Enchilada Veggie Pizza

From Two Peas and Their Pod

This is a great, easy, rummage the fridge/pantry meal. Plus everyone gets to make their own, so it's fun! You basically just throw whatever veggies/beans you want on to a tortilla with some enchilada sauce and cheese, throw it in the oven, and, voila, pizza! Mark enjoyed 1 3/4 pizzas, 1 1/4 for me, 1/2 for Clara, and 0 for Tyler. Yeah, Tyler has been having picky issues as of late - dang those horrific threes! Also, I bet it wouldn't be bad sans cheese for you vegans out there.

I'll list all the things I've thought of and asterisk the ones we used. I think it will be different every time based on what's in my fridge/pantry.

Ingredients:
*Flour tortillas
*Red enchilada sauce
*Shredded cheese
*Black beans
Refried beans
*Bell pepper, chopped
*onion, chopped
*Green onion, minced
*Tomato, chopped
Olives
Cilantro
*Corn
Sour cream/Greek yogurt
Salsa
Avocado

Preheat oven to 400. Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil or Pam (I have this awesome spritzer thing that I got at costco. I fill it with olive oil and that's my new "Pam.") Place tortillas on cookie sheet and place in the oven. Take out when they are browning and puffing up.

Now it's time to make your pizza! Spread some enchilada sauce on your tortilla, sprinkle on some cheese, and then go to town with toppings. When you have created your masterpiece stick it back in the oven for a few more minutes to warm everything up and melt the cheese.

Note: On the website she sautes her veggies first. I didn't feel like doing that, but you can if you want.

Cowboy Caviar

This is the best chip dip ever! I make it like once every other week or so. It's pretty healthy so I don't feel bad eating the majority of it all by myself, although Mark surely eats his share. And it's SUPER simple. I made it for a game night with friends and they downed it in minutes. THey all wanted the recipe and have already made it for themselves a time or two. Yes, this recipe is a winner and its vegan too! I usually half the recipe when I make it for just us at home.

2 avocados, chopped
2-3 tomatoes, chopped
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
6 green onions, chopped - only green part
half a bunch cilantro, chopped
1 1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
1/4 cup white distilled vinegar
1 packet dry Italian Dressing
Tortilla chipst

Mix and voila!

Fiesta Lime Rice

From Skinny Taste

Ok all you new and newly returned vegans out there. I found this recipe and decided to give it a go. If you've ever been to Chipotle it tastes kind of like their burrito bowl sans meat. We did eat ours with some yummy rotisserie chicken, but you don't have to. It's perfectly filling and nutritious all on its own. It would probably taste great on a tortilla too - Mark actually preferred his burrito style with some salsa and Greek yogurt.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups rice, cooked (I used brown rice)
3/4-1 cup black beans, drained
3/4 cup corn (canned or frozen, doesn't matter)
1 tomato, chopped
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1-2 scallions, chopped (I didn't have any so I just chopped up a bit of sweet onion and it was fine)
1/3 bell pepper, chopped (optional)
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
salt
Any toppings: avocado, cheese, meat, salsa, greek yogurt, tortilla, etc

Cook rice, chop all ingredients, dump in a bowl, and mix. Couldn't get much easier than that.

Lentil Taco Salad

From 31 Days of August

Katelyn has made this too and it is great! You don't miss the meat at all and it cooks in a crock pot! SIMPLE!

1 red pepper, coarsely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup brown lentils (on the website it says you can use black or green too)
½ cup brown rice
1 garlic clove
2 teaspoons chili powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cups vegetable broth

Toppings:
lettuce
shredded cheese
tortilla chips
avocado
tomatoes
hot sauce
plain greek yogurt

Prepare veggies and throw everything together in the crock pot. 
As for how long.... that is kind of up in the air at the moment. The website says high for 6 hours. I tried that and it was burning on the side and bottom around 4 or 5 hours. Plus I don't even think you cook meet on high for 6 hours.  So maybe low for 6 hours? I'll update as I play around with it. 
You can make this vegan by leaving out the cheese and yogurt.

Spicy Bean Burritos

These were good and really easy and fast. Perfect meatless meal for days that you're busy.  

Spicy Bean Burritos
Adapted rom Sarah's Fares and she got it from Annie's Eats

This is my rendition:

For the bean filling:
Olive oil 
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

Sweet onion, finely chopped (about 1/4 of an onion or so)

Red pepper, finely chopped (about 1/3 or so) 
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. minced chipotle in adobo sauce and 1 T sauce from can, optional (I've tried it both ways...the chipotle def adds some heat!)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/3- 1/2 cup water
1 (15-oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15-oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
4-6 T. salsa (fresh is best, but use whatever you have)

For serving:
6 (9- or 10-inch) flour tortillas, warmed
shredded cheese
diced tomatoes
shredded lettuce
avocados or guacamole
brown rice
plain greek yogurt

To make the bean filling, heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and pepper. Saute for a bit until fragrant and tender. Add the garlic, chili powder, chipotle, cumin, and salt; stir, cooking just until fragrant, 30-60 seconds.  Add the beans and the water to the pan.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the mixture to simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove the skillet from the heat, stir in the salsa and the mash the mixture a bit with a spoon or fork.

Spoon about a third of a cup of the bean mixture down the center of each tortilla.  Top with lots of toppings. Yum yum! 

Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers

This was pretty good! I think it needs some polishing before I say very good though. Tyler ate it as long as it was smothered in ketchup. Mark said it tasted "healthy" which is his go to adjective for anything I make that is... wait for it ... healthy. Don't worry, he assures me healthy also means good - just not In-n-out or pizza good. He did eat two so it couldn't have been too horrible. I will make this man a health nut yet! My biggest complaint is that it needed more flavor so next time I will up the seasoning.  


Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers
From Healthy Happy Lifemakes 7-8 large patties

2 cans cannellini white beans, drained
1 large sweet potato, baked/peeled/mashed (about 2 cups)
2 Tbsp tahini (I think this may be a little much. I felt like I could taste this more than I could the sweet potato)
2 tsp maple or agave syrup
1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning OR Cajun seasoning (or another fave spice!) (I used both lemon pepper and some good ol' steak seasoning and next time I'm using more!)
1/4 cup wheat flour
optional: additional seasoning (whatever you have on hand - I used a few dashes cayenne, black pepper and a scoop of nutritional yeast) (I used powdered garlic, powdered onion, some chili powder, and nutritional yeast. I think seasoning salt would be good - maybe some cumin or something. Really I don't think you can go wrong. Like I said it definitely needs it for flavor).
salt to taste if needed

plentiful Panko crumbs
safflower oil for pan (I used olive oil)

burgers: avocado, Dijon mustard, grain buns, romaine, onion, (we also added tomato and ketchup).

Directions:

1. Bake sweet potato. Peel, place in large mixing bowl.
2. Add drained beans to mixing bowl. Mash beans and potato together.
3. Mash in seasoning, flour and any additional seasoning. Your mixture will be quite soft and moist. But you should be able to form a patty. Add more flour or a scoop of breadcrumbs - or dry rice to thicken the mixture if needed.
4. Heat 1 Tbsp safflower oil in a pan over high heat.
5. Form a patty from mixture and coat in Panko crumbs. Thick coating. Then drop the patty in the pan. Repeat until the pan is filled. Cook until browned on both sides. You could also bake. If baking, use less Panko.
6. Transfer cooked patties to paper towel. Cool for a few minutes.
7. Serve on toasted bun with lotsa toppings.

Sweet Potato, Lentils & Rice Soup

Yeah, yeah no picture. Sorry guys. Go to this website and look at his, they are better than I could do anyway: http://www.versesfrommykitchen.com/2012/03/life-and-rainy-day-soup.html


Sweet Potato, Lentils & Rice Soup
Ingredients:

• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1″ cubes
• 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into thick slices
• 1 small onion, peeled and diced
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 cup red lentils
• 1/4 cup rice
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 4 tbsp. grated Parmesan, garnish

Prep:

1. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Saute the onions with the cinnamon and cumin for five minutes, or until softened.
2. Add the stock, sweet potatoes, carrots and lentils and cover and simmer until the sweet potato is tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Stir in the coconut milk and rice and increase the heat to a medium-high, cover and cook until the rice is cooked through, about 25 minutes.
4. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle Parmesan over top. Serves 4-6.

This is how it is posted on his blog and exactly how I prepared it. It smelled so sweet while it was cooking that I thought it might taste kind of weird but it was really good. The sweet potatoes just melted in your mouth which was perfect because Kyle is so sick right now that he can't swallow whole food. I am not sure if it is vegan appropriate--there is coconut milk in it--does that count as milk? Not sure. Anyway, it was pretty good and healthy to boot (well, I think it is...) Not sure if Mark would like it or not, but I bet Tyler would.

Pasta Fagioli

Pasta Fagioli (Pasta and Beans)
From Skinny Taste

(I made this last night and it was yummy! Tyler ate it and Mark said it was good for a soup. It is very versatile - you can add basically whatever veggies you want. I served it with warmed up hard rolls - double yum!)


Ingredients: 

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 onion
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• ( I added about 1/3 zucchini, chopped)
• 1 15 oz can cannellini beans
• 15 oz can tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
• 1 large bay leaf
• 1 tbsp basil
• 1 tbsp parsley
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 (14 oz each) cans fat free chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarians)
• 2 cups water (1 cup of water is used to blend the beans if you choose to do so , the other is for the broth.  I only used 1/4 cup of water for the broth)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1-1/2 cups (6 oz) dry Ditalini pasta or other small pasta
• grated parmesan or Romano cheese (optional) (Or unparmesan)

Directions:

In a deep pot, saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat.

Blend the can of beans with one cup water in electric blender until almost smooth. (You don't have to do this. I did because she said it was a way to hide the beans from little kids.  I thought that was a great idea, because Tyler won't eat whole beans, but he ate this soup without even noticing he was eating beans...hahaha I win!) 

Add blended beans to pan then add the can of tomato sauce, celery, carrots, chicken broth, basil, bay leaf, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper. Add 1 cup water (or however much you want) and bring to slow boil. Let simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally (I did about 5 min more). Add pasta and cook uncovered until pasta is al dente, according to pasta directions.

Homemade Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Homemade Coconut Milk Ice cream
From Live Free Gluten Free


Fact #1: I love ice cream.  Fact #2: I haven't had ice cream since September! Well, that is until today.  I have seen these posts on pinterest for homemade ice cream in a baggy and I wondered if it were possible to make it using coconut milk.  Well thanks to my good friend Google I found out it is possible! This is sooooooo easy and it was really yummy! Even Tyler liked it! It's also really fun to make.  Tyler had a good time shaking the bag and Clara thought it was hilarious!
It makes enough for one serving, although I would say maybe even two.  It is pretty sweet and I wouldn't have felt jipped if Mark had decided to share with me. 

For ice cream:    
1/2 cup coconut milk (like Thai Kitchen, so the actual real creamy, canned coconut milk) (it has to be the real coconut milk, not the lite coconut milk)
1 1/2 T sugar
1/4 t vanilla
optional add-ins: 1 T cocoa or ~3 T pureed fruit (like strawberries...mmmm) If you want to add chunks of stuff (cookie bits, strawberry pieces, etc.), wait until after the ice cream is frozen, then stir in those pieces (after it was finished I squirted on the tiniest bit of hershey's chocolate syrup - yes, that is dairyfree - and mmmm it was good)

For ice cream making:
~1 2/3 cup ice
~1/3 cup salt (if you have rock salt great, if not use whatever salt you have, it doesn't really matter) (I just used good ol' table salt)
1 Ziploc Sandwich Bag
1 Ziploc Gallon size storage bag

Directions
Mix all ice cream ingredients together and pour into the sandwich bag (you could also mix the ingredients in the bag, too).  Remove all excess air from the bag and seal it (make sure it's sealed really well, or you'll have salty ice cream).

Place ice and salt in the one-gallon bag, and add the sealed ice cream bag.  Remove as much excess air from the gallon size bag and seal it.

Knead the bag for 7-10 minutes. (basically I just shook it like a polaroid picture for about 6 minutes and it was nice and ice creamy.  It is really cold though.  I decided to hold it with a towel after my hands fell off from frostbite!)


To mom: I bet Eli would have a blast making this!
To Heather, Katelyn, Melissa: This would be a fun date/FHE/girls night/whatever
To everyone: will someone please remind me to take a picture before I devour my food!

Vegan Pizza

I was a wee bit wary of making a vegan pizza, but I finally decided to try and boy was it a success!! I haven't had pizza in a long time and to be honest, back when I could have pizza I didn't really like it.  But this pizza was great - fresh and nongreasy!  YUMMY! I basically ate most of it by myself - mom had a couple pieces. I'll take a picture the next time I make it.

Ingredients:
Pizza crust.  (I bought Freschetta crust from Winco)
Pizza sauce.  (I bought the homemade Winco sauce)
Toppings: peppers, onions, meat (I used the soy faux ham), pineapple, mushrooms, etc
Unparmesan

Directions:
Preheat oven. (Just follow the directions on the package). Spread sauce on crust and top with toppings.  IMPORTANT: Put the toppings on first - BEFORE the unparmesan. If you don't, the juice in the sauce will make it goopy, pasty, and yucky. Same thing goes for veggies/fruit that have a high juice content.  This is what I did to try and avoid pasty fake cheese: Put on all toppings (minus unparmesan) and bake the pizza for approximately half the total baking time.  Then pull the pizza out, sprinkle on a generous amount of unparmesan and return to the oven for the remainder of the baking time.  This worked great! I was able to use pineapple and not worry about the juice content. And the cheese wasn't pasty at all! Please make this! It was sooooo good! I'm basically planning on having a pizza night once a week!   

Unparmesan

Unparmesan: (aka fake cheese made from nutritional yeast)

From my best friend Christy Jackson!

1/2 cup raw cashews

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

Pinch of sea salt

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp lemon juice (give or take)

Blend (or food process) the cashews, yeast, salt, onion and garlic powder until it is a fine texture.  Add lemon juice slowly, blending until it becomes coarse crumbs.  It should look identical to the texture of grated parmesan cheese.  

This was great on the pizza I made! I can't wait to try it on pasta, popcorn, veggie lasagna, etc!! 

Cumin-Lime Dressing Quinoa

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans, Avocado and Cumin-Lime Dressing

From Eating For England

This was really yummy! Mark liked it and he had sworn off quinoa. Next time I make it I'll take a picture.  I feel bad taking another person's picture - copyright and all.  

serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
• 1 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
• 1 3/4 cup water
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 avocado, chopped into chunks
• handful cherry tomatoes, quartered (I just chopped up a roma tomato) 
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped into chunks
• small handful cilantro, diced
• 1 limes, juiced
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• salt, to taste

Directions

1. Warm the olive/coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once it’s hot add the rinsed quinoa and toast for about 2-3 minutes until it starts smelling nutty and lovely. Add water, stir once, cover, and simmer with a lid on for 20 minutes.
2. While the quinoa is cooking, prepare all other ingredients. Prepare the dressing by combining the lime juice, oil, cumin, and salt. Whisk it aggressively. Adjust seasoning as necessary.
3. When the quinoa has finished cooking, remove it from heat and fluff with a fork. Add black beans and toss to warm them through.
4. Let the quinoa cool for about five minutes and then add all the remaining ingredients, including the dressing, and mix. Adjust seasoning if necessary. 

YUM! Dessert!

One more for today! Just when I thought I was destined to live a life full of sorbet and popsicles..I found this! Soy Dream French Vanilla ice cream. Completely dairy-free. And let me tell you it is sooo good. I crushed up some mint oreos, which are also dairy and egg free, mixed them in and dug in. Just thought I'd share. If any of you guys are looking for an animal free ice cream. This stuff tastes delicious! yum yum yum!

Mexi-tofu

I just saw Elaina's comment on Melissa's post about brown rice, and what a coincidence, I just made some! I love brown rice. There's more texture to it. However, it does take longer to soften than white. So make sure to set aside extra time for it! This is something I whipped up tonight that was super easy and crazy good.

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Brown Rice (cooked this much but only ate half)
• Some tofu (didn't really measure how much just chopped some up)
• 1/2 avocado
• Mushroom
• Mango Salsa
• olive oil
• dairy-free butter

1) Prepare the brown rice. I've read a lot of different websites on the "best" way to do it. Still trying to figure it out for myself, so I suggest you do the same thing. First person to figure it out wins!
2) While the rice is cooking, let the tofu sit out for a while and soak up the excess water. Get some olive oil ready for frying up the tofu.
3) Fry the tofu like I explained in the other recipe. Once all the sides are looking a little crispy, throw in the mushrooms and saute them together. While waiting for that, cut up the avocado into chunks.
4) When the rice is done, scoop some of it into a bowl, pour some mango salsa over the top of it, throw the tofu and mushrooms on top, and then finish it off with some fresh avocado! Now eat!
I don't know if I was just starving, but this was so good. I have a really big crush on mango salsa right now. It's like a million times better than normal salsa.

Veganized BLT

I don't know how you guys feel about tofu..but let me tell you..if it's prepared right it's wayyy good. Tonight I had a tub of tofu and a craving for a blt so this is what I came up with. Kind of my own vegan version of a blt. It was dang good. I still have all the makings for another wrap....I might indulge in that later tonight. This was simple easy to make. And although it isn't necessarily 100% healthy, it's much healthier than the fatty meat and mayo filled original version. Most of the ingredients you probably already have..you just need to invest in some tofu!

Ingredients:

• Extra-firm tofu (not silken)
• olive oil
• tomatoes
• lettuce
• avocado
• tortillas or bread (whatever you prefer)
• BBQ sauce
• any other toppings you desire

1) Take the tofu out and cut slices that are about 1/2 inch thick. Set aside a little extra time because you're gonna want to let them sit out for a little bit. Put the slices on a plate and salt both sides. After sitting for about 15 minutes, take a paper towel and try and absorb as much water from them as possible.

2) Heat some olive oil (or other oil) in a frying pan. Make sure it is hot before you put the tofu slices in. Place the tofu slices in and lower the heat a little bit. You'll want to heat each side until they get a little brown and crispy (this may take a few minutes).

3) Once they're finished, take them out and place them on a paper towel to soak up the excess oil. Cut up your toppings. Place them all in a wrap and top with bbq sauce so it has kind of a maple bacon taste. Wrap it up and enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Granola

Hey sisters! I'm posting, so you all can get off my butt now. I love granola, but it's so hard to find ANY at the grocery store that's actually good for you, even if it claims that it's "healthy." Even most of the "healthy" granola recipes that I could find had a large amount of butter and oil in them. I was elated when I found this recipe that uses pureed pumpkin and apple sauce in place of any butter or oil. It does have some sugar in it, but I used stevia (like the recipe calls for), and it's not an overwhelming amount so I felt just fine about it. I've stored mine in a ziploc bag and it's still crunchy and delicious. I eat mine with cut up banana slices and some almond milk...Mmmm mmm. Oh yeah, and it's VEGAN too!

Ingredients:

• 4 cups old fashioned rolled oats (use gluten free if you're sensitive to gluten)
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 3/4 cup sugar substitute of choice (or 1-2 tsp stevia or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 cups pumpkin
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 3 tablespoons sugar free maple syrup, or honey, or agave nectar (I used honey because that's what I had)
• Optional add-ins: 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, 1 cup honey teddy grahams lightly crushed

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, and the wet ingredients in another. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry using a spatula, (or your hands), until everything is well combined and oats are coated with wet ingredients.

2. Place granola on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, then stir granola around. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the granola is golden brown and is crisp. Take the granola out of the oven, and let it cool completely on the baking sheet. Stir in additional white chocolate chips or teddy grahams at this point if desired. Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Link to dashingdish blog

Black Beans and Rice with Apple Salsa

Black Beans and Rice with Apple Salsa (you can add chicken if you want) 
From Our Best Bites

(This was really good! The apple salsa added the perfect flavor. I will definitely make this again. I made it without the chicken and it still has tons of protein.)

1 cup chopped peeled Granny Smith apple
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion, divided
2 limes
1/3 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoons coriander
1/2 teaspoon cumin (I like cumin so I used a bit more - like 3/4 tsp)
1 13.5 ounce can chicken broth
2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups cooked brown or white rice (Instead of this I made this: cilantro lime rice - YUM!)
1 rotisserie chicken, or 4 grilled chicken breasts (I didn't use chicken because I wanted it to be veggie, but Mark informed me the chicken broth made it un-veggie.  Oh well - close enough. I guess if you really wanted to be full on vegan you could use vegetable stock or something?) 

Combine apple, cilantro, 2 tablespoons onion, and the juice from half a lime.  Sprinkle with a little kosher salt and black pepper.  Set aside.

Combine remaining onion, bell pepper, and oil in a large skillet.  Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until completely softened, 6-7 minutes.  Add garlic and next 3 ingredients; stir constantly for 2 minutes.  Stir in broth and beans; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium; simmer briskly, mashing some of the beans with the back of a spoon and stirring often, until sauce is thickened, 8-10 minutes (or longer if needed).  Season with salt and pepper to taste and a big squeeze of lime juice (I used the other lime and a half).  Divide rice and beans among plates.  Top with some chicken and apple salsa.  Garnish with additional cilantro and lime wedges.  Serves 4-6. (Chop up some avocados for a garnish too...I love Mexican food!)

Vegan Pancakes

I just wanted to share how easy it is to make pancakes without eggs or milk! I'm not a huge pancake fan..so I probably won't be making these very often. However, it's SUPER easy. Who needs those stupid eggs and milk anyway?

Ingredients

• 1 Cup flour
• 1 Tbsp. Sugar
• 2 Tbsp. Baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 Cup soy milk (I understand if you're still drinking milk, you probably won't have this on hand, but I highly suggest it. I hate the taste of milk, but love the taste of vanilla soymilk--even the light version)
• 2 Tbsp. Vegetable oil

Just mix everything together and prepare like normal pancakes! Ta da! All done! You can make do whatever you want with them. You can add chocolate chips, blueberries, bananas, etc.

Black Bean-Quinoa Burgers

Since most of the junk you guys post on here are things I cannot eat, I thought I would force you guys to look at some other options. This is a veggie-burger that is totally yummy and great for you! The consistency of the patty is not necessarily meat-like. It has a much squishier texture, but don't let that disappoint you. The flavor is awesome--even Jordan and Andrew said they liked it. Just don't expect it to taste or feel like hamburger.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 6 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped (I used the already chopped kind, and just made sure to have 1/4 cup)
• 1 1/2 cup cooked black beans, or 1 15-0z. can of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbs. steak seasoning
• hamburger buns

Directions

1. Stir together quinoa and 1 1/2 cups water in a small saucepan, and season with salt, if desired. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed. (You should have 1 1/2 cups quinoa)
2. Meanwhile, place onion and sun-dried tomatoes in medium non-stick skillet, and cook over medium heat. (The oil left on the tomatoes should be enough to saute the onion.) Cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until onion has softened. Stir in 3/4 cup black beans, garlic, steak seasoning, and 3/4 cup water. Simmer 9-11 minutes, or until most liquid has evaporated.
3. Transfer bean-onion mixture to food processor (or blender) add 3/4 cup cooked quinoa, and process until smooth. Transfer to bowl, and stir in remaining black beans and quinoa. Season with salt and pepper, if desired, and cool.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and generously coat baking sheet with cooking spray. Shape bean mixture into 8 patties (this gets pretty sticky and messing, just warning you), and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes, or until patties are crisp on top. Flip patties with spatula, and bake 10 minutes more, or until both sides are crisp.
5. Now serve on buns with whatever fixings you want on your delicious burger!

Get excited and be ready to see some more awesome veggie recipes on here! Don't be too chicken to try them out. :)