Black Bean Quinoa Burgers

Harvest season has come. The leaves are turning colors and although we have had an extraordinarily warm fall season, the nights are getting chilly. Time to start cooking up those fall stews and soups. But for those of us who are avid Giants fans…..it is the postseason and the NLCS is happening this week, so I decided to try out a new veggie burger recipe to have a ballpark style dinner. I adapted a recipe that was on the back of a bag of multicolored quinoa that I bought at Trader Joe’s (my favorite grocery store).
Here is the adapted recipe…

Ingredients for Black Bean Quinoa Burgers

4 cloves garlic
2 shallots (you can use ¼ cup chopped green onions or ½ cup sweet maui onions)
1 red or yellow pepper chopped fine
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch fresh cilantro chopped fine (1 cup) because I LOVE cilantro
2 cups homemade black beans smashed a bit-recipe below (you can use 1-15 oz can)
3 cups cooked quinoa (cook as directed on back of package)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups quinoa flakes (oatmeal or oat bran can also be used-original recipe used bread crumbs)
2 teaspoons Trader Joe’s every day seasoning
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tsp salt

Saute garlic, red or yellow pepper and shallots in 1 TBS olive oil. Mix all remaining ingredients and stir in sauted veggies. Mix well and shape into 8 patties and fry in pan with 1 TBS olive oil 2-3 minutes each side. Serve on whole wheat buns with lettuce, tomato, avocado, sliced red onion and Mango Salsa (recipe below). You can also layer a bed of spinach with the mango salsa onto a plate and place the burger, tomato, and avocado on top.

Homemade Black Beans

2-3 cups dry black beans (1 Pound)
6 cups water
1 yellow onion chopped
4 cloves garlic smashed
5 stalks celery chopped fine
4 large carrots chopped fine
2 teaspoons salt
1 bay leaf
1 Tablespoon oregano
1 Tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
6 cups water or vegetable broth

Rinse dry beans and drain. Place into a large pot. cover beans with 6 cups of water and cover and let soak 6-8 hours or overnight. In the morning, drain the soaked beans and place back into large pot. Add all the vegetables and spices and 6 cups of water or vegetable broth. Place on stove and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 2 hours or until beans are tender. Drain and use in recipe above. You can use the leftover cooked beans in burritos or chili. You can also freeze the cooked beans and save to use in other recipes.

Homemade Mango Salsa

1 large mango diced
2 tomatoes diced
½ large red onion diced
1 cup cilantro chopped fine
1 jalepeno chopped fine
juice of 1 lime
Mix all and serve with burgers or salad.

I am going to make this for dinner tonight with homemade fries so we can have a fun dinner while we watch the GIANTS!!!!
What is your favorite meal to serve while watching your favorite team?