Black Bean Burgers with Mango Salsa

This is a recipe I actually made for Kevin and I one night but gave Caeden a few bites and he loved it! so... perfect family recipe! The ingredients below are for 6 servings. You might not need that much. The burgers ARE freezable. Here it is:

2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, divided
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 medium jalapeno pepper, finely chopped (you can obviously leave this out. I don't and Caeden is fine with it.)
2 large egg whites (be careful for young babies who haven't had egg whites yet)
1 and 1/4 cup peeled mango
3 tablespoons chopped shallots
1 and 1/2 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1 avocado, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
6 whole wheat hamburger buns, lightly toasted
6 green lettuce leaves

- preheat oven to 350 degrees
- place black beans in a medium bowl; mash with fork. Stir in 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro and the next 7 ingredients (through egg whites).
- shape bean mixture into 6 (1/2 inch thick) patties.* Arrange patties on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray (I use olive oil in a sprayer). Bake for 20 minutes, carefully turning once.*
- combine remaining 1/4 cup cilantro, mango, and the next 4 ingredients (through minced garlic) in a medium bowl.

* Since you can freeze the burger mixture (either before or after you cook) you can really make them any size you need. I make them smaller ("baby size"). You just need to watch the cooking time. I take mine out after around 17 minutes. To freeze the burgers before cooking you'll need waxed paper cut into 5 inch squares. Just layer paper and burger, stacking them on top of each other, and then place in a freezer bag. You might want to stack them even if they are cooked because the consistency is a little mushy.

Soooo..... for the adults.... you just place a burger on the bottom of a hamburger bun, and then top each with 1 lettuce leaf, 1/3 cup mango salsa, and the top half of the bun. For the babes... I serve the burger (cut up into the appropriate size pieces for your baby) and then the salsa on the side. Both are great "finger foods".

Don't be intimidated by the length of this recipe. They're actually super easy to make and quite yummy!