Instead of getting canned beans, we buy a bag of uncooked and prepare our own, which is actually a good deal cheaper, and lets you control the flavor. First off we soak the beans overnight, changing the water two or three times, and then they are finally ready for cooking.
The beans are cooked in water with a standard array of seasonings: garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper, and maybe a little cayenne if you like.
Our first meal will be a fun vegetarian twist on burritos using potatoes and beans. Here Megan is dicing potatoes into large squares.
They are covered in seasonings and then baked at a high temperature until they come out crispy. These taste fantastic if you get the right blend of seasonings - we used half a packet of store bought taco seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, and chili powder.
Setup your tortilla like you would with any standard taco or burrito - spread out a layer of sour cream (and guac if you are so inclined!) then spoon on your beans and potatoes, followed by shredded cheese and hot sauce.
We also threw on some lettuce and chipotle sauce for the perfect finish. Wrap it up and dig in!
There were plenty of black beans left over, so we popped them in the fridge to await the next night's dinner: black bean burgers!
If you haven't had these before, your first thought may be "yuck!" but trust us on this one, these are fantastic. Cristal was very skeptical at first ("I dunno...that sounds too healthy....") but after she started chowing down her only response was "More please!"
They don't look or taste anything like beef hamburgers - and they aren't meant to. This is just another option for your dinner arsenal that's fun for a change of pace. It doesn't have to be either/or. We love beef burgers AND veggie burgers.
To get these started, Megan is chopping up red bell pepper, white onion, and mushrooms.
Here we've drained and washed off a portion of the remaining beans.
They get mashed into a paste-like substance by hand so they can be formed into patties.
Of course it's not just black beans alone! Here the veggies are thrown in, along with a nice handful of diced garlic.
We're going to need some seasonings as well. We're using cumin, chili powder, and a couple of squirts of Sriracha hot sauce (careful though - a little goes a long way!)
Throw 'em in and mix it up!
For a little added stability (and to prevent the patties from being too mosit) we're adding in some panko crumbs, but any bread crumbs or even dry oatmeal would work.
Form them into patties like you would with regular beef burgers and line them up on an oiled cookie sheet. That's right - these are baked, not fried!
To go with our burgers we're going to make kale chips instead of French fries. Take a handful of kale and cut it up into small bite sized pieces.
The kale is seasoned with salt and red pepper flakes, and everything goes into the oven to heat up.
The kale comes out crispy like a potato chip. These are surprisingly flavorful, and are a great healthier alternative to most snacks. Unfortunately we over salted ours, but that's OK, they won't get thrown out. We're going to use them to season a soup a few days later (blog coming soon).
As with any regular burger, some of our black bean patties are covered in cheese for the last few minutes of cooking.
We made these smaller then normal and used slider sized buns for a fun change. Here I'm loading mine up with condiments: pickles, jalapenos, avocado, lettuce, tomato, or even the kale chips.
My first one is slathered with some mayo and mustard and it's ready to go!
You can of course toast your buns, or cover them in anything that you like with a normal burger: ketchup, dijon, sweet and hot mustard, Miracle Whip, or anything else. For a full-on veggie experience, use hummus instead!
Here is Megan's first slider, loaded to the brim with tomato, avocado, and lots of delicious mayo.
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