Sunday, December 7, 2008

recipe of the week: black bean burgers and oven fries

only someone who really loves food would crave a burger and fries the monday after thanksgiving weekend. i'm crazy, but i just can't help myself. the only problems - it was meatless monday and i was less than thrilled about using a whole package of my ground turkey to make a few turkey burgers. so i jumped on allrecipes.com and found these delicious little babies and they were fabulous (and so cheap and easy to make)!! and the fries were the best oven fries i've ever had! (this recipe had the trick to make them crispy like real fries - sugar! i know, weird, but try it! the fries aren't sweet, just crispy and oh so good.)





mini black bean burgers
8 mini burgers or 4 regular-size burgers

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

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, and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
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. place on baking sheet and refridgerate until ready to cook to help them hold together better. (i had mine in the fridge for about 1/2 of the day and they didn't fall apart)
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.
serve on whole wheat hamburger buns or rolls with your favorite hamburger toppings.


oven fries
about 4-6 servings

2 1/2 pounds baking potatoes
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
black pepper to liking (i added this - you don't have to!)

1. preheat oven to 450 degrees f. line a baking sheet with foil, and coat well with cooking spray. scrub potatoes well and cut into 1/2 inch thick fries.
2. in a large mixing bowl, toss potatoes with oil, sugar, salt and cayenne pepper. spread on baking sheet in one layer. cook immediately and don't let them sit.
3. bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until potatoes are tender and browned. serve immediately.
oven fries from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Oven-Fries/Detail.aspx
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3 comments:

  1. the firthsDecember 8, 2008 at 3:51 PM

    I'll totally be making those this week. I tried making black bean burhers and they didnt turn out near as beautiful as yours. I'll have to give them a try

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  2. BrittWilkDecember 10, 2008 at 7:47 AM

    ooohh, let me know how they turn out, dani! i loved them!! i think the trick is refridgerating them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. JeffJanuary 11, 2009 at 4:41 PM

    So, I started to make some burgers out of a bean medley (black, pinto, pink, white and lentle) and was on my way, and Stacey mentioned you had this on here. I used some of your condiments, and the egg and bread crumbs. It turned out pretty good.

    I also wanted to mention that on my mission we had office mandated "food storage", food for a couple days in case there was some serious problem, and it was called the "vaca flaca," after the skinny cows from the seven bad years in Joseph of Egypt's dream interpretation. So, that is that.

    ReplyDelete