Hot Potato Hot Potato!!!! (Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burger Recipe)

So, unless you're a parent to a teenager, OR you ARE a teenager, you likely don't recognize The Wiggles. They were a children's group and I bought their DVD for my son, because most kids were huge fans of these guys. It took about 2 minutes for me to know that I was not a fan, and my son didn't care for the video either. However, EVERY time I hear hot potato I'm reminded of my brief stent with The Wiggles because they had a song and dance to 'Hot Potato'.

Well it's officially fall and I've been relying heavily on my crock pot for the last few weeks. School days run long, and with the days getting shorter I like to come home after work and just 'land'. I only have a couple of hours with my baby before he goes to bed at 7(ish), and I like to spend those precious moments giving him my full attention! Normally I come home and the baby wants to nurse right away and then he falls asleep in my arms for 20-30 mins. It's the SWEETEST! Yes, I feel like I could be more productive at times, but he's only going to be this small once, and it's already going by too fast...so I'm soaking up every minute!

How could I not enjoy these sweet snuggles?

Anyway, I had some leftovers a couple of weeks ago and threw together a quick meatless option for dinner. I knew I'd enjoy the recipe because I chose everything that went into it :) but it actually turned out to be such a hit with the kids, I've made these two more times since, upon their request! Anytime I can get the kid's approval of a healthy & easy recipe, I like to take that endorsement and share with my fellow parents! I had been looking on Pinterest for some ideas on veggie burgers. I sort of combined the ideas into a quick and easy version of a veggie burger with some items that I almost ALWAYS have on hand. Give these a try!

Coconut oil helps crisp up the outside

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burger

Ingredients:

• 1- 15 oz can of black beans drained & rinsed
• 2 cups of baked sweet potato flesh (I used 3 good sized sweet potatoes)
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 egg (you could sub a flax egg for a vegan version)
• 1 bunch green onion
• 1 cup cilantro chopped (you could use less or omit it altogether I just love the stuff!)
• 1 TBSP dried onion
• 1 TBSP garlic powder
• 1 TBSP cumin
• 1/2 TBSP chili powder
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/2 TBSP coconut oil

Method:

Preheat a griddle to about 350 degrees, spread coconut oil on the griddle iron to prevent sticking. Dump all of your ingredients into a bowl. Mash altogether with a potato masher leaving some black beans whole. Form patties with your hands, and arrange onto griddle. Cook for 5-6 minutes each side, turning once. Flip these patties carefully because they are a little fragile, if they fall apart during the flip just try to smash the patties back together. These would be tasty served on a bun, but we didn't have any so we enjoyed them as is.

This is what my ingredients looked like all mashed together

My 15 year old (The Wiggles non-fan) said, "it's like a party explosion in my mouth" when he bit into his burger. I thought he was being facetious, but he said that he was completely serious and that we should make these a regular recipe around the house. These are super quick to throw together, and make great use of leftovers! 

Cook 5-6 mins per side

I have some of my favorite pumpkin recipes to share with you in my next post. I have been meaning to get them up on the blog, but been keeping busy with the baby, and we have been getting ready for our annual garage sale!

Yummo!