Black Bean Tempeh Burgers

Hello! I hope it was a great weekend, especially for all the moms out there.

I enjoyed a fun few days, beginning with a happy hour with coworkers ...

(We were really excited that we all had the exact same lip balm.)

And ending with a delicious Mother's Day dinner last night.  We had my mom, step-dad, and grandma over for vegan sweet potato enchiladas, tamales, and salad.  I wish I had taken some pictures, but I was too busy enjoying the food and company.

In between, I cheered on the Thunder in a couple of intense games and attended a super fun bowling party for a friend who turned 30!

Wendy also enjoyed some R & R.  She may not be a mother, but she sure didn't feel guilty about putting her feet up yesterday. 

That dog never stops cracking me up!

The majority of my weekend meals weren't particularly noteworthy, but I do have a tasty recipe from last week to share with you today in honor of meatless Monday!

I'm not one to ever really crave burgers, but, last Thursday, Jay came home from work early and really wanted to make them.  Since he was cooking (or helping at least), I was all for it.  We decided to stray from our typical black bean burger recipe and try adding tempeh to the mix to bulk it up a bit.  We researched some recipes online and came up with what you see below.

They were fabulous topped with avocado and Sriracha and served with spicy roasted sweet potato fries.

On a side note, my grandma commented that I should have named the blog "100 Ways to Eat Sweet Potatoes."  I suppose we do eat them a lot.  They are just so nutritious, inexpensive, and versatile - you can never go wrong with sweet potatoes!

Black Bean Tempeh Burgers

Ingredients

1-8oz package tempeh

1/2 cup cooked black beans

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 medium scallions, sliced thin

1/4 green pepper, diced small
1 tbsp ground flax seeds
3 tbsp water
1 tsp paprika

1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp grilling or hamburger seasoning mix

1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper

1/4 cup vegan or regular shredded cheese (we used Daiya mozzarella)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425.  Line a baking sheet aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.
2. Combine ground flax seeds and water in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Crumble tempeh in a large bowl.  Add seasonings and toss gently.
4. Add black beans, scallions, cheese and flax mixture.  Mash it all together until all the ingredients are well combined.
5. Shape mixture into patties, about an inch thick. It should make 3 or 4.
6. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes (or until brown), turning once. 

7. Serve alone or on a bun with your favorite toppings.

To make the fries, just peel and cut a large sweet potato into fry-shaped pieces.  Toss with olive oil, sea salt, chili powder, and a little cayenne pepper.  Bake at 425 for 30-40 minutes, stirring once.

Only one more Monday to go until summer!  Let the countdown begin!