Black Bean Burgers

I have heard of black bean burgers and, to be honest, they have always sounded a little strange to me. Last Sunday when I was sitting on the computer planning out my meals for the week, I cam across a recipe for homemade black bean burgers. All of the stuff that was in it was stuff I liked and sounded good together and it seemed easy enough so I thought I would give it a try! I cooked mine on the George Foreman grill and they came out really good, we will definitely have these again. You could probably half this recipe if you have a "normal" sized family. The recipe I am listing will make about 12 burgers. Here is what you will need:

*Rinse and drain 2 cans of black beans

*Put the beans in a big bowl and mash them up with a fork

*In a food processor add in 1 green pepper, 1 onion, and 3 cloves of garlic. Finely chop. (I actually used my Magic Bullet which I love!)

*Add the veggie mixture to the bean mixture and mix well

*In a small bowl whisk together 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons of chili powder, 2 tablespoons cumin, and 2 teaspoons of hot sauce.

*Add this to the bean/veggie mixture as well. Mix until combined.

*To hold it all together and to make it so you can form it into patties, add about 1.5 cups plain bread crumbs and mix thoroughly.

*Heat the George Foreman grill and form into patties

*Cook for about 8-9 minutes on the grill

*If you are making these in the oven: pre-heat oven to 350 and cook for 10 minutes on each side!

Chocolate Brownies (shhh... they're vegan!)

I am 3 days into the 21 Day Vegan Kickstart! I am not going to lie, it has not been easy. I have done without meat for quite a while now, but this is a whole new ball game. It is just a different frame of mind in regards to food and I am slowly getting there! I feel great though! I can really tell a difference. I was searching for some vegan desserts online and I found a yummy recipe for brownies. I changed it a little and used applesauce instead of oil. I am eating them right now with a cold glass of almond milk. Who says vegans can't eat anything?! Here is what you will need:

*Preheat oven to 350

*In a small bowl combine 1c flour, 1c sugar, 1/4c plus 2tbsp cocoa, 1/2 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt

*In a large bowl combine 1/2c water, 1/2c applesauce, and 1/2tsp vanilla

*Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well

*Pour into a greased pan (all I had clean was my silicone stuff...oh, well)

*Bake for 15-20min

*Let cool and enjoy!