Foodie Friday: Quinoa Black Bean Burgers

So I know I told you not to expect any food posts from me this month, but I did find this recipe and wanted to share. I know that most of you will never make this original one, let alone the revision,  and that is perfectly fine by me.

I still get to share what I want…for as long as this continues to be a free country. Holding my breath on that, BTW.

But I didn’t come here today to be all political…I just wanted to share a recipe…and so now I shall.

The other day, I believe it was oh, about Day 3 of this Experiment, that I realized I had better find a recipe to let me utilize and combine my ingredients in a better way.

And fortunately for me, I stumbled upon this one (ok, “stumble” isn’t really the right word…I totally sought it out) and was thankful thankful thankful when I did…because I could immediately tell that it was modifiable (yes, that really is a word…Microsoft Word didn’t underline it with a red squiggly line or anything!)

Here is the link to the original and probably much better version…but because I am so full-service I am giving it to you right here as well. Plus, you might want to check out some of her other recipes...I did not, because I suspect I would have been drooling all over my keyboard. And nobody really wants to see that.

It is the "family computer" after all.

Quinoa Black Bean Burgers – Original Recipe

Ingredients

• ½ cup onion, fine diced
• ¼ cup jalapeno or bell pepper, fine diced
• ½ teaspoon oil
• ½ teaspoon cumin seed
• 1 cup fine chopped kale (packed cup, about 2-3 leaves)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ cup cooked quinoa
• 1½ cups black beans, cooked and drained
• 2 tablespoons minced almonds
• ¼ cup grated cheese (optional)
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup breadcrumbs, divided

Instructions

• Saute the onion, pepper, cumin and kale in the oil over medium heat for a couple minutes until softened. You want some bite left in the onion, but the kale should be wilted. Remove from heat.
• Drain the beans and mash them coarsely in a bowl (a potato masher works well). Add the quinoa and vegetables and mix.
• Stir in nuts, cheese, Worcestershire, salt and 1 tablespoon of breadcrumbs. Stir to make a stiff dough. Add more breadcrumbs if needed.
• Shape into 6 patties of about ½ cup's worth each.
• Coat in remaining breadcrumbs.
• Fry in light oil on a skillet for 3 minutes on each side until golden brown
• OR Bake on an oiled baking sheet at 400ºF for 20 minutes until heated.
• These may also be formed and frozen if you want to cook them later.

I'm certain you are reading this list and thinking to yourself (because who else would you be thinking it to...duh?), "Ummm, I don't recall most of those ingredients being on her list of 7 foods."

And oh, my astute readership, you are correct...most of them are not.

So do not be confused…these are most-assuredly NOT the Quinoa Black Bean Burgers I made for my family.

I had to try to stop imagining how delicious they would be if I included all the listed ingredients. But maybe I will make them when this phase of the experiment is over.

Or I may also never want to look at black beans and quinoa again. It could go either way at this point.

BTW…we are one week down as of this evening.

Only three weeks left to go.

That’s ¼ done.

25%.

One quarter.

Wow…has the time flown.

OK, not really but we are just continuing to put one foot in front of the other. We know we can do this and we know we have much to learn from it so we are continuing to seek God’s lesson for us in it…crazy though it feels.

But I didn’t set out to say all this to you today; I wanted to share my adjusted recipe. Not because I think you might make it (because I know most of you will not)…unless of course you are in my Hope Group and have these items on your lists.

But my point is that you can still have tasty food on limited items…but you just might have that same tasty food more often than you would.

For instance, last night we had these "burgers" for the second time this week. And God only knows how many more times we will have them.

Hey…when you find something that works, you stick with it, right?

So here’s how I modified it; SV this is especially for you since you asked about it.

Quinoa Black Bean Burgers – Modified Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup fine chopped spinach
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1½ cups black beans, cooked and drained (or one can if you have the canned…no judgment here on canned beans...they are my go-to)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

 Instructions

• Drain the beans and mash them coarsely in a bowl (a potato masher works well). Add the quinoa, spinach, eggs, salt and pepper, and oil, and mix together well.
• Stir to make a stiff dough. Add more quinoa if needed.
• Shape into 4 patties.
• Bake on parchment paper on a baking sheet at 400ºF for 20 minutes until heated 

I served their on whole weat bread instead of buns. And I ate my "in the nude" (no bread). 

I wasn’t initially sure about this recipe…as I said, I was doing a lot of substituting and egg wasn’t anywhere in the original recipe. But I needed something to bind it…like in meatloaf, right? So I went for egg…b/c it was on my list.

The outcome: 

• The 13yo inhaled his, 
• The 11yo commented several times on how good it was, 
• And Mr. AR said, “I don’t want this to end.”

So yeah…I think it was a hit. Keeping in mind that the PBA aren’t even doing the experiment…they are only eating what we eat at dinner b/c I am the one cooking.

In case you didn’t know, I am not a short-order cook.

Short? Yes.

Short-order? No.

PS I did not include a photo b/c if you saw it, you wouldn't make it. The original recipe? Yes..the photo she included in her blog looks DIVINE. My version? Not so much.

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