Tuesday, January 12, 2010

So far, so good!

Well, I now have some people on board to do this healthy, local eating and I couldn't be more excited. I've already been asked to post more recipes. I have gathered a list of our favorite family recipes, and my idea is to try to make them healthier and use as many local ingredients as I can without sacrificing the taste. Since I haven't had the time to work on any recipes myself, I'm going to steal another one from a friend. Carrie B. has shared this on her blog and I have tried it so although it was not originally my recipe, I can certainly say that it is a good one. Give it a try!

BLACK BEAN BURGERS

Soak 1/2 cup black beans in water for 6-8 hours. Drain. Cover beans with water and 1/4 tsp. salt. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 1 hr. or until tender. Drain all but 2 Tbsp. of the water. (Or you may also substitute 1 cup canned black beans. It's much easier) Mash beans with a fork, leaving a few of them whole.

Prepare brown rice for one person according to the package directions. Use 1.2 cup of the cooked rice for your patties. Very finely chop 1/2 onion, 1/4 red pepper, and 1 stalk celery.

Grate 1 carrot and 1 slice of frozen whole grain bread. Combine all of the above ingredients.

Add 1 1/2 Tbsp of freshly ground flaxseed and 1Tbsp of Worcestershire Sauce.

Mix well. Form 8 patties and place on a cookies sheet that has been sprayed with olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Remove, turn patties over, bake 10 more minutes. Prepare as you would a regular burger!

Notes from Carrie B.: I don't usually use the flaxseed but it does really help them stick together. You could also try oats to help stick together. Recipe makes 8, but I usually make 6 big ones. Cheese is always good on these, because it helps it stick together a bit better. They also freeze great with a little parchment paper between the burgers!)

Notes from me: These have great flavor and of course you are using a lot of fresh veggies (that you can get at the farmer's market or the garden in the summer time). Serve them on whole wheat hamburger buns and try them with some sweet potato fries. Slice sweet potatoes lengthwise, tose them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper then spread on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 375 degrees for about 35 minutes or until they are soft in the middle.

2 comments:

Renee said...

ooooh, those are so yummy!!

Carrie, The Modern Housewife said...

I heard a NEW tip about these from a friend yesterday.

People often tell me these don't stick together well. My friend said the key (in her experience) is to OVERCOOK the rice. It makes it much stickier. She said this helped out a ton. You can also use egg/egg white.