Black Bean burger...

Let me be clear that I am completely inspired by food. I love to cook it, I love to EAT it but I also get so much enjoyment from watching other people enjoy my food. A while back with in the big city (Tyler. LOL) I ate a veggie burger. I had never had one before and I loved it! So of course the first thing I think is I can probably make this better at home. So I came home and researched different recipes and found one I wanted to try and tweaked it in my "Monica" way. I was way excited when I figured out I could make this whole thing for UNDER 300 calories, no cheeses but I promise you won't even miss it. So lets start with the basics....gather up this:

 

This is what you need for the patties. Now I am going to give you some personal preferences. I just found this bread and it is to die for. Orowheat pocket thins- Italian herb. So soft with the perfect amount of sweetness all for 100 calories! Next, this may sound crazy but it was so good. My husband came up with the idea to mix the slaw with the Jack Daniels mustard. Perfection!

 

 

Open can of black beans drain put in a strainer and drain. You want them to be pretty dry so let them sit for a bit and pat them dry when you transfer to a plate. Get a potato masher and work out a sweat mashing those suckers. You can't mash them too much...mine look like this:

 

Next take 1/2 a bell pepper (any color) 1/2 an onion and 3 cloves of garlic and put in a processor and blender and let it do its thing. It should be very liquidity now. Again, this may sound weird but I promise if you skip this your burgers WILL fall apart. Get a washcloth or flour sack and pour mixture in it and wring most of the liquid out. Then plop it on top of you beans. Add 1 tsp of cumin and a small squirt of the saracha (hot stuff) of Tabasco...your choice. Should be looking like this:

 

Mix well until completely blended. Now top with 3/4 cup of the panko and either 1 whole egg or for calorie sake I opted for 1/4 c of egg beaters. Here's hoping you are close to this:

 

Mix again till thoroughly mixed and form 4 patties. I cooked these on my griddle you can use a pan. Just a touch of cooking spray and get your pan hot. Let them cook for about 4-5 min on each side. They will get a little golden like this:

 

Almost there, now you get to build your burger. Top it with whatever you like but again I am going to give my opinion. Smear Cilantro Lime Green Dip first. Patty next, topped with sauteed mushroom and onions then your mustard slaw. We paired our burgers with roasted sweet potatoes it was perfect! Who needs greazy hamburgers and fries. This is a much better and quite a tasty alternative!