The Night I Tried to Trick a Carnivore...

This week I am visiting my family! I'm back in "The Cities" as the "Cloud Folk" would say. My mother has been dealing with a pipe that leaked all over her basement. She's going to have to redo a lot of it but luckily, it'll be covered (mostly) by insurance. I snapped a couple photos of the basement and as it progresses I'll post them.

Anyway, because they've (my mom and brother) been busy dealing with the pipe leak and working full-time jobs, they haven't been cooking much. So I decided to make dinner for them tonight. I really wanted to try this Spicy Black Bean Burgers with Chipotle Mayonnaise. My brother is a carnivore. I knew he wouldn't be thrilled at the idea of a burger without the meat... so I didn't tell him. :-)

They smelled really yummy!

The burger, bun, avocado, and mayo were about 9 points, depending on the bun you buy. I served them with chips (3 WW points for 15 chips) and pineapple for dessert! It was a very filling and tasty meal.

I think if I make it again, I'll try serving it with homemade ketchup with grilled potatoes as well. (Man! I'm addicted to the blog these recipes came from!) I asked my brother what he thought about the "burgers" and he informed me that if I ever make a traditional meal that is supposed to have meat in it... it better have meat in it. He said it wasn't bad, but he wouldn't ask for it again. My mom and I actually liked it. I thought it was a nice meatless meal and I will remember this for lent!

The saving grace, I was told by my brother, was the bran muffins I made today. He LOVES them. This is a kid that puts MORE sugar in Kool-aid. And he likes bran muffins!? My mom made these for us when we were kids and they were always a favorite.

It's from a book called, Feed Me I'm Yours by Vicki Lansky.

Ready Bran Muffins
Makes about 5 dozen muffins -- 3 WW points!
This makes several quart jars of batter, so make sure you have a HUGE bowl or cut the ingredients in half. These freeze very well.

Pour 2 cups boiling water over 2 cups bran cereal. Set aside.

Cream 1 cup butter with 2 cups sugar.
Add 4 eggs beaten and 1 quart (4 cups) buttermilk.
Add the above bran/water mix to that.

Fold in 5 cups flour, 5 tsp. of soda, and 4 cups bran cereal.

To bake, preheat oven to 375 and fill greased muffin tins 3/4 full and bake for 20-25 minutes.