Please subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content!
MEET THE KROCKS: We are a married couple who started on a life-changing whole food, plant-based weight loss journey in June 2018. To date, we have lost over 290 pounds combined and we aren’t done yet! Read Our Story
Follow our Journey:
YOUTUBE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | TWITTER
In the midst of this global pandemic, most of us are currently stuck at home and trying to avoid any unnecessary trips to the grocery store. The good news is, if you are following a whole food plant based diet, there are TONS of shelf-stable pantry products that you can put together in endless combinations to create tasty meals.
Brian loves to get creative in the kitchen, so I thought it would be fun to issue him a little challenge. I filled up a “mystery box” with pantry staples and left him a little note:
Dear Brian,
Welcome to your mystery box! All of these items are “pantry staples”… the challenge is… cook us dinner using only these ingredients. Okay, you can also use some basic spices but NOTHING FANCY!
Peef & I will return later to judge.
Love,
Jessica
P.S. You have to incorporate everything in the box.
Of course he blew it out of the park and created a fantastic dish that I can’t wait to share with all of you!
The ingredients I chose for him were:
– Diced tomatoes (no salt added)
– Tomato sauce (no salt added)
– Sweet corn (no salt added)
– Black beans (no salt added)
– Green beans (no salt added)
– Old fashioned rolled oats
– Better Than Bouillon
– Yellow mustard
– Tomato paste
– Lime juice
– Minced garlic
– Nutritional yeast
Brian got super creative and made a really tasty black bean and corn patty, using the rolled oats to make oat flour to bind it together.
He combined the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste with some spices to create a delicious spicy tomato sauce.
For a nice punch of flavor on top, he whipped up a “cheesy” mustard corn sauce.
And of course, if you watched our Gas Station Challenge, you know that I love a good can of green beans 😂, so I HAD to include that in the basket. Brian paired those with lime juice and garlic for a nice simple side dish.
The meal reminded me of an open-face burger patty with the tomato sauce instead of ketchup and the cheesy corn sauce in place of cheese and mustard. He did an amazing job balancing out the flavors and this will definitely be a new recipe in our rotation!
Check out the video here and get the full recipe below.
Recipe: Black Bean & Corn Patties with Spicy Tomato Sauce, Cheesy Mustard Corn Sauce & Garlic Lime Green Beans
Ingredients
- For the Black Bean & Corn Patties:
- – 1 x 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed (no salt added if possible)
- – 3/4 cup canned corn, drained and rinsed (1/2 of a 15.25oz can; no salt added if possible)
- – 1 tsp lime juice
- – 1/2 tsp onion powder
- – Dash of black pepper
- – Dash of cayenne pepper
- – 1/4 tsp cumin
- – 4 Tbsp oat flour (you can make this by pulsing rolled oats in a high speed blender until it turns into a powder)
- – 1/2 tsp salt (optional)
- For the Spicy Tomato Sauce:
- – 1 x 14.5oz can diced tomatoes (no salt added if possible)
- – 1 x 8oz can tomato sauce (no salt added if possible)
- – 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- – 1 tsp minced garlic
- – 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- – Dash (or two) of cayenne pepper
- – 1/8 tsp onion powder
- – 1/4 tsp Better Than Bouillon (optional)
- For the Cheesy Mustard Corn Sauce:
- – 3/4 cup canned corn, drained and rinsed (1/2 of a 15.25oz can; no salt added if possible)
- – 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- – 2 Tbsp yellow mustard
- – Pinch of salt (optional)
- For the Garlic Lime Green Beans:
- – 1 x 14.5oz can green beans, drained (no salt added if possible)
- – 1 Tbsp lime juice
- – 1 Tbsp minced garlic
Directions
- Black Bean & Corn Patties:
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until it forms into a very sticky dough-like consistency, scraping down the sides as necessary.
- Carefully divide the mixture into two equal parts and place in a non-stick skillet on medium heat. It will be very sticky, so you may want to wet your hands and avoid handling it too much before putting it into the skillet. Don’t worry about forming it into perfect patties. It should be more ball-shaped and then you can flatten it after you flip it.
- Cook the patties for approx. 2 minutes on the first side, then flip and flatten out a bit. Continuing cooking for about 10 minutes total, flipping every few minutes, until both sides are golden brown.
- Remove from heat and set aside.
- Spicy Tomato Sauce:
- Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer on medium heat.
- Simmer partially covered (allowing steam to escape) for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Cheesy Mustard Corn Sauce:
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor.
- Process until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary.
- Garlic Lime Green Beans:
- Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer on medium heat.
- Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Top patties with tomato and corn sauces and enjoy with green beans on the side!
Makes 2 servings.
This challenge was really fun and I think we will definitely be doing more in the future! Who knows, maybe Brian will make me a mystery box to cook with 😂
So even if you are stuck inside, open up your pantry and see what creative combinations you can come up with. Who knows, maybe you’ll create your favorite new recipe!
Featured Products:
PLEASE NOTE: If you choose to purchase any products through these links, we receive a small commission from each sale at NO extra cost to you. All proceeds go back into making more content.
Check out our Amazon Page to see more of our favorite products!
Cuisinart CFP-9GMPCY Food Processor, 9-Cup, GunmetalGRANITESTONE 2148 Shallow Square Pan, Non-stick
365 Everyday Value, Black Beans, No Salt Added, 15oz
365 Everyday Value, Organic Cut Green Beans, No Salt Added, 14.5oz
Muir Glen, Organic Diced No Salt Added Tomatoes, 14.5oz
365 Everyday Value, Double Concentrated Tomato Paste, 5.3oz
Better Than Bouillon Organic Vegetable Base 16 Oz, Reduced Sodium
*Note: You can find this MUCH cheaper in stores like Whole Foods. Check the Better Than Bouillon website for local stores that sell it near you!
Pure Natural Non-Fortified Nutritional Yeast Flakes
OXO 1245380 Good Grips 4-Piece Mini Measuring Beaker Set