Spicy Black Bean Burgers Recipe - Make them yourself

I love veggie burgers but the price can get a little bit much and we always seem to run out of them. They often are filled with alot of sodium too. So I decided to give it a whirl for myself and came up with this awesome recipe that is not only packed with protein but great on your waistline and budget. You can make them into actual burger patties but for saving time, I opted for a hash and use a whole wheat pita pocket and whalla!  (Love Arnolds brand Pita Pockets - 110 calories per half and worth it on taste)

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked brown rice and quinoa mix
2 cans of black beans
1 cup grated carrots
1 red pepper - chopped
1 sweet onion - chopped
2 cloves of garlic - minced
1/2 chopped fresh jalapeno pepper - minced (optional)
1/2 t red pepper flake
cumin
1/3 cup bread crumbs (optional) but helps them stick together
1/3 cup flour

salt and pepper

1. Boil your rice/quinoa mix as recommended, 1 cup mix to 2 cups water.
For time saving, I like to make double the night before and use leftovers for this step.

2. Chop your veggies fine, peppers, onions, garlic and I buy grated carrots again to save time.
Saute all of these in 1 T of olive oil- season with salt and pepper and 1 Tablespoon Cumin, 1/2 t of red pepper flake and minced jalapeno  (You can use up veggies in this step- maybe eggplant or whatever you might have on hand. Pop them in there)

3. In a fresh bowl, combined cooked veggies, cooked rice/quiona, then add 2 cans of drained black beans. Again for time saving( notice a theme here) Add beans handful at a time and squeeze so you give them a little mash. You don't need to get everyone. Add 1/3 cup bread crumbs. This will help them stick together. Then get your hands messy and hand mash till well combined.

4. Spray a hot skillet with cooking spray and a dash of olive oil. There is such little fat in this that you just want to make sure they have something to cook in. Take a handful of Black Bean Spicy and toss in flour, then saute. Continue with rest of mixture. Cook for 10 minutes. The flour will help give you a tiny crunch.

5. Serve inside pita pocket with romaine, cucumber and light ranch if you like.

Hope you give it a try and enjoy!