These were a total experiment that came out was better then I expected. The recipe can use a little work. It's far from perfect but this may spark some idea for you so why not share? That's really why I blog anyway. 🙂
So here's the story… I found myself, again, with only 2 burger patties in the freezer. This has been happening a lot lately. I'm going to have to learn how to be better prepared to cook for 3 grown boys! Anyway, I decided to make the traditional burgers for the boys and try to make myself the pinto bean burger idea I had floating in my head. 
Unfortunatly, I had no pinto beans. This also happens a lot to me anymore.
No old jokes. Ok? I'm just getting REAL bad at stocking!
Regardless, I had my heart set on a bean based burger so I grabbed a can of kidney beans and this is what I ended up with…
- 2 Wedges of The Laughing Cow Light Light Queso Fresco & Chipotle
- About 45g of chopped spinach (Mine came out of a bag I froze to save it)
- Pinch of Kosher Salt
- 3 tbsp corn meal
I put the beans, cheese, spinach and salt in a bowl..
..and then mashed with a fork.
Yes, I know. Not looking very appetizing.
I started to question myself at this point. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea afterall.
I'm not sure if it was because my spinach was frozen but there was a LOT of moister. That's when I grabbed the corn meal. I wanted to use ground oats but I was all out.
MAN! I really did get bad at stocking!
I added 1 tbsp of the corn meal at a time and assessed the moister level. After 3 it still seemed sticky but not wet. So I formed 3 patties, threw them on a heated George Forman… (which was sprayed with Non-stick cooking spray)
…closed it and thought, "There's no way these are going to turn out."
After 4 minutes I opened to see 3 nice patties!
I was shocked, to be honest. It worked out!
For dinner I ate 2, smeared with salsa. Totally satisfying and tasty. They're a little dry but other than that, I may be on to something. I'll have to try a few more combinations.
Any suggestions?
| Servings | Amt per Serving | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 patty | |||
| Calories | Fat | Fiber | WWPs | |
| 185 | 2g | 6g | old: 3 | new: 4 |
| Sugar | Sat Fat | Carbs | Protein | |
| 1g | 1g | 31g | 10g | |
Disclosure: I've partnered with The Laughing Cow. Click here for more info and click here to see all my ideas using the Laughing Cow!
These sound amazing! I want to try them with this light (ish) cilantro sauce I made for the first time yesterday which was just light greek yoghurt blended with cilantro, a teaspoon of fresh lime juice and a teaspoon of garlic. Amazing!
I saw on a cooking show the other day where they added cooked eggplant to meatballs for moisture but no calories! maybe that would help.
I might add a little cumin or chili powder to make a chili flavored burger as I associate kidney beans with chili. Chopped onion, zucchini, or tomato may add some more moisture.
These sound great! I LOVE any form of bean burger. Now you are making me wish I had a George Forman for when I make bean burgers, they usually fall apart a little when I flip them.
These look great, I would never have thought of putting Laughin Cow in them!
This recipe for chickpea burgers is delicious, maybe you can give it a go sometime:
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2011/10/colleens-chickpea-burgers-with-tahini-sauce.html
Thanks for the recipe. I am going to try these burgers !
YEAH! I'm so glad you posted this! I'm such a kidney bean freak...these will be right up my alley!