Welcome to my "Recipe of the Week"!
Today's creation was a combination of fun things I have now learned to do and I am so glad that I have these very simple skills. With these cooking elements, I can pretty much create endless combinations of classic "crowd pleasers". (Well, at least for a Daniel-Fasting crowd...)
I call them "crowd pleasers" because they allow one to make a 'burger-n-fries' meal, and who doesn't just love a burger and some fries...
even if they are Vegan?
The elements to a "burger-n-fries/crowd-pleaser" meal are below:
1. Know how to make a burger. A Veggie burger, to be exact, and it must be out of items you already have in your possession.
2. Understand the process of cutting potatoes into wedges and seasoning them properly.
3. Become an expert at making flatbread from flour, water, salt, oil, and fire.
4. The art of plate arrangement... 'nuff said.
With these 4 skills, you can whip up a meal out of raw materials and impress all of your fasting/vegan/vegetarian/weird friends.
"Enough Claire, just give us the recipe!"
Alright, alright. I just thought you needed to know...Anyway, the Recipe is entitled:
Black Bean Burgers on Whole Wheat Flatbread Buns
with Spicy Potato Wedges
(Note to self: become more simplistic with naming your meals...)
(Note to Readers: This recipe serves 8...ish)
Black Bean Burger Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
1 can of black beans (or 2 cups of soaked and cooked black beans
- if you get them dried in the bag)
1/2 cup brown rice
1/2 zucchini, chopped
To make burgers:
1. Bring 1 cup water to a boil, then place rice in, reduce heat, cover and allow to simmer
2. Cook rice until water is all gone, but don't burn the rice!
3. Drain rice and set aside
4. Chop the onion and zucchini, then heat over medium heat with a small amount of oil or cooking spray
5. When onion begins browning, add the black beans and cook for 5-7 minutes
6. Remove from heat and place 2/3 or the mixture in a blender
7. Blend for a few seconds, then place this back into the pan with the other mixture
8. Add the rice and mix thoroughly, set aside and allow to cool for 10 minuets
(here's where I started making the flatbread and wedges)
9. Divide into 8 portions and shape into patties
10. Heat a little oil in a pan, and when hot, place 2 burgers on for about 5 minutes on each side, then place on a plate to cool
11. Remove from the pan, then repeat with the other burgers until they are all cooked
12. Store any leftovers in the fridge until they're needed, but eat them within a week!
Flatbread Ingredients:
4 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons of salt
About a cup of water
(just enough to make it into dough)
1 teaspoon oil
To make flatbread:
1. Mix flour and salt in a large bowl
2. Form a small hole in the middle of the mixture and pour the water into the hole
3. Mix until slick dough forms
4. Kneed dough and divide into 16 round balls (or however many people will eat a burger, multiplied by 2)
5. Sprinkle with more flour, then roll each ball out into round circles about the size of a burger
6. Heat a skillet over high heat and spray generously with cooking spray or rub with a small amount of oil
7. Plot the first circle of dough down and allow to cook for 2 minutes, flip and allow to cook for 1 minuet
8. Remove from heat and set aside on a plate to cool
9. Do this with the others until all the buns are on the plate cooling
Spicy Potato Wedges Ingredients:
6 large red potatoes
Cumin, crushed red pepper, garlic powder,
black pepper, salt, italian seasoning
cooking spray
To make potato wedges:
Preheat oven to 400
Wash the potatoes
Cut into halves the long way
Slice the halves into wedges (you can decide the preferred thickness)
Sprinkle seasoning in a large bowl and dump the uncooked potato wedges into it
Mix the wedges by shaking the bowl or stirring with a wooden spoon
Spray the potatoes with some cooking spray so the seasoning will stick, but they won't stick to the pan
Place potatoes on a nonstick, lightly sprayed pan
Place in the oven for 35-45 minutes, stirring and flipping often (you may take the out early if you want tender fries, or leave them in a bit longer if you want crispy fries)
Putting it together...
Once you have the potatoes cooking and the flatbread and burgers just about done, you can slice up some toppings for your burgers! I topped ours with some tomato and a little spinach with some oil and vinegar. You can also add mushrooms, tomato sauce, pickles, or hummus, but before you put any other condiments, check the ingredients label for any artificial, chemical, or sugar additives (high fructose corn syrup is no good!). We dipped the fries in tomato sauce (it's like ketchup except without the additives)!
This was a big win for dinner tonight! The only tips I can offer are that the burgers will be a little delicate. They don't have much to hold them together, so be careful when flipping them and when eating. They may crumble a little, but that's okay!
Also, we only made 4 flatbreads, since there are only 2 of us. But we did each end up eating another burger without a bun, so while it serves 8, some may want to eat more than just 1 burger, in which case, it may only serve 4 or so.
The wedges were really good! I put a lot of seasoning on them, but that made them all the more tasty! We only cut up 2 small red potatoes for the fries (again, since there are only 2 of us). You can alter the recipe based upon how much you think you and your family will eat, or how much you want for leftovers!
This meal is really high in protein and fiber. It also gets in a heaping serving of veggies and is low fat! All in all, a tasty, vegan, healthy, yet hearty meal with "meat" and potatoes!
See, I told you it was a crowd-pleaser :-)
Ingredients: 1/2 cup quinoa, 1/2 cup steel cut oats,1 cup boiling water, 1/4 cup cubed mango, a dash of cinnamon, a drizzle of honey, and a splash of almond milk (optional to add on at the end) 
I took the bus to Starbucks for a date with my student's papers... They are very smart, but also very funny sometimes.... I choose to laugh instead of get frustrated with their antics; it's just easier that way :-) 
I also had a great egg, feta, and spinach wrap there for lunch! Which was very tasty and just what I needed to keep me warm with my hot mint tea. Then I began the 2 hour journey to go grocery shopping via CTA bus route, which was quite the adventure! I managed to get all of what I wanted to get, plus 2 honey greek yogurts, tomato soup, bananas, and 6 pink lady apples, all in my draw-string backpack and oversized bag. And I managed to get from the Beverly Starbucks to the Pullman Aldi, then to the West Pullman bus stop, all the way back to Roseland, and walk the three blocks to my house with only being asked for my number 3 times-- huge success!
