Black Bean Burgers

If you've never had a black bean burger, you never knew how cheap a homemade burger could really be.

A can of black beans is less than $1, and all other ingredients included add up to less than $10 and make at least 8 servings. Yes, please!

What you need:

1/2 bell pepper

1/2 large onion

5 green onions (bottom bulb removed)

4 cloves garlic

2 15oz cans black beans (drained and rinsed)

1 cup oatmeal

1 egg

1 1/2 tbsp chili paste

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp black pepper

What you do:

Place first 4 ingredients in food processor and blend until all ingredients are very fine.

Add 1 can of black beans to the food processor and pulse 10-15 times, until beans are broken up.

In a large bowl, combine other can of black beans, processed mixture, and remaining ingredients.

At this point, the mixture will be very sticky. It will almost feel too mushy to become a black bean burger. But trust me, just keep going and it will turn into a yummy little burger. Heat a skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Coat liberally with cooking spray and place two dollops on the pan. Pat down until formed into a round, thin patty. Cook 3-4 minutes on each side, until top and bottom are firm. (Tip: do not make the patties larger than your spatula and do not flip until you've formed a crust along the bottom!)

Once browned, wrap each patty in a piece of foil and place on a cookie sheet. Heat oven to 300 and cook 8 minutes on each side. You should end up with anywhere from 8 to 10 patties.

Dress like you would a normal hamburger. It tastes very similar (I think they taste better) but they're incredibly healthy-- 2g fat per serving, vs. nearly 13g fat in a regular hamburger. If it tells you anything, Ross loves any kind of red meat, and he said they were delicious.

Go veggie (if at least for a day)!

Sarah