Longest.  Title.  Ever.

Anyhoo, given that it’s still the beginning(-ish) of the year, and because my 30th birthday is rapidly approaching, I’m still on the “hey, let’s eat healthy!” bandwagon (even on weekends, which is sometimes mildly depressing).  This does not mean that I’m some kind of alien being who looooves cooking every night and never craves a pizza/cheeseburger/allthecandyintheland.

However, given that I’m doing my best to be a mindful eater, I’ve decided to take my cravings and make them work for me.  This means that when I’m craving pizza, I have it.  I’m not ringing up Round Table though, nay nay — I’m making pizza myself.  (Hello — homemade dough + you-pick-the-toppings = less calories and less guilt than the local pizzeria.  Right?  Right.)

With that in mind, I recently had a craving for a burger, which is weird, because I don’t usually crave burgers; but I was reading a blog I like, and the author had posted a recipe similar to this one and I decided that I had to make it.  I opted to make my version with a veggie patty (mostly because I have butternut squash coming out my ears these days, thanks to the CSA box), and decided to pair it with some oven fries to make the whole deal very “diner authentic.”

What, you don’t order the butternut and black bean veggie burger at your local burger joint?  Weird.

Either way — this recipe comes together in a pinch, and it’s perfect as a meal for 4 people.

And hey, if you want to make it vegan, cut out the bleu cheese and replace it with something vegan-y.  Yep, totally a word.

If you’re g-free, use a gluten free bun or wrap this up in lettuce, protein-style.  Get crazy.

Butternut and Black Bean Veggie Burger Patties

makes 4 patties

• 3 scallions, white and green parts cut in thirds
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup cooked butternut squash (I cubed mine and boiled it for about 20 minutes, then wrapped it in a paper towel and set it in the fridge til I was ready to make these)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup rice, cooked and cooled (I used brown jasmine rice)
• 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed (you could sub other beans in as well)
• 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 1/3 cups ground oats or flour of your choice (use gluten-free oats or flour if you’re making these g-free)
• additional olive oil for sauteing

1. In a food processor, combine scallions, garlic, squash and olive oil, then pulse to puree and mix.
2. Add spices, salt, rice, and half the black beans.  Pulse until just combined.
3. Add flaxseed and flour and pulse until just combined.
4. Add remaining black beans and pulse once or twice until just incorporated (you want these to be not fully pureed).
5. Store in fridge until ready to cook.
6. Divide mixture and form into 4 patties, and cook in a drizzle of olive oil over medium-high heat until crispy and warmed through (about 3 minutes per side).*

*You could probably cook these in the oven as well, like falafel.

Sweet & Spicy Slaw

• 1/2 large head green cabbage, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp Sriracha
• 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 lime

1. In a large skillet over low heat, add olive oil, cabbage, garlic, salt and pepper and sauté 1 minute.
2. Add chili powder, Sriracha, and sugar, and toss to combine over the heat, another minute.
3. Remove from heat, transfer into a bowl and squeeze lime juice over slaw and toss to combine.
4. Keep in fridge until ready to use.

Creamy Bleu Cheese

• Bleu cheese, crumbled
• Greek yogurt (I use Fage 2%)
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil

1. Combine bleu cheese with some yogurt, salt and pepper, mixing and mashing with a fork.  Add a little olive oil as needed to thin out the mix.*

*Obviously, this isn’t an exact recipe by any means, so just use your judgment here — the mixture should be pretty thick, so estimate using about equal amounts of bleu cheese and yogurt + a minimal amount of olive oil.

Oven Fries

• 2 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed clean and cut into sticks (you choose the size — the thinner they are, the quicker they’ll cook and crispier they’ll be)
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed clean and cut into sticks
• olive oil
• sea salt*
• paprika

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Place cut potatoes into a big bowl of water until you’re ready to cook.  (Soaking them ahead of time is necessary, but it doesn’t need to be a very long soak — even just 5-10 minutes should be sufficient.)
3. Remove potatoes from water and pat them dry them with a clean towel.
4. Place fries in a single layer on a baking sheet and coat with olive oil, salt and paprika, toss to combine.
5. Bake until crispy, tossing every 10 minutes.  (Cooking time will depend on the size of your fries — start with 20 minutes and go from there.)
6. When crispy and cooked through, remove from baking sheet and season with more salt as needed.

*I used Maldon flake salt for mine because I like a coarser salt on fries, but any type of sea salt would be good with these.