Black Bean Burgers

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I went out and started our Christmas shopping. We hit Barnes & Noble to get the kiddos some new books, and while we were there a couple of new cookbooks caught my eye. My husband made me save one for a Christmas present for myself, but I got to keep one out to use right away. ;-) They are both Betty Crocker cookbooks, and the one I kept out is called Betty Crocker Easy Vegetarian. I was super excited to see this because I'm always on the lookout for new meatless meal ideas to make my grocery budget stretch further.

This was the first recipe I tried from this new cookbook, and it was actually really tasty. My husband was very skeptical, but even he said that it was really good. My kids didn't even know the patties weren't ground beef until I told them. I expected my 8 year old to immediately stop eating at that point, but she kept on eating and said it was yummy!

I changed this recipe just a bit. I didn't think my kids would eat it unless I made it look exactly like a traditional burger. The recipe calls for topping the patties with, mayo, salsa, and lettuce. That's the way my husband ate it and said it was good. But for the kids and myself, I did mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese.

Another change I made was that I didn't use the green chiles. I was planning to but ended up using the last can I had for something else instead. So I just poured in a little green taco sauce instead.

One more thing. For the black beans, try and find a can with cumin and chili spices if you can. I couldn't, so I just added some cumin and chili powder when I opened the can.

Ingredients:
1 can black beans
1 can (4.5 ounces) green chiles
1 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 burger buns, split and toasted
mayo
lettuce
salsa

In a food processor or blender, process beans until slightly mashed. Remove from food processor and place in a medium bowl. Stir in chiles, bread crumbs, and egg. Shape mixture into 5 patties, about 1/2 inch thick. Coat each patty with cornmeal. In a 10 inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add patties, and cook 10-15 minutes, turning once, until crisp and thoroughly cooked on both sides.

Then assemble burgers with remaining ingredients.

Have you ever had a veggie burger?
What did you think?

Egg Drop Soup

This is a super easy and cheap dish to make for a crowd. I love it because it's so easy and comes together in a flash! We served it with potstickers from the frozen section of the grocery store for a really fast meal.

I'm not a huge Chinese food fan, but I do really like egg drop soup. The problem with soup from every restaurant I've been to is that it's usually really greasy. This soup doesn't have that problem, and I think it tastes just as good as any soup I've ordered at a restaurant. Next time I make it, I think I'm going to add mushrooms.

If you want, you can make it totally vegetarian by using vegetable stock in place of the chicken stock! It's an awesome meatless meal.

Ingredients:
4 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 eggs
green onions, sliced

Pour 3 cups chicken broth into a large pot. Add ginger, green onions and salt. Bring to a boil.

In another bowl, combine remaining chicken broth with cornstarch, mixing until cornstarch is completely dissolved. Set aside. Whisk eggs together, then pour slowly into the boiling broth mixture, stirring constantly.

After the eggs are poured in, then add the cornstarch. Serve immediately.

Are you ready for CHRISTMAS?!
I can't believe we're down to 2 days now!

Huevos Rancheros

I've been on a mission to find meatless meals and came across this one in my trusty Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I'd never even had Huevos Rancheros before, even at a restaurant, so I thought it would be perfect to try. It was super easy and really good.

You can make these for breakfast, lunch or dinner. We had them for dinner tonight, so I served them up with a side of refried beans and cheese.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
16 ounce can stewed tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons diced green chilies
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
5-7 corn tortillas
7 eggs
3/4 cup Monterey Jack or cheddar, shredded

In a large skillet, cook onion in olive oil. Stir in undrained tomatoes, diced green chilies, garlic powder and chili powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, brush tortillas with some olive oil and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until crisp. Once tomato mixture has thickened, crack one egg at a time into a measuring cup. Gently pour egg into tomato mixture, then repeat with remaining eggs.

Simmer gently, covered, for 3-5 minutes, or until the whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken (but are not hard). To serve, place a tortilla on a plate, top with 1-2 eggs, some of the tomato mixture and then cheese.

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Zucchini Pasta

While I'm on a low-fat kick, I might as well share another delicious, low-fat recipe. Again, this came from one of my magazines. I thought it was a really great, easy, meatless meal. My kids even gobbled it up. I've grown a new appreciation for cooking with plain yogurt. It really does make things very creamy without adding tons of extra fat and calories. And, really, you can't tell a difference -- I told my 7 year old it was Fettuccini Alfredo, and she totally bought it! :)

I did change a few things to this one. First of all, I used less zucchini. The original recipe calls for 4 cups of zucchini, which I thought would be too much. My kids scoff at anything even remotely healthy-looking, so I have to disguise it a bit better than 4 cups worth. I used about 2.5 cups, which was perfect. Another thing I changed was I used regular sharp cheddar. I don't really care for the taste of low-fat cheddar cheese.

Also, the sliced garlic may freak you out a bit, but biting into them in this dish is amazing. It really gives a perfectly glorious punch of flavor in your mouth. I don't think the dish would be the same with minced garlic, but you can certainly do it that way if sliced isn't your thing.

Ingredients:
8 ounces uncooked linguine
2-3 cups coarsely shredded zucchini (about 3 medium)
4 teaspoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 cup fat-free plain yogurt
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Cook linguine according to package directions. Shred your zucchini, then remove excess moisture (squeeze in a kitchen towel, like you would with spinach, or just put it in a colander and press down). Pat dry.

In a large, non-stick skillet, saute zucchini in oil for 2 minutes. Add garlic, and saute for 1-2 minutes longer, or until zucchini is tender.

Transfer to a large bowl. Add yogurt, cheese, salt and pepper. Drain linguine and add to zucchini mixture. Toss to coat and serve.

Do you use fresh garlic much?
Or are you more of a garlic powder/salt person?

Cheese and Potato Enchiladas

I dubbed April the Queen of Cheap Cooking a long time ago. Her grocery budget puts mine to shame, and I have no idea how she does it. This recipe is one that she gave me, and it proves that cheap doesn't have to equal tasteless. It's so yummy and easy. She gave me this recipe one day when I was telling her how I was on the lookout for new meatless meal ideas, and this one is perfect! And the leftovers are just as good, which is always a huge bonus for me.

One quick word about the shredded potatoes. If you can find some with onions and peppers already in there, use those. This recipe will still taste really yummy with plain shredded potatoes, but the ones with the onions and peppers really gives it something extra and makes it even more yummy.

Ingredients:
3 cups frozen shredded potatoes
4 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
14 ounces tomato sauce
1/4 cup chili powder
1/2 cup water
flour tortillas

Combine potatoes and half of cheese in a large bowl. Set aside.

In a medium sauce pan, combine tomato sauce, water and chili powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Spoon some potato mixture into each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in a 9x13 baking dish. Top with sauce and remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. I like to serve mine with a dollop of sour cream on top.

Do you regularly make meatless meals?
Post your favorite, and we'll try it and post it!

Veggie Enchiladas

I'm always looking for new meatless meal ideas. My good friend, Marcy, who is also the one who gave me the fantastic Cayenne Rubbed Chicken with Avocado Salsa recipe, passed this recipe along to me recently. I'm so glad she did! It really was very good. My husband and I really enjoyed it, and our almost 2 year old wolfed it down in a matter of seconds. As for my other 2 kids, well, our 6 year old refused to so much as touch the plate it was on ("Spinach?! You want ME to eat SPINACH?!"), and our 3 year old claimed he wasn't hungry. Kids. :)

As far as changes go, I did pepper jack and Monterey jack. The original recipe called for 3 cups of pepper jack, but I didn't want it to be too spicy. Also, the original recipe called for a 10 ounce box of spinach, which I think was a bit too much compared to the other ingredients, so I cut it back a little.

Thanks, Marcy!

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons cumin
1/4 cup flour
salt and pepper
8 ounce can tomato paste
14.5 ounce can vegetable broth
1.5 cups pepper jack cheese, shredded
1.5 cups Monterey jack cheese, shredded
15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
6-7 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 can whole kernel corn
green onions, thinly sliced
corn tortillas

Heat oil over medium heat in a sauce pan. Whisk in flour, tomato paste and 1 teaspoon cumin. Cook for 1 minute, whisking constantly.

Whisk in vegetable broth, salt and pepper and 3/4 cup water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 6 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine spinach, corn, 2 cups of cheese (I did the pepper jack in the filling and used the Monterey jack for the top), beans, some green onion, 1 teaspoon cumin and salt and pepper.

Spoon filling into corn tortillas, roll up and place seam side down into a lightly sprayed casserole dish. Top with sauce and remaining cheese. Bake uncovered at 400 for 15-20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and garnish with remaining green onions.