We’ve gone from grey to blue, from rain to shine – it ended up being a beautiful day and I made it out for my run, yahoo!
It was magical, too. Hard, but magical. I really do miss running when I haven’t made a lot of time for it! I pounded out 4.8 miles in 48 minutes. What a co-ink! The last .75 miles or so, I alternated between running in the sun and walking in the shade. Boy, my trail has a lot more sunny sections than I remember… 
Either way, I call it a success!
Dinner too! We went meatless tonight and made Bean Burgers!
One of the first food blogs I ever read was The Kitchen Sink Recipes. Kristin – a fellow Midwesterner – posts easy, yet mouth watering recipes, and has a wonderful writing style.
I actually had bean burgers on the menu this week, but didn’t know which recipe I was going to use. Imagine my delight when I opened Kristin’s site today and spied a super-easy, and yummy looking recipe for just that – Bean Burgers!
I followed her recipe except I added 1/2 teaspoon salt, and used half black beans, half garbanzo beans.
Spices like cumin, cayenne pepper and oregano really lit these babies up.
The smelled good before they even hit the griddle!
The mixture was super chunky and hearty too – which helped convince Ben that he’d actually enjoy these patties.
Just a couple minutes on the Griddler was all it took.
Look at the crunch factor!
I made a quick and easy, 4-ingredient Mango Salsa to go on top.
1 diced mango, 1 chopped green onion, 1 handful chopped cilantro, juice of half a lime…and a dash of salt.
The salsa was so juicy and tropical on top of the crunchy, smoky bean burger – what a combo!!
Super easy, SUPER inexpensive and SUPER tasty – what a winner!!
Now the difficult part…choosing dessert.
In corner one we’ve got Ben & Jerry’s Peanut Brittle Ice Cream.
My friend’s husband kept raving about this ice cream this weekend, which got me CRAVING it – so Ben went out and got me a little mini portion!
But in corner 2 is the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Bar he brought me home from work today! (Do I love this man, or do I LOVE this man!?)
Yep…it’s a tough job. But someone’s got to do it! 
In other news…
Good news: Gossip Girl season finale tonight!!! Will Chuck propose?? Will Blair accept?? Will Jenni finally take out that ratty weave?!
Bad news: I have to unpack before I watch. I didn’t follow my golden rule of unpacking the day you get back, and am now paying the price. 
Good news: The winner of the Cascadian Farm Snacky, Crunchy, Chewy Giveaway is:
C: Definately the cinnamon crunch cereal I used to LOVE cinnamon toast crunch as a kid 
Congrats C – email me at iowagirleats@hotmail.com with your full mailing address, and we’ll get your goodies out to ya’!
Night!
~~~~~
How many nights a week, if any, do you go meatless? Is it something that’s important to you, or not?
Oh man, I totally understand needing to take breaks to walk in the shade. It is starting to get HOT out!
I think I’d have to go with the Peanut Brittle ice cream for dessert. Or, the Reese’s bar and sample the ice cream.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Kristin. Kristin said: Meatless Monday Recipe! http://tinyurl.com/2vwx4q9 [...]
I just had Reese’s ice cream for dessert! Amazing
what a delicious recipe. I’m a vegetarian so I go meatless every day but hubby eats meat so I usually have to prepare two meals!
Those burgers looks amazing! I just clicked on over to the Kitchen Sink blog to read the recipe and it definitely looks like something right up my alley! I’m mostly vegetarian so I’m always looking for burger alternatives. Tough choice with the ice creams–I’d go with the Reese’s bar right now. Can’t wait to hear what you think of the peanut brittle ice cream, though, as I’ve never had it!
Awesome bean burgers! I’m a vegetarian so I’m meatless all of the time. My family eats red meat about 3-4 times a week and chicken, pheasant, or quail the other days. I’m the cook so I decide the menu and we try to keep it interesting yet appealing. That is so difficult sometimes.
Good job on the run! Our running group did 20 miles yesterday and my scalp got a little sunburned. Oops–forgot sunscreen on that part. My hair was parted down the middle in some Pippi Longstockings type braids and now I’m paying the price. Otherwise got a sweet sock tan along with some tan arms! Looks like Chicago was a blast.
I try to split my weekly meal eats between meatless/with meat to balance it out. But many of the meatless dishes I like to make (with beans, tofu, etc.) The Man does not prefer so I end up making “his and hers” dinners — but actually it’s kind of a fun challenge to come up with a meal that can be both with meat and without!
I’d say, go for them both!
I don’t have a set night that I go meatless…even though I do enjoy the ring “meatless monday” has to it, but I generally enjoy a few meatless meals throughout the week. I actually had two today!
I recently went vegetarian for health reasons so I go meatless every night. Prior to that I only at meat at most twice a week.
Your burgers look great! Good idea. I actually recreated your “Greek Burgers” tonight and they were delish! I’ve never used sun-dried tomatoes in cooking and I really enjoyed the addition. Annnnnd it was an easy “cook once, eat twice” meal. A pound of turkey will feed my boyfriend and I for two nights.
Ice cream on a stick doesn’t compare to ice cream from a cone or a carton… B&J, baby!
Eeeew…. cilantro! It tastes like soap to me. My boyfriend doesn’t like it either, and neither does my mom. Guess we are of the people who don’t have the right pH in our mouths to enjoy the taste!
I don’t go meatless too often, but we have been doing it once in awhile. I need to get more into menu planning!
I try to go meatless most nights, it’s inexpensive and good for the environment! Healthy, too:)
Its not actually something I keep track of but we probably go meatless more nights than not! Since going organic/free range/local etc as much as possible, meat has got a lot more expensive! Now, its more of a treat.
I am obsessed with The Griddler, and as soon as I move into a place with a bigger kitchen, I’m soooo buying one! Also, I keep meaning to ask you- have you tried the yogurt called Noosa? They have pureed mango (my fav) and blueberry, raspberry and honey. It. is. decadent! Like dessert- I think you would like it. I like to put in some oats the night before, and throw some fresh fruit on top (a la’ YOU!) Soooooo good- you should look for it!
These burgers look great and I say go for both types of ice cream!!!
I’m watching Gossip Girl as I type….I want to see what the end of this episode brings right now!!!
Those burgers look awesome! I love bean burgers – personally I prefer them over regular burgers (MOST of the time
).
It’s hard for me to go meatless, it’s something I grew up with, eating meat with EVERY meal, so even forgoing meat for lunch is a triumph for me!
Please go with the Reese’s Ice Cream Bar, it looks amazing and I hope that you enjoy it!! I had a hug peice of cake last night, so I think I will be refraining for dessert tonight!!
When you go to the gym, what is your favorite class??
Boy of boy, do I love that colorful plate and the burger that’s on it : )
I do Meatless Monday every day of the week.
Everyday is a Meatless Monday to me…I’m vegan!
Those burgers do look lovely – the grill marks make them look SO good!
Those look great!!
And OMG season finale of Gossip Girl last night. I was shocked on many accounts. You?
xo
K
I second this! Esp the last 30 seconds…AHHHH
this is such an awesome recipe! I’ve never seen anything like it.
free scoops at Haagen-Daz today (I have a link on my post if you need details) ben and jerry’s free day is a madhouse
We never go meatless – but certainly will now with this recipe! (Little does my family know!) Kristin, you are an amazing writer, stylist and photographer – let alone great cook and fitness coach! Thank you for sharing your talents with the rest of us!
I don’t make a point of eating”meatless” it just happens. I d say 2-3 dinners a week. Lunches and breakfasts are usually meatless.
Of course I stopped watching GG this season…it seems to be the best one! Which dessert did you go with!? They both have god’s gifts to combinations aka pb and chocolate. You cannot go wrong!
Love black bean burgers, I’ll have to add some chickpeas sometime!! I try to make meatless dinners at least 2 or 3 times a week, sometimes more. My husband isn’t always a fan but now that I’ve adopted this style of cooking, I don’t mind it. It makes meat more special or something
As for desserts, the more the merrier! I hope you chose both
I did the vegetarian thing several years ago for about 4 years. It went pretty well! I can do without meat ok now for many meals…but ya know…ya just get a hankering for certain things like bacon, burgers, sausage, Chx & noodles, beef & noodles, I really missed those things! When I finally decided to start eatring meat again I ate a hamburger everyday for a full week…7 days in a row! God it was great!
[...] « Meatless Monday Recipe! The Un-Casserole [...]
[...] black bean burgers. once i saw how hearty and delicious these looked, i couldn’t pass them up. i am doubling the [...]
[...] I whipped this bad boy out – my Griddler! I totally forgot I had it! Don’t you love it when you suddenly remember you have totally [...]
[...] tonight shall be this Ben & Jerry’s Peanut Brittle Ice Cream. It lost out last night to the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Bar which, I’m happy to report, was LIFE [...]