In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce.
5. Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties.
6. If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.

Vegetarian Sweet and Sour Meatballs

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com while searching for something to bring to my office's St. Patrick's Day celebration. I don't think "meat"balls are Irish at all, but so what! I want to expand their palates! I've been reading a blog by Gary Vaynerchuk lately - he talks about the importance of expanding people's palates in the wine realm by suggesting we constantly try new wines - and I think its super important to reduce habituation in food. It's so easy to eat the same old things all the time; I know that! Store-bought vege nuggets, anyone?? -->me<-- :) In any case, it's so exciting to try new recipes! Here's to 52 new recipes this year! Cheers!



INGREDIENTS

Meatballs:
* 4 eggs
* 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
* 1/2 cup cottage cheese
* 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
* 1 cup finely chopped pecans
* 1 teaspoon dried basil
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
* 2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs

Sweet and Sour Sauce:
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 1/4 cup white vinegar
* 3/4 cup apricot jam
* 1 cup ketchup
* 1/4 cup minced onion
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1 dash hot pepper sauce



DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, Cheddar cheese, and cottage cheese until well blended. Mix in 1/2 cup onion, pecans, basil, salt and sage. Stir in bread crumbs. Form the mixture into 2 inch balls, and place them in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, vinegar, apricot jam, ketchup, 1/4 cup onion, oregano and hot pepper sauce. Pour over meatballs.
4. Bake uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until meatballs are firm, and sauce is thick and bubbly.

Observations:

It was fun to form the balls with my hands, although messy! I rolled them in the sauce before baking to prevent them from sticking to the pan. They stayed well-formed even after baking. I used croutons instead of bread crumbs, and that worked fine; I just mashed them up a bit first.

These turned out yummy! My office was shocked that they looked so good but didn't have any meat in them! They do reheat well in the microwave, and I have a few left over to take home.

I would say there might have been a touch too many nuts, so I might cut back to 3/4 c. next time.  I might also try making them smaller and throwing them into spaghetti next time!