Monday, March 30, 2009

Homemaker Monday: Dried Pinto Beans to "Refried" Beans in 5 Minutes!

Welcome to...


Thank you for joining us! If you're new to this carnival and would like to enter your post, please check HERE for the rules and regs. (By the way, if you have been featured on Homemaker Monday in the past, your name is on my left sidebar. Check it out!)

YOURS: This week's "YOURS" goes to Dusty over at To the Moon and Back. As most of you know, I'm a HUGE fan of whole wheat recipes, being that I'm mormon and have, literally, half a ton of wheat in storage, as we are counseled to store a year's supply of food for our families. Really, there's half a ton. I'm not joking. Sooooo....when I came across Dusty's post on soft whole wheat pretzels, I HAD to choose her for the the "YOURS" feature because I've actually been looking for a good pretzel recipe like this for a long time. If everything goes as planned, here's what you're going to get if you follow her recipe...


Thank you so much, Dusty, for your awesome addition to Homemaker Monday! For Dusty's entire post, click HERE!

MINE: Today I would like to share a recipe with you that can come in handy if you are in a pinch. Have you ever been in need of refried beans in the case of an emergency, but didn't have time to soak the dried pinto beans, cook them for several hours, and smash them? Let me share my solution here with you today. Recently I was introduced by a dear friend to a book called...


This is an amazing book! You can't imagine the ways one can use beans! They can be ground up into flour to use as soup or sauce bases, as a healthy substitute for white flour, or, as I am about to show you, as an instant "refried" beans mix to have on hand.

Now the honest report on this recipe is this: The texture, color and taste of these "refried" beans was a little off (I ate them with tortilla chips), but they would make a great ingredient if you came across a recipe calling for mashed or refried beans. That being said, the nine-year-old boy chowed down on a whole bowl of chips with these beans right before bed and LOVED them! And he's my pickiest eater, so go figure! I plan on giving the leftovers to the babies later today (they won't know the difference), so these have definitely come in handy over the last 12 hours. This is fun to try, so if you'd like to, here's the recipe!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup pinto or black bean flour (ground in a grain grinder)
1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 t instant minced onions (optional)

Directions to make the mix:
In a bowl, combine all ingredients with a whisk. Now your mix is finished. You can store it in an airtight container until your refried bean emergency arises. Here's what it looks like...


To make the instant "refried" beans:
Whisk 3/4 cup of instant "refried" bean mix with 2 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then cook on medium heat for two more minutes or until mixture is thickened, stirring constantly. If there are lumps, don't worry, it just adds to the character of the beans.


Eat with chips, mix with salsa or guacamole or add to any of your favorite recipes calling for refried beans. If you try this let me know what you think!

OURS: All righty then, let's see what all of you homemakers have for us today! Thanks so much for visiting or linking up and I hope you have a wonderful Homemaker Monday!



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8 comments:

CompleteLee Blogger said...

Something I recently learned from experience on grinding legumes...don't try chickpeas in the wheat grinder. It doesn't work. They clog it up. Needless to say, I never tried that recipe that included chickpea flour!

Bobbi Jo Nichols said...

This is a great thing to know. I am trying to incorporate more beans into my families diet.
Thank you for sharing and for hosting this every Monday. You are an inspiration to us all. Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Sarah J. said...

What a great tip! Yes, beans can cause anxiety with all the time you have to put in. That's a great idea!

Tara said...

No one in my house likes beans...can you believe that?? I haven't done Homemaker Monday in sooo long I can't wait to see what everyone else has....

Homegrown Family said...

I have made this. I got the recipe from Budget101. Your right is does have an off flavor but works in a pinch.
Erika @ Homegrown Family

Dianna said...

That's really interesting. I would have never thought to do refried beans that way.

Rhonda said...

I'm actually teaching a class on what to do with pinto beans this month. I'm gathering ideas so if you have any others let me know.

I made my first batch of refried beans last week and it was DELISH! Even leaving butter, lard, and grease outta the mix it was great. Ok I threw some cheese in but still. yum

Carla said...

both of these look great, the bean book is on my 'gotta get' list:)