Thursday, June 23, 2022

Pineapple Sangria

Pineapple Sangria

It's HOT, y'all! This girl is stuck at home in the South Mississippi 100+ heat looking at vacay photos of everybody else out doing awesome things. So the next best thing was to whip up a little something fun, like this cool, refreshing Pineapple Sangria. This would be a great candidate for a "batch" #cocktail for a #poolparty, summer #bbq or 4th of July celebration for sure! #partyfood Super easy to throw together and store in the fridge until party time. (Scale up as needed and put in a large drink dispenser for party)

Small batch -
1/8 pineapple (I used fresh chunks from the produce department)
1 large spring of basil
1 (6 oz) can pineapple juice
1 cup wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)
4 oz rum (I used Malibu coconut rum)
1 can ginger beer (about 1 cup)
juice from 1/2 lemon, freshly squeezed
Throw everything in a pitcher. Either serve immediately for a more fizzy drink or let sit for a couple hours or longer for more fruity flavor but less fizz.
Serve over crushed ice, garnished with pineapple chunks and fresh basil.
* This would be Sooo so so good with grilled chicken kabobs or fish tacos!



Saturday, May 14, 2022

Cuban Black Bean Burgers

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#healthy #blackbeanburgers

My mom makes amazing black bean burgers.  One of the cooks in my old cafĂ© made amazing black bean burgers.  Until now, however, nobody in my family was particularly interested in eating them, so I never got around to making any.  Fast forward to my daughter asking about eating more vegetarian meals.  Umm... okay.  Let's look into this a bit and ease our way into a diet with more veg but where I'm confident she's still getting the right nutrients for a growing teenager.  Whatever the recipe is, it also has to have tons of flavor... right?

So most of this recipe is from my mother.  I might have tweaked things just a bit, as should every cook.  But that's why cooking is fun!

Ingredients: 

  • 1 (14oz) can black beans
  • 1 bell pepper
  • 2/3 onion
  • 2/3 of (8oz) container of mushrooms
  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 2 Tbsp butter (use ghee for vegetarian/vegan)
  • kosher salt
  • black pepper
  • chili powder
  • cumin 
  • juice of 1 lime
  • about 1/2 cup of bread crumbs (I used Panko)
  • 1 or 2 eggs (use egg substitute like mashed sweet potatoes for vegan)
  • 1 Tbsp cream or half and half (use oat/almond milk for vegan)
  • about 1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese (omit for vegan)
  • a few shakes of Worcestershire if desired (omit for vegetarian/vegan) 
  • toppings of choice - Eg.  sliced avocado, lettuce, tomato, cheese, purple onions
Method: 
Prep beans - 
Rinse and drain canned black beans.   I read that the beans needed to be dried out to avoid them being mushy, so I went with that. Spread out on sheet pan and dry out in a preheated oven (I just put mine at 250F) for about 10 minutes, shaking halfway through. I also didn't want them to be bland, so I seasoned them with chili powder and cumin during the last 5 minutes.  Allow to cool.
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Prep veggies - 
Dice bell pepper, onion and mushrooms.  SautĂ© in butter until soft.  
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While the vegetables are cooking, finely chop walnuts.  
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Add the nuts to the mostly cooked vegetables.  This will let the nuts toast up a bit in the butter and incorporate all these flavors.  Yumm.  Season mixture with salt and pepper to taste. 
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Combine - 
To a large bowl, add cooled, dried beans and mash them about halfway.  
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To the beans, add the cooked vegetables, egg, bread crumbs, cream/milk and additional seasoning to taste (chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper).  
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Now for some real pizazz, squeeze the juice of one lime into the mixture.  Add feta and Worcestershire.  Combine this mixture.
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Form - 
Form burger patties with about 1/2 cup of mix at a time.  Stack between pieces of parchment or waxed paper and allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.  (Note - the ones in the photo did not have feta.  I did both.)
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Bake or Grill - 
Grill on oiled aluminum foil at around 350F for 7 -8 minutes per side until nicely browned.  This will depend on your grill.  To bake, add to a lined baking sheet and bake at 375F for 10 minutes per side.
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The burgers were satisfying, substantial and juicy.  I'm super happy I added the feta.  All those little pops of tangy cheese were just perfect! 
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