Southwest Black Bean Burgers

Today I tried a vegetarian burger recipe. It's the first recipe in this post. It sounded like a good, cheap recipe.

Pros-

• cheap
• lots of flavor
• healthy
• makes lots! I split mine into 5 patties, but could've done 6

Cons-

• weird texture
• slight taste of beans
• I couldn't get my burgers to hold together that well

My husband and I concluded that we're going to keep this recipe, but add 1/2 lb. of hamburger meat. Then freeze half and use half. It'll stretch hamburger meat a lot farther, and you still get the flavor and healthy produce.

Southwest Black Bean Burger

1 can black beans

1/2 small red onion

1/2 medium red pepper

2-3 garlic cloves

1 large egg

3/4 cup bread crumbs

1 Tablespoon cumin

1 Tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

4 soft wheat buns

1 avocado (I didn't use an avocado, we're not fans)

2 tomatoes

4 slices colby jack cheese (I used cheddar)

1 bunch fresh cilantro

 BBQ sauce

Rinse black beans in a colander under running water until water runs clear. Put into a bowl and smash with a fork. Blend onion, pepper, garlic and egg in a food processor or blender. Add to beans. (When I mixed mine, I put the onion, pepper, garlic, egg, and beans all in the blender together. I didn't think mashing beans with a fork would mix them up enough.) Mix crumbs with spices and add to the bowl. The mixture should be a little pasty. Divide into four sections and shape into patties. Grill about 3 minutes each side or until the patties hold together well. Add one slice of cheese to each before removing from grill, so the cheese will melt. Spread BBQ sauce onto one side of the bun, top patties with sliced avocado, tomato and cilantro.