Brown Rice and Black Bean Burgers

2 cups cooked brown rice (I usually have a stash frozen)
1 can (15 oz.) black beans
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cloves minced garlic
1/3 cup finely-chopped onion (about one small onion)
handful of chopped cilantro
1/3 TBS minced jalapeno or green chilies (canned is fine)
1/4 cup salsa
1 egg
1 cup bread crumbs (or ~1/2 cup whole wheat flour)

Mix well. Add more bread crumbs or flour if the patties are not shapeable. I've never been able to get them a great consistency for shaping, no matter how much flour/crumbs I add, so I cook them in one of two ways:

Easiest--pretend you're making huge cookies and spoon the mixture onto a greased cookie sheet. Shape them a little once they are spooned on and cook at 375 for 7-10 minutes per side (it is a little bit of a pain to flip them halfway). I usually add a slice of cheese for the last couple of minutes.

Easy but more time-consuming--heat about two TBS. olive oil in a skillet and fry the burgers on medium heat for 3-4 minutes per side, adding cheese at the end.

I serve these on a bun with spinach, guacamole (or just sliced avocado), and red onion. Miles likes his with ketchup and mayonnaise. We've also added hummus. They're also great without a bun.

Note, this is a combination of a couple of recipes. You can really play with it. I've added lentils, when I didn't have enough black beans, I've used great northern beans when I don't have black beans, I've also added a tsp. or so of red chili paste. You just can't go wrong with rice and beans!