Meals for One: Black Bean Burger

Last night I was telling my sister everything that I had made for dinner: black bean burger, roasted cauliflower, and loaded baked potato. Without the burger, I would be calling this white dinner, since growing up my favorite meal was yellow dinner: chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, and yellow squash. Anyway, it wasn't a hard meal to make, was quite tasty, and was pretty nutritious. And she said that she'd be interested in me sending her the recipe, since she needs to make one-person meals every once in a while when her husband isn't home for dinner. Well, my friends, do I have a treat for you! :) I'm almost always a one-person meal maker right now and I'm sure there are a ton of people out there for whatever reason need quick meals for one. Therefore, I figured this is the perfect time for me to highlight a few meals that are easy to make and still taste good. And so we have Meals for One! 

This first Meal for One is vegetarian and could be made gluten free too. It took me about an hour to make from set up to sit down. I based my black bean burger on this recipe. Thanks, Suzie, for turning me onto this recipe! It's so easy. I just made mine with black beans, flour, salt, pepper, and the leftovers from my roasted garlic. (For me, about half of a can of black beans equals one burger.) I think I was most proud of the roasted garlic, which is kind of funny since it was the easiest thing to make.

 

I got the idea from Ray and Michelle, and since I had two garlic bulbs I figured I'd still have one left to use in future recipes. (There's a lot of strategy going on in my kitchen, since I don't want to have to keep returning to the grocery store.) I love garlic and when roasted it seems to be not as potent as fresh or sauteed. However, garlic definitely is something I can't eat a lot of. Not only does the smell come out my pores and stays on my breath for days, but it also upsets my stomach if I eat too much. I actually gave it up for a few years around 2007, but have since added it back into my diet. I really think that time off reset something in me to allow me to have it in moderation. Excuse the garlic side note. I love it so it was a big deal that I have to watch my intake ;) Anyway, I followed these directions to make the roasted garlic, which I ate with my baked potato. Squeezing the outsides was the easiest way to get those delicious suckers out of their casing.

My version of a "loaded" baked potato last night meant caramelized onions, onion-flavored Laughing Cow cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic. And finally, I had roasted cauliflower. I roasted it just like I do asparagus or broccoli (covered in olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper, and rosemary). BUT, this is a big but haha. I decided to toss on a tiny bit of roasted red pepper flakes and it really made the difference. It's amazing what a little kick will do to take a dish up to the next level!

Anyway, that was my dinner last night after an hour walk around the Baltimore Promenade. The potatoes were a little undercooked, the onions were a little overcooked, but hey. Who cares, right? I made this meal for one all by myself and that alone makes me happy :) And I have to say, I'm also figuring out how the timing works. Everything took about 40-45 minutes to cook, excluding the burger, so I just did that last on the same pan as I made the caramelized onion. OMG. Loved the additional flavors that brought to the table!

Have any Meals for One to suggest? Happy cooking!

Love,

Stephanie Marie