Black Bean Burger

I love black bean burgers. I love trying new recipes. I love trying new recipes for black bean burgers. These burgers have a ton of flavor and are super easy to prepare.

The original recipe makes a ton. Luckily you can shape the patties and freeze them. Toss them on a hot griddle directly from the freezer when you're ready to eat them.

4 cups black beans (2 cans, drained and rinsed)

1/4 medium red onion

1-2 cloves garlic

1/4 bunch of fresh parsley

1 Tbsp. sriracha

1 Tbsp. mayonnaise

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

1 egg

1 cup bread crumbs or Panko

1. Add the beans to a food processor along with everything except the salt, egg and bread crumbs Process until everything is combined and the mixture looks pasty with a few chunks.

2. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and season with salt. Adjust other seasonings at this time as well. Make the mixture slightly stronger in flavor and saltiness than you want the burgers to be because once the bread crumbs and egg are added, the flavor will be diluted.

3. Whisk an egg and stir it into the mixture. Stir in the bread crumbs a little at a time. The resulting mixture should be moist chunks and crumbs. The mixture should stick together if squeezed in your hand. Form into patties.

4. Coat a skillet with a little oil and cook the patties for 7-8 minutes on each side. The patties should be brown and crisp on the outside and slightly firm to the touch. Be delicate when handling the patties, they are not as cohesive as meat patties but should hold their shape while cooking. Top with cheese if desired. Serve on buns.

Sorry this is a lousy picture.

Review - Excellent! We all loved these. Be careful not to add too much sriracha if your kiddos don't like spice. I added the full tablespoon and it wasn't too spicy for my monkeys. I froze the extra patties on a baking sheet and once they were frozen stored them in a plastic container.

16 Bean Soup

Prior to making this soup, I didn't even know those bags of 16 Bean Soup Mix existed. I've never noticed them in the bean section in the store. I have a vague memory of a 5th grade art project that used an assortment of beans that resembled the 16 Bean Mix. I believe I made a butterfly out of beans. 

On to the soup.

I kept this soup very mild so that the kids would eat it. Jay and I both doctored up the final product. If you like spicy soup you can add more chili powder or red pepper flakes. You could also add more vegetables if that makes you happy.

1 bag 16 Bean Soup Mix, soak beans overnight, drain and rinse (throw away the seasoning packet, it's full of stuff you shouldn't be eating)

1 onion, chopped

1 14.5oz can fire roasted tomatoes with garlic, with juice

1 Tbsp cumin

1-2 tsp chili powder

1-2 quarts vegetable stock

3-4 cloves garlic, crushed

Salt and pepper

Grated cheese to garnish

Add beans, onion, tomatoes, spices and vegetable stock to slow cooker.  If you want a thicker soup add just enough stock to cover beans. If you want a soupier soup add the second quart. I don't know how much stock I added because I used the vegetable stock that I made the night before and it was already in the slow cooker. I'm guessing it was a little under 2 quarts. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Check the beans around 7 hours. Add garlic. Adding the garlic at the end of the cooking process yields a stronger garlic flavor than if you added it in the beginning. I'm pretty sure I read that somewhere. However, it's very possible that I'm making it up. Eh, I'm going with it either way. Continue cooking until beans are soft. Season with salt and pepper before serving. Top with grated cheese of your choice. We used grated Parmesan the first night and pepperjack cheese the second.

When I checked my soup at 7 hours it was too soupy so I added 1/2 cup of uncooked barley to thicken it up. I turned the slow cooker up to high and let it cook for another hour. You could also use rice or quinoa.

Review - This soup was perfect last week because we've been snowed in. Snowed in...in Texas. The temperature has been in the single digits. It's been downright nasty outside. I felt like I'd been teleported back home to Washington. Whether in Texas or Washington or Michigan, cold weather means soup weather. We all enjoyed this soup. You know Eli loved it with the beans and all. He did better with the big beans because they were easier to pick up with his chubby little fingers. Josie needed a little coaxing, but she ate it. I served it with a salad. This fed us for two days and lunch for me on the third day.

Semi-Spicy (but still kid-friendly) Black Bean Soup

Do you like the title? I was pretty nervous while preparing this soup after last week's fire chili. When I lifted the lid of the slow cooker at 4pm to assess the status of my soup, I had already prepared myself that I was going to need to come up with a Plan B for the kids. However, I was pleasantly surprised after the first bite. The heat from the jalapenos had completely cooked out and I actually had to add chili power (albeit, sparingly) before I served it. 

I read so many different black bean soup recipes, none of which screamed "try me." I decided just to wing it and made this up as I went along.

1 lb. dried black beans, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed, discard broken and discolored beans

2 Tbsp. chopped garlic

1 medium onion, diced

2 Tbsp. diced jalapeno, seeds and all

1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes (I used fire roasted with garlic)

3 cups of chicken or vegetable stock

Salt and pepper, to taste

1-2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. chili powder

Pepper jack cheese, lime, plain yogurt, cilantro (optional, but highly recommended, garnishes)

Combine everything in slow cooker. Cook on high for 2 hours, turn down to low and continue cooking for 6 hours or until beans become soft. Dried beans always seem to take forever to cook in the slow cooker, so I have the best luck cooking them on high for the first 2-3 hours and then turning the temperature down. If you'd like a thicker soup you can use the immersion blender before serving (I did). Serve with any or all of the following: grated cheese, fresh lime juice, plain yogurt and chopped cilantro. Serves 4-6.

What you can't see in this picture are the first two limes I tried to float on top of the soup. They sunk. I had to use the cheese as a lime life raft.

Review - Easy, healthy, and everyone liked it. I really enjoyed this soup. I will be enjoying a bowl tomorrow for lunch. Jay liked it. I fished out the beans for Eli. He seemed to enjoy them. There were only a couple stuck to his pants when I lifted him out of his highchair, which is always a good sign. Josie gave me more praise over this dish than ever before. "Oooh, I like this soup. Did you make this mommy? I like beans. I like black bean soup. This is good mommy. These beans are good." This went on for about 5 minutes. She was either in an exceptionally good mood or she actually really liked the soup. Maybe a little of both. Either way, this recipe is a keeper. The only change I'll make for next time is to decrease the stock down to 3 cups. I prefer a thicker soup and even after blending (and adding a little cornstarch) it was too thin for me.

White Bean and Apple Chili

This is another excellent Stephanie O'Dea recipe. The original can be found here. I have pretty good success with her recipes. She keeps the spices pretty tame for her kids, so I typically have to kick it up a few notches. Unfortunately, I kicked this soup up more than a few and it was too spicy for the kids. 

2 cans of white beans, drained and rinsed (or dried beans soaked overnight and then rinsed)

1 onion, chopped 

2 apples, chopped, no need to peel

3 cloves chopped garlic 

3 T butter

2 tsp chili powder 

1/2 tsp ground thyme 

1 tsp cumin 

1/4 tsp salt 

1/4 tsp pepper 

3 cups stock (I used chicken stock because I still have a ton in the freezer)

1/2 cup plain yogurt 

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (optional)

Put the butter into the bottom of your slowcooker. Dump in the drained and rinsed beans. Add the onion, apple, and garlic. Add the spices, and pour in the broth. Stir in the yogurt.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4-5 hours. I used dried beans, so it took a little longer than 8 hours for the beans to cook. When everything is tender use an immersion blender and blend a few times to thicken the soup. Top with shredded cheddar cheese. Serve with Homesteader Cornbread.

Can you tell I'm playing with lighting techniques?

Review - This was good, but better the second night for one of two reasons, either a) the chili powder calmed down or b) my taste buds were still numb from the night before. This soup was not supposed to be spicy. When I make it again I won't free-pour the chili powder. I also think I'll skip the butter. I love butter, a lot, but I'm not sure it really added anything to this soup. 

The first night was too spicy for me. I added a dollop of plain yogurt to try and kill some of the fire, but it didn't work. There was a lot of water consumed and a lot of nose wiping. Sorry, was that TMI? For those of you who are afraid of trying savory dishes with fruit in them, don't be. You couldn't taste the apple at all. It adds the slightest hint of sweetness, but it's barely noticeable. Jay really liked this soup, heat and all. I didn't even try to give this to the kids because that would have been mean. Instead they ate frozen peas, apple slices and crackers with peanut butter.