Black Bean and Portobello Burger

**This is not a vegan dish. Egg is used to bond the patties.

Ingredients:

2 lbs canned black beans

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1 cup Portobello mushrooms finely chopped

1 onion finely chopped

1/2 a green bell pepper finely chopped

1/2 a Serrano pepper finely chopped

1 egg

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 1/2 tablespoons Rick’s Hot & Spicy All Purpose Seasoning (Cajun)

Sea salt

Black pepper

Vegetable oil

Toppings:

Miracle whip

Dijon mustard

Tomatoes

Lettuce

Avocado

Swiss cheese

Wheat hamburger buns

**I added an egg on mine because a great burger needs an egg on top. Address your concerns with Bobby Flay. 🤣🤣

Heat eye to medium. In a wok with a little vegetable oil, saute your mushrooms, onions, bell pepper and Serrano pepper. Sprinkle salt and pepper.

Wash and strain the black beans. Then mash them into a paste.

Strain the oil from the sauteed veggies and mix them with the beans. Add flour, eggs, cajun seasoning, sea salt, black pepper and breadcrumbs. Mix thoroughly.

It should be thick. Then form into round patties. On medium in vegetable oil, fry the side brown. Then flip gently and press down. Flip again and brown. Flip one more time and add cheese.

Heat the oven on warm and place your burgers. This is to keep them warm and further melt the cheese.

Again I added a fried egg because I need that in my life.

September 10, 2018 0

Scratch Chocolate Chip Pancakes

My youngest son Rocco’s favorite food to eat is pancakes. Day or night he always asks for them… Like EVERYDAY. Normally I fix him some Aunt Jemima pancakes and keep it moving. But this morning I was out of the mix and happened to have some baking powder. That’s while lying in bed I mentally did a quick inventory of my groceries. Then realized not only did I have all the raw ingredients but the time to do it. So I let him know today was his lucky day. To make it more special I decided to make him chocolate chip pancakes because well… he loves chocolate.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 egg

1 1/4 cup *vanilla* almond milk

1/2 cup chocolate kisses

3 tablespoons melted butter

Whisk together dry ingredients first.

Then add the rest. Whisk together until well blended.

Set eye on medium heat. In a little vegetable oil fry and flip like you would a normal pancake each side to a golden brown with crispy edges.

September 9, 2018 0

Beef and Cannellini Bean Soup

Ingredients:

1 beef steak

2 cans of Cannellini Beans

1 carrot diced

1/4 an onion chopped

1 potato diced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 a Serrano pepper chopped

1/4 cup red wine

1 tablespoon Rick’s Hot & Spicy All Purpose Seasoning (Cajun)

Thyme

Paprika

1 bay leaf

Sea salt

Black pepper

2 dashes Cayenne pepper

Vegetable oil

Equipment: Medium saucepan

Questions I sometimes face…

What do you do when you have 1 steak just sitting there but you don’t want to enjoy it by yourself?

Answer: Make a soup and have additional servings.

Saute the vegetables in vegetable oil, garlic, with a little sea salt and pepper

Slice the beef thin and add it to the veggies.

Once it begins to cook through add about 1/4 cup of water to create your beef broth. Sprinkle in paprika, thyme, bay leaf and cayenne pepper. I had some cheap red wine on deck so I put about 1/4 cup of it in too. 🤣

Once the beef has browned, add the Cannellini beans with their juice, cajun seasoning and the potatoes. Let simmer on medium high heat for 30 mins. Stir to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom periodically. Add water here and there so the beans don’t cook down.

Taste and add if needed sea salt and pepper.

Leftovers go in the fridge and my boys I’m sure will have at it… 😁🤣🤣

September 9, 2018 0

Almond Milk Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:

Makes 15 brownies

4 eggs

2/3 cup cocoa powder

2 cups flour

2/3 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 2/3 cups sugar

1/2 cup *vanilla* almond milk

1/4 cup melted butter

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup of chocolate kisses

FYI: The almond milk makes the brownies lighter and more of a cake consistency.

Equipment: 13 x 9 deep baking pan

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients first. Add in the rest and mix well. Grease pan to ensure the brownies don’t stick to the bottom. Bake for 35 minutes. Test middle with a toothpick to verify they are cooked all the way.