Bean Up Those Burgers!

So, I really only use ground turkey at home. It's cheaper (and leaner) than ground beef because I can get it at Sam's in 5 pound packages. When making burgers, I always feel like they get tough and dry. I can't remember where I heard it, but I added black beans to our burgers tonight. The result was delicious! No one complained (Bryan even had a 2nd one!) or hardly noticed for that matter!

All I did was drain and rinse a can of black beans. You can then mash them, but I ran them through the food processor (adding a little water as needed) so that they were better "hidden". I would suggest using about half of a can per pound of ground meat. I did use the entire can, but I always forget the "you can always add more, but you can't take away" rule. They were still good with the entire can, but you definitely lose the "beefy" texture.

I seasoned as I normally do with 1 T worchestershire, 1 1/2 t seasoned salt, and 1/2 t pepper.

"Nacho" Ordinary Burgers

This is one of my favorite burger recipes. I adapted Rachael Ray's Turkey Nacho Burgers to fit what I have on hand all the time. I served them on light buns with lettuce and tomatoes and Alexia salt and pepper crinkle fries and corn. Surprisingly, Nicky liked the burger! I didn't expect him to since it's a little spicy. He wouldn't touch the mac and cheese I made for him, so I offered some of the burger. He gobbled it right up!

Note that I shred my cheese instead of cubing. I find that when you cube it, most of it melts out of the meat when you cook the patties. When you shred the cheese, you don't lose as much.

Nacho Ordinary Burgers
Serves 4

1 lb ground sirloin
4 oz shredded pepper jack cheese
2 teaspoons dried cilantro
2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
2 1/2 teaspoons cumin
2 1/2 teaspoons grill seasoning
1 grated shallot

Combine ingredients and form into 4 patties. Heat just enough olive oil to cover the bottom of your skillet over medium-high heat. Cook patties 6 minutes on each side, or until done to your liking.

WW points: 5 per patty