Wednesday, February 2, 2011

What I'm loving this Wednesday...

Y'all there is a new love in my life. CR knows all about him and he seems to be fine with it. I like to call my love "the griddler". It is his given name from his parents at Cuisinart.



I had a little George Foreman grill for years. The problem with George was that it wasn't that easy to clean. As much as I wiped it down, I never felt like it was actually clean. Enter the griddler. It grills so you can have those cute little grill marks. You can reverse the plates if you don't want the marks. You can also lay it flat to cook more items at once or pancakes. And.... Wait for it..... The plates are removable so you can put them in the dishwasher. (Angels singing). If all that isn't good enough, I got it at Amazon for 70% off after Christmas as a birthday gift for myself.

Mostly, I have been making paninis, waffles and turkey burgers on it. Tonight, I thought I would try some black bean burgers. (As you might have guessed, CR was in no way involved in this process and ate red meat instead. More for me...).

Black Bean Burgers (adapted from allrecipes)

1 - 16 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 onion cut into wedges
1/2 green bell pepper cut into 2 inch pieces (*)
3 cloves garlic
1 egg
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
1 t hot sauce
1/2 c bread crumbs

1. Preheat your griddler. These can also be baked at 375.

2. In a medium bowl, mash the black beans with a fork.




3. In a food processor, finely shop the onion, garlic and green pepper. Add to the black beans.

4. In a small bowl, stir together the egg and seasonings. (side note - A full tablespoon of cumin and chili powder seemed like a lot to me as I was making this dish but in the end was just the right amount and not overly spicy.)



5. Stir in the egg mixture to the beans. Add about 1/2 cup of bread crumbs or until the mixture seems sticky and able to hold its shape. I was expecting the texture of a hamburger patty so wasn't quite sure I had the recipe right as I was making these patties. They will be a bit messier and won't hold together quite as much so don't expect them to be super firm in the uncooked state.

6. Divide into 4 patties and place on the grill. If you are using a griddle that cooks both sides at once, they will be done in about 8 minutes. If you are cooking in a pan or the oven, it will be about 9 minutes per side.



7. Remove from the grill and enjoy!



(*) I didn't have green pepper so omitted that ingredient and instead stirred in 1/4 cup corn. They would be excellent with both the green pepper and corn.

11 comments:

Meg O @watchmegorun said...

yummm to those black bean burgers and now I totally want a griddler too. I can see why you're in love :)

Kevin said...

I have had that same one for several years and love it. Much better then the foreman for sure

Anonymous said...

Oh wow, I am gonna have to try the burgers! Thanks for sharing!

Julie @ HotlegsRunner said...

wow, no meat? i'm so saving this recipe! =)

Amanda said...

Very cool new kitchen helper! The black bean burgers look pretty tasty.

Ewa said...

I want one. I only wonder what kind of non-stick finish it has.

Jenn said...

ohh these look fabulous! Saving this to try them soon. I have a can of black beans in the cabinet I've been trying to figure out what to do with em!

ValerieB said...

I had a George Foreman grill for awhile too and now I have that same Cuisinart! By the way, the black bean burgers look delicious!!!

Jill said...

Ok, that looks like awesome BB burgers...yummy! And I am uber jealous of your new grill...I got the antique George and it doesn't close well and yeah, just a dinosaur.

Lindsay said...

yeah we specifically registered for stuff once the lady said it was dishwasher safe. who wants to wash stuff by hand? no thanks.

Tina @ Faith Fitness Fun said...

I love my cuisinart griddler too. We use it all the time for paninis.

And I noticed you have the half in savannah on your calendar. I want to do that half for my first long race! :)