Mix in some soaked bulgur for "bite" and use it as taco filling. Kids will eat just about anything they can choose their own toppings on, or build bean and cheese burritos and let the kids choose the sides.

Plain bean burgers were always a thin crust on the outside and nothing but mush inside. When I could tolerate wheat, I'd put in soaked bulgur, cashews or ground seitan to improve the texture. I'd also highly season them.

Another thing to bear in mind is that bean burgers need to be thinner than beef burgers or they don't cook all the way through and you not only get mush, you get cold mush.

I did make them too thick, but in the picture in the recipe book, that's how they were. I actually made them thinner, even, but they were still pretty big. I'd have never thought about putting grains or nuts in them...that's an idea for the future.

The seasonings in them are very compatible (cayenne, cumin, coriander, garlic & onion powder, salt & pepper) with burritos but it's so tasteless it could really go in anything. The burritos are a great idea though...I think making them into refried beans would work well. It's kind of funny, because I was planning on bean burritos and went and bought a can of refried beans, LOL. Guess I didn't need to!

because that little bit of sweet gives it all a meatier flavor. It helps with the texture, too.

I pretty much gave up on bean burgers, preferring to do loaves that could be sliced and used in sandwiches.

That's an ingredient I'd have never thought to add. I can see how it would help with the texture, but not too sure about if I'd like the sweetness (I have issues with mixing sweet and savory for some reason - I just recently started sometimes eating berries with salad and it still seems weird to me, LOL). I'll keep it in mind though. I'll try anything once. Thanks for your help!

I've been meaning to make a bean soup one of these days. Thanks!

or maybe something like this: (found on taste of home)
disclaimer I have not made this, just found it.)

Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef (90% lean)
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium beef broth
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 cup frozen corn
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2-1/2 cups uncooked spiral pasta
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Directions
In a large saucepan, cook beef, green pepper and onion over medium
heat 6-8 minutes or until meat is no longer pink, breaking up beef
into crumbles. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain.
Stir in tomatoes, broth, tomato sauce, corn, tomato paste, Italian
seasoning and pepper. Bring to a boil. Stir in pasta. Return to a
boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 10-12 minutes or until pasta is
tender. Sprinkle with cheese. Yield: 8 servings (2-3/4 quarts).
Nutritional Facts: 1-1/3 cups equals 280 calories,

I never thought of adding it to something like that. thanks!

something.

I haven't made my own cabbage rolls for years (there's a local company that makes them with basic, high quality ingredients) but the stuffed peppers sounds good.

that looks really yummy! Thanks for the recipe! I'll definitely try that one next time.

is trying to refry the beans. I cut it all up, mashed it and fried it. We had bean burritos. I was the only one who ate the beans with my burrito, the kids refused. *sigh* but I thought it tasted pretty good, although there was a strange taste that I couldn't place...it didn't taste like normal refried beans. Oh well. But since I was the only one that ate it, I had leftover leftovers, LOLOL. So, I made a bean dip last night, with nacho chips, fresh salsa, guacamole etc.

Even I was so totally sick of the beans by then that after a few bites, I just had nachos and salsa

I only used half the leftover container for the bean dip, so there's still some left. I think I may just chuck it and chalk it up to an experiment gone wrong. I don't think I've eaten so many beans in my life as I have this week Or maybe I'll freeze it and add it to chili at some other time....I hate wasting food.

Thank you all for the ideas! I'll keep them in mind for next time when I want to use beans (hopefully no more crappy bean burger left overs though, I'll just use actual beans!)

some pretty tasty tacos out of them. Or chili? Chili hits the spot no matter what meat or non-meat it is made out of. Layer it on a potato, and it's good, too!