Homemade Refried Beans

This past summer we needed good, healthy meals that wouldn't require us to turn on the oven. We also needed quick lunches. We had a big box of canned beans in food storage, and what ended up happening was a beautiful thing. I was looking through recipes one night and came across a basic refried bean recipe. I thought, "Hmmmm, we can do that." The next day I tried it.

They turned out pretty good, but some tweaking needed to happen. It got better with time, and pretty soon we were trying different kinds of beans for fun. One day I even threw a bag of lentils in the crock pot with the same recipe and we had Lentil Tacos. They were fantastic! 

The idea behind this is to make a huge batch and use it through the week for lunches, or quick dinners. Tacos, burritoes or enchiladas are all fast and easy to assemble. You can even freeze this stuff and pull it out for recipes. It's much better than canned, in my opinion! Our favorite so far has been the black beans.

1/2-1 c. onion

 3-6 cloves of garlic, minced

1-2 T. olive oil or butter

4 oz. can diced green chilies

4 - 15 oz. cans of beans, drained slightly or 1 lb. dried beans (2 cups), soaked overnight

1/4 t. cumin

3/4 t. black pepper

1-2 c. chicken broth or water

Salt to taste (add this last as the chicken broth is salty)

Skillet Version:

Saute onion & garlic in oil until tender. Add chilies, beans and seasonings. Let cook down, adding broth or water as needed. Stir and mash until desired consistency is reached. Taste-test and add salt if needed.

Crock Pot Version:

Dried Beans: Add 6 cups of water (or 3 cups broth/3cups water for more flavor) to a crock pot. Add 2 cups of dried beans- no need to pre-soak for crock pot cooking. 

Canned Beans: Add 2 cups water (or 1 cup broth/1 cup water for more flavor) to the crock pot. Add 4 cans slightly drained beans.

Add the rest of ingredients, minus the salt. Omit oil/butter if desired. Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until beans are soft. Mash up the beans with a potato masher, draining off excess liquid if necessary. Taste-test and add salt if needed.

Shepherd's Pie

A fall/winter favorite at our house is Shepherd's Pie. Good comfort food that is easy to tweak to your own tastes. I'm including a couple of sauce variations you can try. This can also be done in the crock pot when you need to eat in a hurry, just layer the ingredients and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

3/4-1 lb. ground beef

1 T. olive oil

1/2 c. chopped onion

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

2 c. grated cheese ( I use 1/2 c. sharp cheddar)

12-16 oz. frozen veggies ( we've tried green beans, mixed veggies, peas, and corn- the favorite is the bag of organic mixed veggies from Costco)

1 - 10 oz. can tomato soup

6 small potatoes, mashed with some of the cooking water

1/2 cup milk

1 t. salt

Start by chopping potatoes and putting them on to boil. In a skillet, brown beef in the oil. Add onion , salt and pepper. Saute until onion is tender. Transfer to a 9x13 baking dish (this is what the recipe calls for, but I have found it fits nicely in an 8x8 square dish). Top meat mixture with frozen veggies. Pour tomato soup over top. Drain potatoes, reserving some liquid, mash. Add milk and salt, spread over soup. Top with cheese.

If you must use instant potatoes, get the potato pearls from the Church cannery. They are excellent.

Sauce variations: 

Brown the beef with 2 T. Worcestershire sauce, 2 T. ketchup, and 3/4 c. of beef broth. Top with veggies and potatoes. Omit the tomato soup.

Brown the beef with 2 T. Worcestershire sauce. Add a packet of brown gravy mix to 1 cup water, stir into browned beef. Omit the tomato soup.

Enjoy!

Mexican Lasagna (Refried Bean Casserole)

Mexican Lasagna

(Refried Bean Casserole)

This layered dinner of awesomeness is similar to lasagna, except with Mexican ingredients. Or if you are boring you can just call it Refried Bean Casserole. This is the easiest recipe I have ever done. And there's a lot of room for your own spin on it.

1-2 cans refried beans

1 can corn

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can pinto beans

cheese

salsa

tortillas

These are only some ingredient suggestions. Others are welcome!

Each ingredient size is approximate and depends on what or how much you want in your lasagna. This will serve around 4-6 people.

1. Layer ingredients as desired in pan (I recommend starting with a tortilla on the very bottom). In case this seems too vague, you put the tortilla in the bottom, add two or three ingredients spread lightly over the top, then another tortilla. Add 2 or 3 other ingredients lightly spread out. Add another tortilla. 2-3 more ingredients. Etc. Continue until it is at desired height. (I recommend ending with a tortilla and sprinkling with cheese. It's crunchy!)

2. Cook at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes (or until it is warm all the way through).

3. Tastes excellent served with lettuce and sour cream.

4. Easy as that!

Egg-Stuffed Zucchini

Egg-Stuffed Zucchini
We found this delicious quick recipe from Nathan's mission president's cookbook we got as a gift. It has quickly become a favorite. Easy and tasty!

4 medium zucchini

1 large tomato

3 beaten eggs

dash of pepper

1/2 C water

2 T butter

1/4 t salt

1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

Serves 4

1. Half the zucchini lengthwise and scoop out the pulp. Chop up the pulp.

2. Place the zucchini shells cut side down in a large skillet. Add water and simmer covered until tender (approx. 5-6 minutes)

3. Drain and turn cut side up.

4. Meanwhile, cook pulp and tomato in butter until tender (3ish minutes)

5. Add eggs, salt, and pepper.

6. Cook mixture until done.

7. Spoon mixture into zucchini shells and top with cheese.

8. Cover and heat until cheese melts.

9. Eat it!

Dad's Favorite Split Pea Soup

by Dad

I always make this in a slow cooker but the recipe wasn't originally set up that way.  Works good either way.

2 1/4 cups dry green split peas (1 pound).

8 cups cold water

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1 meaty ham bone

1 medium onion - chopped

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried crushed marjoram

2 medium carrots (or more) chopped

2 stalks celery (or more) chopped.

Rinse the split peas.  In a large pot or slow cooker combine peas, water, bouillon cubes, onion, ham bone, pepper and marjoram.

In a pot:  Bring to a boil, reduce heat.  Cover; simmer for 1 hour.  Stir occasionally.  Remove ham bone;  when cool enough to handle, cut off meat and coarsely chop.  Discard bone.  Return meat to soup.  Stir in carrots and celery.  Cover; simmer 30-60 minutes more

Slow Cooker:  Put first seven ingredients in slow cooker.  Cook on low 8 hours or on high 4.  After 5 or 6 hours on low or 3 hours on high, remove bone, chop meat and return, adding carrots and celery.  Cook until vegetables are done and the peas have mostly dissolved.

Old Family Favorite Pancake Recipe

 Thick, Hearty, Golden-brown Pancakes

by Dad

This is the old favorite Better Homes & Gardens pancake recipe that we always made.  Can be easily doubled or tripled, if needed.  I used this on my mission and was famous throughout the mission for pancakes.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 beaten egg

1 cup milk

1 Tablespoon cooking oil

Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Combine beaten egg, milk and oil.  Add all at once to flour mixture, stirring until blended but still slightly lumpy.  Pour about 1/4 to 1/2 cup batter onto a hot, lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet.  Cook until golden brown, turning to cook other side when pancakes have a bubbly surface and slightly dry edges.

Woods Best Hamburgers

Here is the recipe for the best hamburgers I have ever eaten, hands down. Much better than anything I could order. The only thing that would make them better is if we owned a grill.... hmm.

Here are your ingredients:

2 lbs. ground beef

1 egg, beaten

3/4 c. dry bread crumbs (or 1 1/2 c. soft)

3 T. evaporated milk

2 T. Worcestershire sauce

1/8 t. cayenne pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 4 oz. can diced green chiles (optional)
1/2 lb. cooked bacon, crumbled (optional)

Mix ingredients in a large mixing bowl with hands (or if you just can't bear to do that, use a potato masher. That's what I do! :)). Shape into 8-10 patties and grill over high heat for 5 minutes per side, or until desired level of done-ness. Sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste. Top with slices of cheese, if you like.

Our favorite condiments and veggie selections:

A-1 Sauce
Ketchup & Mustard
Sauteed Mushrooms
Lettuce
Pickles
Tomatoes (fresh from the garden or farmer's market, if possible!)
Red Onions
Homemade Guacamole (I'll include our recipe in another post)

As a side note, to give credit: This recipe has been adapted from the Juciest Hamburgers Ever recipe on Allrecipes.com.