Test Kitchen Tuesday: Black Bean and Corn Croquettes

Happy Wednesday, Friends!

Today’s Test Kitchen Tuesday is particularly fitting to address a conversation 2Chili and I had with a friend the other day. We had gone to lunch, and afterwards, our friend asked about where we buy meat.

I just sort of looked at him for a bit, and then said something to the effect of “we don’t really buy meat.”

Our friend was sincerely shocked, and blurted out “then WHAT do you eat?!” I take this as a huge victory that we go out to eat regularly, and have hosted someone for dinner at our house multiple times, and he never noticed a lack of meat eating.

The truth is, I do eat meat from time to time – usually when we’re out to eat on vacation and there are really no other options. But, even though I eat a 90% veggie diet and 2Chili is served a 90% veggie diet, we are certainly not starving and we are certainly not out of things to eat.

Today’s Test Kitchen Tuesday is a great example of a meatless meal that is perfectly balanced, and was not lacking in taste or substance. I have been making TKT meals once a week for almost a year now, and I haven’t run out of things to try yet!

The purpose of this blog is not to preach vegetarianism in the slightest. I like to cook and I like to write – so the two go together well. Perhaps I can convince our friend that he doesn’t need meat in every meal – perhaps not – but I can say from experience that a flexitarian or even “Meatless Monday” route is not hard at all, and it can be fun to try new recipes that you never would have considered in the past.

black_bean_croquettes

Black Bean Croquettes with Homemade Salsa

Recipe Source: Eating Well

Time Required: 10 minutes prep; 20 minutes to bake

2Chili’s Taster Rating (out of 5): 4

He was so not into the idea of a “croquette” before this dinner was served. I think this is because he didn’t know that it was basically a baked blob of a bunch of things he likes. Overall, this was a hit!

The Cook’s Taster Rating (out of 5): 4.5

This was super easy, very tasty, and quite filling. I never underestimate the power of beans to fill me up. I put a side of sautéed asparagus and 9-grain rice with it for a side, which was really perfect. Sometimes “Bean burger” type items can have a hard time sticking together, but I didn’t have a single issue with these.

Nutrition Per serving of 2 croquettes:

405 calories; 12 g fat ( 2 g sat , 8 g mono ); 0 mg cholesterol; 61 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 16 g protein; 16 g fiber; 438 mg sodium; 621 mg potassium. Folate (81% daily value), Vitamin C (35% dv), Iron & Vitamin A (25% dv), Potassium (18% dv).

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