Black Bean Burgers

Keeping with the theme here, James and I were yet again staring at a seemingly bleak fridge situation yesterday. But we were not giving up. I'll spare you the back and forth that went on between us and the ridiculous ideas we were scheming and tell you we ended up with baked black bean burgers! (say that five times fast) They were totally awesome and the mixture made WAY too many so we're enjoying them again in an hour when I finish posting! :)

You'll Need:

• 1 can black beans. Or use fresh ones that you've soaked all night, which we didn't have.
• 1 can whole kernel corn. I used about 3/4 of whole kernel and 1/4 can of creamed because I made corn souffle the night before and had extra, but I don't recommend doing that.
• handful of baby carrots
• 1/2 fresh jalapeno, seeds removed.
• 1 clove garlic, minced.
• 1 egg. I forgot this but they would've been better texture with. But vegans, this is your lucky day! They still tasted great regardless.
• a few dashes of Valentina hot sauce, or whatever kind you prefer.

First, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Put all your ingredients in your Vitamix (which i've linked at the bottom of page so you can buy one right now if you don't already have one) or other amazing food processor and blend! I'd leave mine a little "coarse" for lack of a better word, just for texture's sake, but you can blend it well if you'd prefer.

Next, rub a thin layer of olive oil onto a baking sheet and lightly dust with flour or cornmeal. Transfer your mixture to a bowl and if it's thick enough on it's own (which it might be because of that egg), form into patties and place on the baking sheet. If your mixture isn't quite sticking together, a little too liquidy, add a 1 & 1/2 Tablespoon of whole wheat flour or cornmeal and stir. Place the patties about an inch apart on the baking sheet because they will flatten a little and bake for 13 minutes! Just keep an eye on them, every oven temperature is different. I left mine in for another 5 minutes once I saw the edges slightly cracking.

 sorry about the blur!

this is about to go in, just wanted to show you the consistency of my mixture.

that's the slight cracking I mentioned.

Take them out, let cool for a minute or two, then slice some white cheddar and place them on top of the warm black bean cakes to get melty! Then go to town on your toppings!

We were still very breadless at this point so we decided to double up the patties and serve them as is! :) Even my food loving husband didn't miss the extra carbs. (and mentioned it to me later... impressed!)

 James' was served more "all-American" style. With our avocado hummus spread on the bottom, finished with sliced golden grape tomatoes and topped with ketchup. Bite-sized romaine on the side.

Mine was served Mexican style! Same spread on the bottom, topped with golden grape tomatoes and finished with a LOT of Valentina hot sauce, a side of kickin' salsa and romaine on the side.

I'm going to shamelessly recommend that you give these a try, and not just for you, but for the family! And for your meat loving husband!

I'll remind you... my husband is from AUSTRALIA. They eat meat. Lots of it. And he wasn't missing one darn thing. :)

Happy Wednesday.

xox