Tag: food kids won’t eat

Black Bean Burgers

I love black bean burgers, which means in my house I’m the odd man out.  Used to be that I would only buy them when we went out because they seemed hard to make.  That is, until now.

Black Bean Burgers

Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings: 4 patties
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 15 oz Black beans, canned drained and rinsed; I prefer the low-sodium beans
  • 1/2 - 1 whole Bell pepper
  • 1 small Onion
  • 3 cloves Garlic minced
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 tbsp Chili powder
  • 1 tbsp Cumin
  • 1/2 cup Bread crumbs up to 1 cup may be required
  • 1-4 tbsp Vegetable oil

Equipment

  • Potato Masher
  • Skillet
  • Flat bottom bowl or sauce pan

Method
 

  1. Finely dice the bell pepper and onion
  2. Mash the beans in the bowl; you may optionally reserve some from being mashed if you like whole beans in your patties
  3. Mix in peppers, onions, garlic, chili powder, cumin, and egg
  4. Mix in a half-cup of bread crumbs, until you have a dry, grainy paste. If mixture is still wet, mix in small amounts of bread crumbs until it's dry.
  5. Divide into quarters (or fifths/sixths if you prefer smaller/tiny patties)
  6. Fry in a little oil over medium heat until each side is slightly browned

Notes

  • The patties tend to be "thirsty" and require a bit of oil, generally 1 tablespoon per patty.
  • Patties freeze exceptionally well; you can throw frozen patties right on the pan.
  • I tend to make these while I'm making hamburgers as well, and the beef fat substitutes the vegetable oil very well (though it makes the burgers non-vegetarian).

 

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Ingredients

  • 24 uncooked jumbo pasta shells (about one 12 oz box)
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 (16 ounce) jar salsa
  • 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • ½ cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 cup shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese or cheddar cheese

Toppings:

  • 8 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
  • 8 tablespoons salsa
  • ¼ cup sliced black olives
  • ¼ cup sliced green onions

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Cook pasta shells according to package directions; drain.
  3. Meanwhile, in a nonstick skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.
  4. Stir in salsa, tomato sauce, corn, and beans.
  5. Spoon beef mixture into pasta shells and place in a 13×9 baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray.
  6. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and bake for 25-30 minutes or until heated through. Top with sour cream, salsa,, olives, and onions.

Original recipe page

Jonesey’s Enchiladas

Quinn used to work at Margarita’s in Mystic. (Its a great place for pretty standard Mexican food. The stories that came out of that place are legendary.) He loves cooking Mexican food. I’m … okay at it. Tonight, we came up with something epic.

Ingredients:

  • hamburger (about a pound and  a half was pretty good)
  • two handfuls of cheese
  • two dollops of salsa
  • 12 tortillas
  • green enchilada sauce
  • sour cream and more cheese for garnishes
  • chilies for more garnishes

Directions:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
  2. Brown the ground beef. When it is cooked completely, remove it from the heat and drain the grease.
  3. Mix in the cheese and salsa.
  4. Spoon the mixture into the tortillas, rolling them and placing them in a 9×13″ pan. Keep going until the pan is full or you run out of filling.
  5. Pour the enchilada sauce over the tortillas. Cover the pan with aluminum foil, and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil when there is about 5 minutes left on the timer.
  6. Scoop out the enchiladas. Sprinkle with cheese (and chilies if desired), and dump some sour cream on them for good measure.
  7. Eat!