Friday, November 5, 2010

Vegan Recipes - Black Bean Burger Mix & Sweet Potato Enchiladas

It's the first Friday of the month and that means it's time to share a vegan recipe. Now you might be wondering why meatless meals show up on a green-living site. Well, the fact is that it takes less water and natural resources to produce one pound of plant-based food than it does to produce animal-based food. Even incorporating a few meatless meals into your diet each week does a lot to help the planet.
This month we have two wonderful recipes. The first one comes from Rachelle, an email subscriber. You might remember Rachelle ... she suggested our Change The World Wednesday challenge last week. Her recipe not only looks delicious but it's versatile, as well. And, she tells me that she's shared these burgers with die-hard meat eaters and they have loved them.
The second recipe comes from Trainer Momma. I found her blog and this recipe while browsing the Internet and she graciously gave me permission to republish it here.
Both of these recipes, along with a whole list of others, can always be found by clicking the tab at the top of this blog.
Okay ... ready to eat? I hope you enjoy these recipes:

BLACK BEAN BURGER MIX
Compliments of Rachelle
Ingredients:
One 26.5 oz Bush’s Best Black Beans (Drain and rinse the beans with water ,let them dry as much as you can . Putting them in a colander works best)
Vegan Egg Substitute for 2 eggs (original recipe calls for 1 or 2 eggs)
One green bell pepper,chopped finely by hand or cut into med size pieces for food processor
One medium to large onion, chopped finely by hand or cut into pieces for the food processor
3 Tablespoons chopped garlic
1/4 to 1 cup plain bread crumbs
Spices of your choice from the list below
Method:
Once beans are dry place them in a good size bowl and mash them. I have used a potato masher and even a pastry cutter to do this. Add finely chopped Green Pepper and Onion. Add 3 tablespoons of chopped garlic.
In another bowl mix together vegan egg mixture and the spices of your choice.
Add the egg mixture and bread crumbs into the black bean mixture and mix until you get a ground beef-like thickness. Add a bit of water or more bread crumbs if needed for desired thickness.
Cut wax paper or parchment paper into burger-sized rectangular pieces (should be able to fit a burger leaving enough paper to fold over and cover it).
Take the bean mixture and measure out the size burger you want. Press it into a hamburger patty shape. Keep in mind this is a bean burger and will not shrink during cooking like real meat. I find a thinner patty works best.
Place the patty on the paper and fold the paper over to cover. Keep doing this until the mixture is used up.
Place the burgers in a freezer safe container and freeze overnight or at least 5 to 6 hours.
When you are ready to make your meal take the amount of patties needed out of the freezer.
These patties can be prepared in the following ways:
Grill directions:
Heat your grill up on high heat. Take foil and cover it with a thin layer of oil. Grill the patties for 8 to 10 min on each side (depending on the thickness of your patties). I have grilled these directly on the grill before with a lot of success when I was out of foil. I would use the foil the first time until you feel confident without it.
Oven directions:
Heat oven to 375. Lightly oil a pan or use a non stick pan and bake 10 to 12 min. on each side.
You can add a variety of spices and use this mixture for several different meals. Pick one below or make up your favorite.
For a Mexican flavor use these spices:
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon hot sauce
This mixture can be used for Mexican burgers. After grilling or baking crumble it up for tacos, burritos, or taco salad. Make the burgers extra thin and after baking or grilling you can place them between two flour or corn tortillas with a little cheese and than grill this for a quesadilla. Add your favorite topping and your good to go.
Italian:
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
Replace the plain bread crumbs with Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 or 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
After grilling or baking serve as a burger, serve on Italian bread with spaghetti sauce and mozzarella for a meatless meatball sub., or cut up and use for pizza topping.
Steak burger:
1 or 2 tablespoons of your favorite steak sauce
1 tablespoon of Worchester sauce
Use your imagination with spice combinations the possibilities are endless.

SWEET POTATO ENCHILADAS
Compliments of Trainer Momma
Ingredients:
2 sweet potatoes, peeled, cooked, and mashed
4 Tb fresh cilantro, chopped and divided
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup water
2 Tb chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 Tb soy sauce, reduced sodium
7 or 8 whole wheat tortillas or Flatout Bread
baby spinach leaves, torn
1 can green chili enchilada sauce
1 handful of vegan cheddar cheese (original recipe called for cheddar cheese, reduced-fat)
Method:
Peel, cook, and mash sweet potatoes (I steam mine in the microwave until tender).
Mix sweet potatoes and 2 Tb of cilantro in a bowl.
In a medium sized pan, spray nonstick cooking spray. Saute onions on medium high heat until they are translucent. Add garlic, stir for 1 minute. Add beans, water, chili powder, cumin, and soy sauce. Cook and stir until most of the water has been evaporated. Mix in the remainder of the cilantro and remove from heat.
In a tortilla, put 2 Tb or so of sweet potato mixture, then 2 spoonfuls of bean mixture and top with some torn spinach. Roll up and place in a lightly sprayed baking dish. Repeat for the rest of the enchiladas.
Top with enchilada sauce and cheese.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes until cheese is golden brown.
Makes 7 servings. 215 calories per serving.
Thanks to both Rachelle and Trainer Momma for sharing these recipes with us. If you have a vegan recipe which you'd like to share, please send it to me using the email address in the left side bar.
As always ... I would love to hear from you!