Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Frijoles Refritos

No news flash here.
Beans are cheap.
I have canned my own jars of whole pinto beans for the last couple of years and I LOVE it! We eat beans a lot more than we used to and they taste SO much better than the kind you buy at the store. So today I'm going to share how I make EASY refried beans from my own home-canned beans. First, a blender:
This is a no brainer. I just throw the beans into the blender and let it do its magic. This is what it looks like: The end product is pretty runny. It works, but I'm going to tell you how to make it better. My friend, Maria, taught me how to do this:Take some garlic and onions and jalapeno and chop them up and saute them with a little oil, or actually a couple of tablespoons of oil....After the onions are soft, take them out and set them aside. Then throw those runny beans in the hot pan and stir.And stir, and stir......
Then something happens to the starch, something scientific which I have no idea how to explain. The beans get thick-maybe the liquid evaporates off....And then you have this:Nice and thick and creamy "refried" beans. You don't have to put in a pound of lard (although that is why the Taco Bell refried beans are so creamy and rich!) and they taste yummy! Then you can slap them on some crispy tortilla shells or in burritos, or whatever.
And then you have to make another batch because everyone loves them so much, they want more!

10 comments:

Momza said...

YES! I will make this! I always buy the vegetarian-style refried beans hoping to cut out some of the fat--but here it is--no fat!
Thanks a heap!

Lisa said...

Yummy! I am going to have to try this. Thanks!

Patrice said...

Ooooh, yummy! I am planning on making beans today. My good friend is teaching a bean class.

Allyson said...

I must say ooooo YUCK! I don't like beans. I just learned that you can soak your beans, puree them up, and then use them as a substitute for oil. A canning specialist made brownies with beans and you could not tell--they were delicious! She said she uses beans in everything! TOO COOL!

Debbie said...

I love refried beans but hate paying over a buck a can. So I only get them when they are on sale which is hardly ever. I am excited to try this. You have the BEST tips.

Lori said...

Delicious! You are so motivating...I love beans!

Kassi Jane said...

i will have to try those! they look good!

Jessica said...

YUMMY MOM! I am going to try that and trick Chris into homemade refried beans...he thinks that canned refried is the only way to go!

GGMA said...

They sound delicious. Maybe when you visit the next time?

alpinekleins said...

That is amazing! I didn't know that, I'll be making our own refried beans from now on. Sounds delicious!

Kristin