Frugal Ways To Cook & Bake With Beans.

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Beans are frugal to purchase. If you watch for sales, you should be able to purchase a bag of 4 pound for .99. Even if they are not on sale, they are inexpensive. Many think that pinto beans are only good for cooking but that could not be farther from the truth. There are so many recipes and they are good. Did you know that you can grind uncooked dry beans into a fine flour with a wheat grinder? Well, you can and it is so easy. The ground bean flour can be added to boiling water and it thickens in less than 5 minutes. Bean Flour added to baked goods increase vitamins and minerals. It is a great source of complete protein. Why not add it to your next meat loaf or soup? The following recipe is a great way to use your bean flour. Quick & Easy Burritos 1/ 4 cup black bean flour 1/ 4 cup pinto bean flour 1/ 4 cup kidney bean flour 1/ 2 teaspoon cumin 1/ 2 teaspoon chili powder 2 and 1/2 cup warm water 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup picante sauce Whisk dry ingredients into warm water in a med saucepan. Bring to boil over medium high heat. Stir until mixture boils, then reduce heat and cover pan. Cook an additional 4 min, stirring once. Remove from heat. Add Picante Sauce. Spoon into tortillas And eat as burritos. Beans can also be used in recipes after they are cooked like the recipe below. No doubt, you have eaten bean dip, but did you know how easy it is to make homemade bean dip? Pinto Bean Dip 1/2 medium onion minced 1/2 teaspoon cumin 1 Tablespoon beef bouillon 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup picante sauce (spelling?) 2 cups cooked mashed beans Mix all the above ingredients and heat thoroughly. Add 1 cup of grated cheese if you like. I do add the cheese but have also made it without cheese. Top with chopped green onion and tomatoes if desired Serve hot Of course everyone had heard of refried beans and you may have even made them. This is a great recipe for refried beans. I always make extra beans when I am cooking a pot, so I can make these refried beans. Refried Beans 1 LB cooked pinto beans 1/4 cup ground cumin 3 Tablespoon onion powder Salt and pepper to taste 1/2 cup olive oil Cook beans till tender. Drain beans but save the water. Cool. Using a blender, blend beans using enough of the drained water to make it the consistency you want. Set beans aside in a bowl until all the beans have blended. Stir in the other ingredients except the olive oil. Using a large cast iron skillet, heat olive oil. Add bean mixture to oil and simmer fro 3 minutes, stirring constantly so they don’t burn. Note they will burn quickly. You can add other ingredients to taste. Note: I use my kitchen aid mixer to blend and mash my beans. It works great. I sometimes add chopped green peppers or hot peppers. Now for the kicker recipe. You are never going to believe this but it is so good and nobody will know it had beans in it. I PROMISE. Bean Fudge 1 cup soft cooked pinto beans 1/4 cup milk 1 tablespoon vanilla 6 oz unsweetened chocolate 6 Tablespoons butter 2 LB powdered sugar Nuts (optional but everyone seems to love nuts in it) In a large bowl stir beans and milk together, adding only enough milk to resemble mashed potatoes in consistency , stir in vanilla. Melt chocolate and butter , stir into bean mixture (no need to cool) Gradually stir in powdered sugar a little at a time. Knead with hands to get it well blended. Spread into lightly buttered 9 inch baking dish. Chill 1 -2 hours and cut. Yummy Now you are on your way cooking with beans. Did you know you can make a Mock pecan pie that taste just like the real thing? Again you will be using beans.. That for another discussion. Are you interested?