Black Bean Sliders with Baked Squash Chips

Beans Beans they're good for your heart, and if you cook them right they won't make you f....t! :D  Well that's not true they will make you toot and well that's just a fact of life.....TMI?

Black Bean Sliders wonderfully flavorful and so cute! Plus they are of course nutritional and cheap!!!  I'll provide the recipe for the burgers, but you'll have to get creative with whatever you have in your pantry for the toppings.

Here's what I used:

For my toppings as you can see I made some guacamole and a mixed one Chipotle Adobo pepper (remove the seeds) and a tablespoon of the sauce into about a quarter cup of mayo.  I also chopped up a sweet orange bell pepper and mixed it into some of the Spicy Mango Ginger Habanero sauce.  I had plenty of that sauce left from the Mango Ginger Habanero Drummettes I made a few weeks ago.  Lastly I sauteed up some onions and mushrooms then piled them on a burger with Swiss cheese.  So get creative and come up with your own fancy toppings. Please let me know what you created.

Along side these protein packed sliders I served Crunchy Baked Squash Chips.  Spray a oven safe baking rack into a cookie sheet and coat wtth non-stick spray.  Wash and dry two medium sized squash.  I used zucchini and yellow squash.  Slice your squash into 1/4 inch thick coins.  Whisk two egg whites until frothy.  Dip the squash in the egg then dredge it in a combination of 1 C Panko Breadcrumbs, 1/2 C flour and 1/2 C Parmesan cheese.  Place squash onto the rack coated and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.  Keep an eye on these, my first batch came out a bit darker than I would have wanted, but they were delicious just the same.

You could also serve your Black Bean Burgers with Crispy Baked Parmesan Asparagus too. These are soooo goood!

Here's how you make the Black Bean Burger:

Drain and rinse both cans of black beans, but keep them separated.  Dump one can of beans into the blender with 1 small onion chopped, a small bunch of cilantro (about 2 T). 1 egg, 2 cloves of garlic minced and S&P to taste.  Blend until very well mixed.  Scrape into a mixing bowl.

Add 1/2 C of Panko Bread Crumbs and remaining can of whole black beans.

Mix well to incorporate the bread crumbs and allow them to absorb some of the moisture.  No it's not pretty but either is ground beef really.

Heat a counter top griddle to 350 degrees or heat a skillet over medium-high heat.  Be sure to coat whichever surface you are using with non-stick spray.

With a medium size ice cream scoop drop your burgers onto the hot griddle and lightly press them to flatten with the side of the scoop. 

 Cook until brown then Carefully flip and brown the other side.  Roughly 5 minutes on each side. 

Remove burgers and toast your buns.  Stop steering at your burgers they may look funny but believe me they are tasty, lite and good for you.  Add your favorite condiments and serve them up.  The men folk in this house didn't know they weren't meat by looking at them, until I said something.  They devoured them!

 Black Bean Sliders with Crunchy Squash Chips! 

 Get after it!

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White Bean & Pesto Dip with Pita Chips

End of the week and time to clean the pantry and fridge.  I love making meals or snacks from ingredients only found in the pantry at the time.  Turns out we had quite a few items fixen' (Texan for getting ready to y'all) to expire.Fresh herbs on their last leg? Well ours were so rather than throw them away I whipped up this quick White Bean & Pesto Dip and served it with pita chips (the pita bread was about to expire too).

The pesto is made of:

• 1 bunch of Spinach

• 1/2 bunch of Cilantro

• 1/2 bunch of Parsley

• Several sprigs of Basil

• 1/4 C Pine Nuts

• 2Tbsp chopped Garlic

• 3Tbsp Parmesan Cheese

• 4-5Tbsp Olive Oil

• S&P to taste

Wizz it all up in a food processor set it aside about 3Tbsp of the pesto and refrigerate the rest for another day. 

Next, I made the White Bean Dip, which was just:

• 2 Cans of White Navy Beans drained and rinsed

• 1-2Tbsp of Olive Oil

• S&P to taste

Wizz this up in a food processor and pour it into a serving dish. Spoon the reserved pesto on top and swirl with a chopstick or skewer to mix the two colorful flavors together.  Garnish with pine nuts and paprika. 

Cut the pita bread into small triangle, and place on a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil sprinkle with salt and toss to coat.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes, too half way through.  Remove from the oven when golden brown and crunchy.  Serve with dip. 

Enjoy.

This is also great when served with fresh crudités (French for fresh veggies y'all!)