It's a Spicy Black Bean Burger!

Here's a vegetarian burger that my meat-centric husband declares delish! Okay, I've never really heard the actual word "delish" come out of his mouth, but he did say that there were every bit as good as his regular beefy (read fat-dripping) hamburgers, and doesn't that really mean the same thing? If I can get him to eat these, you'll have good luck, too. And, tah-dah- they're sooooo easy to make.

Ingredients:

1 can (15 oz size) no salt or low salt black beans
1/2 cup large diced red pepper
1/2 cup large diced red onion
1/2 cup large chopped mushrooms
1/4 tsp chopped garlic
1 egg plus 1 egg white
2 Tbs cilantro
1 Tbs chili powder
1 Tbs cumin
1 tsp hot sauce
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
5 whole wheat hamburger buns
1 tomato, sliced
1 avocado, pit removed, peeled and sliced

for the chipotle dressing:

1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
2 Tbs salad dressing

Directions: Rinse the black beans in a colander, and allow to drain well. Prepare the remaining ingredients while the beans drain. Place the red pepper, onion, mushrooms, and garlic in a food processor and pulse several times to chop and combine, or use a blender and blend for a few pulses. Add the eggs and spices, then pulse again. Add the oats and flour and pulse again. Mash the beans with a potato masher or fork until about 3/4 of them are mashed. Add to the vegetable and spice mixture. Form the mixture into about 5 burger size patties. Keep in mind that these will not shrink, so don't make them any bigger than your burger buns. Place the patties on a wax paper lined pan and freeze for a minimum of 2 hours. To made the chipotle dressing, combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend. Remove the burgers from freezer and grill for about 6 minutes per side. If you have more burgers than you plan to use immediately, store the hardened burgers in a plastic bag or container in the freezer. Serve cooked burgers on heated buns with a  tomato slice, an avocado slice, and a tablespoon of the chipotle dressing.

Serves 5

Stealthy Cooking Tip: It seems that every time a recipe calls for one chipotle chili in adobo sauce, there's 5 or 6 left over. I used to put them in a container in the refrigerator ... and throw them out a couple of weeks later! Now, I freeze them ... and use them later. Freeze them the same way as the burgers. Spoon out each chili with a little of the adobo sauce onto a wax paper lined tray and freeze. Once they're hard, store them until you use them in a plastic bag or container in the freezer.