Mash Made In Heaven

Hooray for the weekend!! It's been a lazy-productive day so far. Meaning I have accomplished a lot while still in my PJ's. Knitting, cooking, cleaning, shopping ; ). And blogging of course! What's in store for your saturday??

Yesterday's post of Oven Fried Green Tomata's mentioned the bean burgers I made which were perfect with the FGT. It's also the fricken simpliest recipe for bean burgers eva. Thanks to Kath at Kath Eats Real Food! Out of all the bean burgers I have made, this was the tastiest, easiest burger hands down. They stayed together when cooking, and really only require two ingredients, but added some spices to make things interesting. No brainer!

No Brainer Bean Burgers
serves 4
adapted from Kath Eats Real Food

1 can black beans, rinsed
4 T whole wheat flour
spices to taste (I used cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and pepper)
1-2 T water

Combine the beans, spices, and flour in a bowl, and mash with a fork until...well mashed!

You can add a couple of tablespoons of water if the mixture is too dry. I ended up adding about a tablespoon to mine.

Heat a skillet to medium-high and spray with cooking spray.

Form bean mixture into 4 patties, and cook in skillet for about 3-4 minutes on each side. They should be nice and crispy on the outside.

The texture is rather creamy, and I'm in love with it! They stay together better than any of the burgers I made with breadcrumbs, or egg. You can also add additional veggies like diced pepper and onion for more flavor or nutrition. Either way I recommend these easy and cheap burgers!

They also freeze well. I cooked mine, and wrapped in plastic wrap, and reheated in the microwave for a minute. And they STILL stayed together. Kudos. Here's my burger topped with some mozzarella, my FGT, and some ketchup all wrapped in a big ol' collard green!

Enjoy the weekend!!

Do You Know What They Call a Quarter Pounder With Cheese in France?

A Royale with Cheese! If you've ever seen the movie Pulp Fiction you'll know what I'm talking about here. This next post reminded me of a scene from this movie, with Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta in "The Big Kahuna Burger" scene. Without going into a whole movie overview, there was a fictional burger joint called The Big Kahuna Burger, a hawaiian burger place. I decided to be adventurous and take my taste buds on a tropical vacation a la veggie burger style. Thus the Hula burger was born! It's not quite a recipe, but an idea of topping a veggie burger with a slice of grilled pineapple and BBQ sauce. The combination of sweet and smoky was a perfect balance, and offered something different than your run of the mill lettuce tomato ketchup topping. Here's what I did...

The Hula Burger
serves 1
1 Veggie burger patty (I use Meredith Farms brand)
1 slice of pineapple (I just used the canned variety)
BBQ sauce
Lettuce
Bread of choice (I used half a whole wheat wrap)


I started by heating a pan over medium-high heat. I would have used the outdoor grill (and suggest doing so!) for the real char-grilled flavor, but ran out of propane, so had to resort to the next best thing. If doing as I did in a pan, I suggest defrosting the patty a bit in the microwave to speed up the cooking process. Just toss it in the microwave for 30 seconds or so, just until it's not frozen. 


Heat the burger in the pan, cooking each side for about 2-3 minutes. When you flip the burger, add the slice of pineapple to the pan. Each side only takes about a minute or so. Once both are char-grilled to perfection, transfer to your bread of choice, and top with a good squirt of your favorite BBQ sauce and some crisp romaine lettuce. 


I served mine alongside a salad and my guilty pleasure of Creamy Parmesan Suddenly Salad, although I did make it healthier by replacing all but 2 T of the mayo with plain non-fat yogurt!

Aloha to the ordinary! Now where's my hula skirt and umbrella drink?!