Spinach/Avocado/Feta Black Bean Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries

When I started writing here, I didn't intend to write too many recipes, but I've had a fair amount of feedback from the detail/picture of this meal that I decided to put things up here (in all honestly, I'm waiting for the last episode of Lost to start, so I just need something to keep me busy until then).

This evening started out pretty typically:

Me: What do you want for dinner?
The Rib: I don't know.
Me: Chinese?
The Rib: No, not feeling it tonight.
long pause
The Rib: I'll figure things out, do whatever you want.

This sounds like an ominous statement, but it's really typical in our marriage. My idea of "comfort food" is very different than The Rib's idea of "comfort food", so when we're not feeling anything, and we just want to relax - we end up making our own dinners. And me, I wanted burgers - but, well, I've given up all meat but seafood.

So, it was black bean burgers for me -- I offered to make these for the Rib, but she really wanted a "more typical" sub (and who am I to talk a pregnant woman out of a craving?). So, I called in a turkey sub at our local pizza place, picked up the ingredients, picked up the sub for the Rib, and got back home.

Sweet Potato Fries

• One large sweet potato
• Olive Oil
• Garlic Powder

Peel sweet potato and slice into the fry shape of your choice, place in large mixing bowl. Add just enough olive oil to lightly (but fully) coat all of the fries -- for this, it was just over a teaspoon. Add a bunch of garlic powder, mix everything together, and bake at 425^o for 35 minutes.

I started with the sweet potato fries, which are really, really easy (see sidebar, right), but take a little bit of time to bake. As these were baking, I went through with the bulk of the meal.

Spinach/Avocado/Feta Black Bean Burgers

• 1 can black beans
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 2 carrots
• 1/2 vidalia onion
• handful of baby spinach
• 1 avocado
• Feta cheese
• Breadcrumbs
• Olive oil

Finely chop the onion & sautee in a small amount of olive oil. As that is cooking, finely chop the spinach (this is the worst part of the whole thing - I hate chopping fresh spinach) and red bell pepper. Peel & shred the carrots. Half & slice the avocado. Drain the black beans.

Add black beans, chopped red bell pepper, shredded carrot, chopped spinach, sliced avocado, and feta to a mixing bowl. Pulverize the black beans (mixing in whatever you can of the other ingredients as this goes on), and then mix all ingredients. Add just enough breadcrumbs so that you'll be able to form this pulp into burgers (I can't stress this enough - less is more here). You should be able to form four large burgers or six normal sized burgers from the mix.

Grill over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, turning often. Serve on buns.