Black Bean Sloppy Joes

I made these last night and had the leftovers for lunch today. It tasted better today than it did yesterday. Then again, it could just be that my taste buds got used to the new set of flavors that I hadn't tasted before.

The recipe is from The McDougall Quick & Easy Cookbook. Here is the recipe as it is listed in the book, with my additions in parentheses


Ingredients
1 onion, chopped (I used red onion because it's all I had)
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/3 water (I used s little olive oil, too)
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1/4 cup quick-cooking oatmeal (I used quick steel cut oats)
1 T. soy sauce
1/2 T. prepared mustard
1 t. honey
1 t. chili powder
6 whole wheat buns (I used slider buns...they're cuter)
(I added salt, pepper, and tabasco)

1. Place the onion and bell pepper in a saucepan with the water (and oil, in my case). Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables soften, about 5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, mash the beans with a bean or potato masher--do not use a food processor.
3. Add the beans and remaining ingredients except the buns. Cook over low heat until heated through, about 5 minutes.
4. Serve on the buns with your choice of accompaniments, such as onions, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, mustard, and ketchup.

At first, I didn't like the sweetness of the original recipe, which is why I added the salt and pepper. I also used lettuce and grape tomatoes. But, once I bit into the first one, I realized that it was still missing something. So, I put some tabasco right onto the actual beans in the sandwhich, and viola! it was GOOD...well...it was better, LOL.

When I had the leftovers today, I also used the tabasco, but I noticed that the flavors had had more time to marry, and I enjoyed the sloppy joes a lot more.

I am definitely going to try this recipe again with a little more tweaking.

Here are a few pics: