another bean question

[halloweenfreak]

my family loves beans. besides refried beans, i really dont care for them. i know theyd love for me to fix them more often, but if i dont like it, im not fixing them often! help me like beans! what are some of the recipes you use and what dishes do you use them in?

[ladytoysdream]

I make a * 3 bean salad * recipe, but I tweaked it........


I use as many different kinds of beans as I can find, sometimes as many as 7 -9 different kinds. Especially if taking this dish to a big family meal.
Cans about 16 oz size, drain the juices, and mix together in a big bowl. Some fresh sliced up green peppers, some sweet onion slices, and a bottle of Italian dressing poured over them. Good to let it set a few hours or more before serving.
Never bothers me to bring any leftovers home, as I will have a bowl daily for lunch. I like beans

[thriftstorequeen]

We love beans here! I like to cook them in ham or chicken broth. Then we add fresh chopped onion and chow chow relish that we get at cracker barrel. We also like beans and rice. I just mix black, pinto or kindey beans in with some cooked rice and add alittle salsa. We like bean salad too. I make a sweet and sour dressing for mine. It's easy just equal parts of sugar, oil, vinegar and water. We love chili too! I often make that without any meat. I like to use all kinds of beans in that.

[Grainlady]

We like bean burgers as one of our non-meat meals - served on homemade multi-grain burger buns. I make up a couple recipes of them and keep them in the freezer for quick eats.

BEAN BURGERS
(source: Eat More, Weigh Less - by Dr. Dean Ornish

1/2 c. minced green onions (I also use chopped fresh chives)
1-1/2 T. minced garlic
2 T. white wine or vegetable stock
1 29-ounce can cooked drained pinto beans
3/4 c. cracker meal
2 egg whites (I use one whole egg.)
1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley
2 T. seasoned rice vinegar
1/2 t. SPIKE seasoning powder (I get this at our local health food store)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a small nonstick saute pan, braise the onions and garlic in the white wine until soft.

In a medium bowl, combine the sauteed onions and garlic, beans, cracker meal, egg whites, parsley, vinegar, and seasoning powder. Mash well with a fork or potato masher until blended but not entirely smoowh.

On parchment-lined nonstick baking sheet, drop the mixture by 1/2-cup amounts and flatten gently with a spoon to form six 5-inch "burgers." Bake for 25 minutes, or until set and beginning to brown lightly. Serve hot.

Note: I make smaller "burgers". Don't like super-sized food and 5" burgers, even made with beans, is just way too big!

[heartofmine]

My family loves bean cakes and they are simple to make. I take leftover pinto beans (you can use canned), diced onion, flour, and 1 egg and using my hand that is dusted with flour I mix it all up by hand and make into patties much as I would hamburger patties and then I fry them on both sides. I use to take them with me when I was working for lunch. Love them.

Another tip is to turn the pintos into chili with a roll of chili con carne or a packet of chili spice and a can of tomato sauce. You can add diced onion, crumbled fried hamburger or cooked diced chicken. For a festive and tasty look add corn, green peppers, a can of diced tomatoes along with your chili fixings.

Make Cowboy Beans...and there are many recipes for them. I like to keep it simple. My son absolutely loves these.

Ground beef, crumbled fried and drained
Pork and beans
Lima beans
Chili beans or pinto beans (add chili powder to the pintos)
Kidney beans
Diced onion
Ketchup
Mustard
Barbecue sauce
A bit of brown sugar
Molasses or a bit of honey
Salt and pepper

Dump it into a big skillet and heat through and through simmering a while to let it blend or put it in a baking dish and bake. Either way its good.

[old_lady_in_the_shoe]

We are not "huge" bean fans either but with things "being" the way that they are, we are trying to eat more of the to "stretch the budget" . Insted of just making random pots of beans and forcing the kids to eat them. I have been making a big pot, and splitting it up into smaller amounts and putting them in the freezer in 1 or 2 cup sizes in zip lock baggies. I have been adding them to "an already tried and true family recipe" to stretch it out more. This way my family is already use to the food and we just "change it up a bit". My favorite is to add the beans to meats that are for casseroles (pintos are my fav for that) You can also take white beans (navy is good for this) and cook them and take a cup or so and put in the blender or food processor and make a nice smooth creamy bean mix that is great to add to recipes. If you make anything with a white sauce, you can add 1/2 - 1 cup of this creamy bean mix. Make the creamy bean mix smoother by adding a bit of chicken broth, or milk to it while in the food processor. Once you start adding beans to your already tried and true recipes, then start removing part of the meat or other "more expensive" parts of the recipe slowly and you and your family will not even notice. The key to this is to have the beans cooked and ready, already in the freezer in 1 or 2 cups amounts so they are there when you need them.

also, don't forget to add beans to soups and stew too, 1 cup at a time so it isn't to different from what you are use to...it stretches a soup meal, adds protein, not to mention that it "isn't that noticable" too.

[spyzvixxen]

Not much of a help here. I usually stir canned pinto beans into yellow rice. I also use dry peas or lentils when I have a leftover ham bone to make soup.

[MyMelody]

If you already like refried beans, then branch out to bean burritos and enchiladas ... they would be awesome in a pan topped with red sauce, cheese, and chopped olives! Add a side of Spanish rice and maybe salad, and dinner's done.

Try soup recipes that use beans, like taco soup or ham n' bean. You might like spice with your beans to up the flavor and help you adjust to their taste; salsa's good with pinto and black beans, and navy beans are yummy with a little liquid smoke, salt, and pepper. I love red beans and rice, and you can put your favorite sausage in there to personalize it (I just use basic smoked beef sausage, but andouille is classic). Beans over rice with a little meat or none at all, plus a side of cornbread or garlic bread, is one of life's simply delicious pleasures!

[mom2bobsarah]

A lot of times I just make a little dip of refried beans and a little cheese. I microwave it and dip pita chips into it. Great for lunch or an afterschool snack.

[Thevail]

I've found that for us cooking the beans in some sort of sauce, soup, or seasonings for a long time is really important. Then they just taste like whtever you cooked them in.

Also 1/2 cup of the pureed cooked beans can stretch and even improve gravy.

[tiff]

I love this recipe for tomato and bean soup. You can use any beans you like.

http://www.recipezaar.com/Tomato-and-Bean-Soup-128452