Having driven across the United States twice, I've gotten pretty good about making dinners in a hotel room, but this is perhaps the one I'm most proud of. Why? Well 1. because I made them in my hotel room (!!) but really because the whole meal cost less than $2 a person!
Who says you can't have a tasty homemade meal in a hotel room?
To make these burgers, all I had to buy was a can of organic black beans ($1.39) and a packet of taco seasoning ($0.93) from the grocery store around the corner. Admittedly, I would have liked an organic brand of Taco seasoning that didn't have weirdly dehydrated things in it, but when you're traveling... you make some compromises.
The other ingredients came from my hotel! I grabbed a handful of plain instant oats from the continental breakfast bar plus ketchup and mustard packets. If I wasn't a stickler for whole-wheat bread, we could have landed complimentary bread from the hotel too, but I used slices from a loaf earlier in the week.
To make the burgers, I mashed the beans with a fork to break them up and then mixed everything else in with my hands.
As for cooking, I used a microwave to warm the patties, about 30 seconds. Nearly every hotel I've stayed in has a microwave that is available to all guests (if one is not already in the room). I also find if the place offers a continental breakfast -- they have a communal toaster as well (if you wanted toasty bread like I did!)
YUM YUM.
