You know whats funny? I got a present yesterday – a new Ina Garten cookbook. The Foolproof one. I casually flipped through it and laughed OUT LOUD when I read the 10 Foolproof Tips for Cooking. Especially the first two on the list:

READ and DON’T MESS WITH THE RECIPE (at least not the first time).

I – literally – interrupted my Mother In Law and C, and read them these two lines. In between my snorts of laughter. That woman obviously wrote this book _FOR ME_.

Speaking of which, I made substitutions tonight.

I only had 1 can of black beans – so I tried the same recipe twice. Once using the requested BLACK beans, a second time using RED kidney beans.

Oh, and I didn’t have green peppers (those things are nasty), so I subbed in a red pepper instead.

#3 – I’m L.A.Z.Y. so instead of mashing the beans with a fork in a bowl, I used the food processor for the whole mess.

The recipe said you can either fry or bake these, so since I double the recipe I figured I’d try both ways.

I made 4 black bean burgers and 4 red bean burgers. I fried 2 black and 2 red, baked the other 4.

I couldn’t tell the difference between the red and black bean burgers, but C could. He liked the red better. He liked them, but thought they were a little dry. I wonder if I’d mashed the beans with a fork instead of pulsing them in the food processor if that’d taken care of that… Maybe next time. Oh – and the 7 year old ate an entire burger. Seriously, that’s a major accomplishment!

End results: I devoured these. Seriously, I ate more than I probably should have (TWO and a 1/2). I was a little good though – I only ate 1 bun.

One reviewer said they made chipotle-mayo as a burger topper so I did too. And a bowl of sweet chili-mayo too. The chipotle was too much for any of us though, so it went back into the fridge until I can figure out what else I can make with it.

A second reviewer recommended using a little olive oil on your hands when you form the burgers so they don’t stick to your fingers. Reviewer #3: use more breadcrumbs. Reviewer #4: freeze the patties and then cook them without defrosting them. Reviewer #5: DRY THE BEANS (helps patties stay together)

Huh. Guess I listened to a lot of reviewers suggestions…

Black Bean Burgers by Laurenmu from Allrecipes.com

Printable Recipe HERE

Ingredients:

1/2 Onion, cut into wedges

1/2 Pepper **Recipe called for a green pepper, I used a red one and loved it.

3 cloves of Garlic, peeled **I used the minced jarred stuff = 1 1/2 teaspoons

16 oz. can of Black Beans, drained, rinsed and patted dry

1 Egg

1 teaspoon Chili Powder

1 Tablespoon Cumin

1 teaspoon Sriracha or Hot Sauce

1/2 cup Bread Crumbs **I used closer to a heaping 3/4 cup in order to get everything to hold together well. I was worried about breakage.

HERE’S WHAT THE RECIPE SAID TO DO:

1- If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375º, and lightly oil a baking sheet.

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.

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.

HERE’S WHAT I DID:

1- Put onion, pepper and garlic in food processor. Pulse to chop. Add in drained and dried beans. Pulse to combine and then run to mix.

2- Add egg, cumin, chili powder and Sriracha in a bowl and mix. Pour into a running food processor.

3- Scrape everything into a mixing bowl. Add breadcrumbs 1/4 cup at a time until you get it to feel/look like hamburger (I needed closer to 3/4 cups of breadcrumbs).

4- Form into 4 large patties and lay them out on a tin foil line sheet that’ll fit into your freezer. Freeze til hard (at least an hour) and cook straight from the freezer (fry in a 2 Tablespoons oil or bake at 375º for 15 minutes, then broil for 3-5. My burgers didn’t get crispy, but they were quite nice anyway).

Condiments:

Chipotle-Mayo

Add 1 Chipotle in adobo to 1/2 cup Mayo. Stir. Breathe fire.

Sweet Chili-Mayo

Add 1-2 Tablespoons Sweet Chili Sauce to 1/2 cup Mayo. Stir. Lick fingers.

Guac

Slit open ripe avocados. Mash with a fork. Add salt and garlic powder and a teeny bit of lemon juice – but stir gently. You want the big chunks. Enjoy!

I’ve been nominated for a food bloggers award. Would you mind voting for me? Pretty please? With a cherry on top?

I’m the one with the picture of orange striped meringues.

THANKS!!