Sunday, January 17, 2010

Refried Beans...homemade vs canned...

After reading Mr. H's many posts on beans...
(He currently grows 10,005 varieties at last count)
I decided that I (we)...need to be eating more beans...
you know...beans, beans the magical fruit...

For 1 thing... beans are not a processed food...
so that in itself was a great excuse to explore the exciting world of legumes.
I'm still fairly new in my journey with the "magical fruit"
but so far so good... I think I'm off to a great start.

(FYI: I have yet to invest in glade air fresheners)

Last week it was Lima Beans...


This week... I'm movin' on up...to the world of Pinto Beans...


Earlier in the week I made homemade chili...
as in... I soaked pinto beans...added 2 quarts of tomato sauce... chili powder and a few left over sausages and voila...homemade chili ala Mavis...

And over the course of the last two days...
are you ready???
This is exciting indeed...
I made...

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Homemade Refried Beans

But you know me...

I couldn't just make beans...

I had to make it fun...

So I decided to do a side by side... or bean by bean comparison.

I decided to give little Miss Rosarita a run for her money.


I followed Camille's recipe to a "T" up until the last part.

Instead of cooking them on the stove top I tossed them into the crock pot and let them cook overnight...


And the next morning I used the blender to puree them.




Holy crackers... these look like real refried beans... you know...like the ones they serve down at the Mexican restaurant. They look nothing like Rosarita's thick pastey beans... no sir reee. These homemade beans looked de-lish...


So... after stuffing Rosarita's pitiful beans into a dish...
I stashed the beans in the frig until dinner time...



Then I set out both bean dishes onto the table and let everyone serve themselves...
Let's just say... the homemade beans were the winner by far...
And after tasting/eating real refried beans... I won't be buying anymore canned products from Little Miss Rosarita again.

Yipee Ya Who... yet another thing I have learned to make from scratch...

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Sorry Rosarita...but the tribe has spoken.

11 comments:

  1. A recipe for you: in a baking dish spread a layer of cream cheese, then a layer of refried beans, then a layer of sour cream, a layer of salsa, and finish with a layer of grated cheese. Bake till bubbly. Serve with chips, guacamole, black olives, etc.

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  2. MamaJJ...yummmm! I have to make that with my leftover beans. Thanks!

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  3. Here's another one for you...there seem to be a number of recipes circulating for Black Bean Brownies (101 Cookbooks, Allrecipes.com, etc.). I've been thinking about giving them a go, but I'm not sure I'm brave enough. You, my dear, have what it takes:-).

    I also have a great recipe for Black Bean Pie (savory this time, not sweet) that a friend gave me. If you want that one, let me know:-).

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  4. Thyhand... hmmm the secret bean brownies could be a fun experiment... I think the key would be not telling them what's in the brownie until they have consumed it... interesting...very interesting.

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  5. That's 10,006 varieties, I did not wish to bore everyone with them all.:) Your beans look fabulous, Rosarita did not stand a chance. You can combat the "magic" by adding the herbs savory or epazote to your potion, both should grow great in your area.

    As to black bean desert recipes you must try black bean cake sometime. We did and it was unbelievably good, I promise it does not taste healthy at all. Our recipe was procured from -

    http://accidentalhuswife.blogspot.com/search?q=black+bean+cake

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  6. Mr. H... 10,006...wow...impressive :)

    I checked out the recipe... and I have every ingredient... Looks like I'll be making bean cake for dessert this week... I can't wait! I'll keep you posted.

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  7. Oh Mavis ~ I'm so relieved! ;-) I have to admit I wasn't sure how this post was going to turn out ~ I'm so happy your family enjoyed them! FYI ~ They freeze well, it looks like you made alot! AND...that was sweet of you to link back to me ~ thanks! :)

    Have a great day!
    Camille

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  8. Camille...They are sooo good. No need to freeze... I am eating beans and rice for breakfast and lunch today...I cannot get enough of them.

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  9. Another fun post. Thanks! I think I'm having beans for lunch.

    I bottle all my beans then when it comes time to use beans I just run down to my food storage and grab a bottle. Very easy to bottle.

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  10. Good for you making the beans. They look delish for sure. I'll have to go give Camille a little visit for her secret recipe.

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  11. Mrs. Mac... I had been looking for a refried bean recipe for awhile... and I like Camille's because it was simple to make and included butter instead of fat :)

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