Weekend cooking: veggie burgers, rice, hummus

This weekend we experimented with three new recipes. I love finding recipes online, but almost never follow the exact cooking instructions - either because I do not have all ingredients or because I believe that the recipe could be healthier with substitutions.

Almost "hummus"
Today my daughter and I made some hummus for the coming workweek. Despite the fact that we did not have tahini (sesami paste),  the result was amazingly delicious, so we decided to share the recipe.

We used two cans of garbanzo beans (15 oz), the juice of one lemon, three cloves garlic, salt to taste, and olive oil (approximately 5-6 Tbsp). Everything was blended in a food processor, but I had difficulty with this step. After preparing the spread, I read a few recipes online and found out that I should have reserved the liquid from the beans and use it to ease the blending. Oh, well - next time I will know, but I am not eating store-bought hummus anymore.

Veggie burgers
I also prepared veggie burgers (with a recipe from Internet). The recipe calls for 1 green bell pepper, 1 medium onion and a few cloves of garlic. All of these vegetables are blended in a food processor and mixed with 2 cans of mashed black beans (14-15 oz), 2 cups of bread crumbs, 2 eggs (beaten), salt, 2 Tbsp of dry summer savory, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. I prepared the mixture the day before, and kept it in the refrigerator prior to baking the patties on oiled cookie sheets at 375 F (20-25 minutes on each side). The material was sufficient to form 14 big patties.  If the mixture is too liquid-y, add more bread crumbs. Also, you can add any spices of preference. The online recipe recommended cumin, chilli powder and hot sauce. I used summer savory, as this herb goes usually in meat dishes and it alleviates flatulence (therefore, it is great when coupled with beans). 

Rice with red peppers
I love the taste of stuffed peppers; however, the hands-on work is way too much and the fresh peppers are usually expensive. So, I created a stove-top recipe that replicates the taste of peppers stuffed with rice, but it is faster to prepare. I used a jar of baked and peeled red peppers (from Sam's Club). First, I softened one big chopped onion in olive oil and water. Then I added the rice (1 cup), a can of tomatoes (peeled, chopped,15 oz), some water, and boiled the rice until almost ready. At the end, I added the chopped peppers, salt, hot pepper flakes, paprika, and peppermint. You can add as many peppers as you like, The Sam's jar is over 2 lb, and I used half of the jar.  A love this rice dish with a scoop of plain yogurt on the side.