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 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).