Red & Black Bean Burgers

Last week I was looking through some cooking magazines for some inspiration for new dishes & this one really caught my eye!  I am always  using beans in other dishes (mixed with rice, in chili, in soups), but I never really made beans the star of a meal....until tonight!  This evening these Red & Black Bean Burgers were a hit with the whole family.  I was seriously skeptical & though that at least one of the kids would turn up their nose, but that was pleasantly surprised when everyone happily chowed down.  Matter of fact, my 9 year old didn't even realize what the burgers were made of until he just peaked over my shoulder as I write this post & asked "there wasn't any meat in those burgers??"  Awwww yeah!  Momma wins again!  The family is eating healthy & enjoying it.

Ingredients:
2 cans dark red kidney beans (no salt added), drained & rinsed well
1 can black beans (no salt added), drained & rinsed well
2 carrots, peeled & shredded
1 cup wheat germ
2 Tbls. ground flax seed
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
sea salt & fresh ground black pepper used generously to taste
extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
1. After draining & rinsing beans place them in a large bowl & mash them lightly, leaving some beans whole.  Stir in the remaining ingredients & combine well.

2. Coat the bottom of a large frying pan with a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil & put on medium heat.

3. Use your hands to form the bean mixture into burger patties & place into the pan.  Do not move the patties once you have placed them in the pan.  Allow them to cook for approx. 10 minutes until  a brown crust has formed on the bottom of the burger.  Flip the burgers & allow to cook for an additional 8-10 minutes until both sides have  a nice brown crust.
*This recipe made about 10 burgers & was enough to feed my family of 6 & still have some left overs for lunch tomorrow!

*Instead of using a bun I used a pizza cutter to slice whole wheat tortillas into fourths.  Then I put them on a pizza pan & popped them into a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes, just to toast them up a little bit.  Then everyone got two triangles of tortilla to use as a "bun" for their bean burger.

Looking for more kid-tested, hubby approved clean eating recipes?  Click here!