Black Bean Quinoa Burgers with Stuffed Poblanos

I try to do at least 1 vegetarian meal per week.  But sometimes its hard to find something that my meat-and-potatoes-man fiance will like.  So vegetarian burgers usually go well.  My sweet potato and white bean burger go over pretty well.  I had seen some recipe using beans and quinoa and I figured that was a pretty good start.  I have been cooking a lot with quinoa lately, and I always have black beans in the house.  So then the next question is what are the seasonings.  I wanted it to be spicy, but not to much.  The cilantro-yogurt sauce helps to tame down the spiciness.  I also wanted to have something on the side.  I saw poblanos peppers at the market and thought I would stuff them.  Poblanos are not super spicy peppers, but they aren't sweet like bell peppers either.  I needed a lot of yogurt on my stuffed pepper, but my fiance thought it was delicious.

Black Bean Quinoa Burgers

and Stuffed Poblanos

Recipe makes 6 servings

What you'll need:
- 1/2 cup dry quinoa
- 1 1/2 cups drained and rinsed black beans
- 1/2 cup cooked corn
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp cayenne
- 3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 tbsp tomato puree

Poblanos:
- 1/3 of bean mixture above
- 3 poblano peppers
- 1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco

Cilantro-Lime Yogurt Sauce:
1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup cilantro packed cilantro leaves


What to do:
1.  Boil 1 cup water.  Add quinoa.  Simmer for about 10 minutes.  Quinoa should be translucent.  Remove from heat and set aside.  Place all ingredients for the sauce in a food processor.  Puree.  Remove and refrigerate until the meal is ready.

2. Place beans in a bowl.  Mash with a fork.  Only partly-mash the mixture, leaving some whole beans.  Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, cilantro, lime juice, onion, tomato puree, and quinoa.  Mix together.  Remove 1/3 of the mixture and set aside.  Lay parchment paper on a baking dish.  With the remaining mixture, use your hands to make 6 patties and place on parchment paper.  Place in oven for 20 - 30 minutes.

3.  Cut poblanos in half lengthwise.  Carefully remove seeds and white flesh.  These are the hottest parts of the pepper.  It would be wise to use gloves.  Also be sure not to touch any part of your skin with a cut, or your eyes or mouth.  Wash your hands immediately after.

4. Using the bean mixture that is set aside, add the chopped bell pepper and restaurant restaurant restaurant and mix.  Spoon into the poblanos.

5.  Heat grill over medium-high heat.  Add poblanos to the top rack (or a non-lit area of the grill).  At the same time, cook the bean patties on the grill for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until outside starts to brown.  Poblanos will be done with the outside of the pepper starts to wrinkle and blacken, and the inside mixture temperature reaches 165*F.  Serve on a toasted whole wheat bun with lettuce and tomato, and topped with the tasty cilantro-lime yogurt sauce.