Jam jar cocktails and other scrappy cooking recipes and techniques to try this summer

When it comes to making easy summery dishes with quick ways to sneak in more plants and nutrients -- while also reducing food waste -- there's one creator and cookbook author known for her scrappy cooking who can.

Carleigh Bodrug, a plant-based recipe developer and sustainable cooking content creator, has regularly reeled in millions of views on her social media channels with her advice on how to use up things most home cooks would typically discard such as carrot or strawberry tops, date pits and more.

Her cookbook, "PlantYou: Scrappy Cooking: 140+ Plant-Based Zero-Waste Recipes That Are Good for You, Your Wallet, and the Planet," takes a page from her hit digital content series and Bodrug joined "Good Morning America" on July 4 to help liven up any plant-based food plans for the patriotic holiday.

Check out her full recipes below.

Black Bean Burgers

Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4-5 burgers

Ingredients

3/4 cup canned black beans, drained, rinsed and dried with a paper towel or clean cloth

1 clove garlic

3/4 cup cooked brown rice

1/2 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped

1 chipotle pepper from a can of chipotles in adobo

1 tablespoon adobo sauce

1/4 cup rolled oats

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoons paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil, for cooking

4 whole grain burger buns

Burger toppings of choice: Thinly sliced lettuce, vegan cheese, red onion, ketchup, mustard, sprouts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment or a reusable silicone baking sheet.

In a food processor, combine all ingredients, except for the buns and toppings, and process into a thick moldable consistency.

Using your hands, form four to five thin burger patties, just thicker than an oatmeal cookie. Place on the parchment lined baking sheet, and spray with oil, if desired.

Bake for 10 minutes, then flip the patties, and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until cooked through.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before eating. Enjoy in a whole wheat bun with your favorite burger toppings.

Carleigh's Tips

- The key to a great veggie burger is texture. Don’t over process the mix until mushy. You want to keep it moldable to create the perfect bite!

- Try swapping the black beans for chickpeas or kidney beans for a different flare or to use up whatever you have in your pantry.

- Have fun with the toppings for your 4th cookout: Pickled jalepenos, a creamy cashew mayo and sprouts can elevate your burger experience.

Jam Jar Cocktails

Time: 5 Minutes

Serves 1

Ingredients

To an almost empty strawberry jam jar, just add:

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 oz tequila or non-alcoholic spirit

1/4 cup grapefruit juice (orange juice if using a marmalade jar)

1 cup ice

1/2 cup sparkling water

Directions

Add the lime juice, tequila, grapefruit juice and ice to your jar.

Add the lid back on, and shake vigorously. Unscrew the lid and finish with sparkling water, as desired. If you don’t have an almost empty jam jar kicking around, you can also add 1 to 2 tablespoons of jam or marmalade to a glass.

Carleigh's Tips

- If you don’t have an almost empty jam jar, you can replace it with just 1 tablespoon of jam in a shaker cup!

- These mocktails work great with just about any jam. Think apricot, blueberry, raspberry and more. Sky is the limit.

- This is a great recipe to upcycle your jars. Make sure to keep them afterward to make more mocktails in the future.

Red, White and Blue Cobbler

Serves: 6 to 8

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

5 cups mixed berries (I use strawberries, raspberries and blueberries)

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 lemon, juiced

2 tablespoons cornstarch

For the drop dumplings: 1 cup cornmeal

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1 cup + 1 tablespoon canned full-fat coconut milk

For serving : Vegan ice cream or whipped cream

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, add the mixed berries, sugar, vanilla, lemon and cornstarch. Stir, and set aside.

In a separate bowl, add the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, and stir. Add the coconut milk and apple cider vinegar, and stir until a thick dough is formed.

Transfer the berry mixture into a 9x13 casserole dish. Drop pieces of the dough onto the berry mixture, around 2 tablespoons at a time, about 1 inch apart.

Bake for 45 minutes, uncovered, until the berries are bubbling and the dough is golden. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 20 minutes before serving with vegan ice cream or whipped cream, as desired.

Carleigh's Tips

- The drop cornmeal dumplings for this recipe can be used for sweet or savory recipes. Try them with a delicious savory pot pie!

- Try it with any seasonal fruit you have on hand. You can also use peaches, apples or blackberries instead.

- Serve with your favorite vegan vanilla ice cream or whipped cream

Excerpted from PlantYou: Scrappy Cooking: 140+ Plant-Based Zero-Waste Recipes That Are Good for You, Your Wallet, and the Planet by Carleigh Bodrug. Copyright © 2024. Available from Hachette Go, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

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