Beans!

[CAFarmerGirl]

I love beans and they are great for the budget, but I almost never cook them as my family doesn't really like them.

Does anyone have any good ideas for incorporating more beans/lentils into our everyday cooking/meals?

Kid friendly recipes?

Thanks!!

 

[stich1fan]

DD, 5, loves this but it uses meat too.

2 lb mushroom
1lb chop meat (beef or turkey)
1 can white beans (sometime I use 2 cause we love them)
Worcestershire sauce


Cook meat in pan, drizzle with Worcestershire sauce. As it browns, add mushrooms and beans. Cook till the mushrooms are as tender as you like them.

It is suppose to be a meatloaf but we make it just as a mix.

Very simple and DD eats it up!

 

[HunnyPots]

When I make tacos, I use 1 pound of ground beef and 1 can of black beans plus about a half cup of water and seasonings. I love the flavor it adds and I can feed twice as many for about .69 more!

I've also made a really good white chicken chili that is mostly white beans but I can't find the recipe now. I'm sure it will come up if you google it.

 

[Gator Bait]

I use a lot of beans, but I am lucky that my kids are not picky eaters! I made a pot of butter beans with ham last night for dinner and they inhaled them.

Other ways I use beans:

white chicken chili (white beans)
toasted chickpeas (they beg for them!)
taco salad (kidney beans mixed with meat)
black beans in taco meat
15 bean soup with smoked sausage
red beans and rice
tostadas with refried beans
burritos
black bean soup

 

[marmalade]

When I make tacos, I use 1 pound of ground beef and 1 can of black beans plus about a half cup of water and seasonings. I love the flavor it adds and I can feed twice as many for about .69 more!

I've also made a really good white chicken chili that is mostly white beans but I can't find the recipe now. I'm sure it will come up if you google it.

I do this with my taco meat and I also add some rice to stretch it even further.

My kids currently love beans, but they are only 5 and 6 and haven't been corrupted by their peers yet. You can throw black beans in a lot of things, meatloaf, mac n cheese, soups. I asked my DD what she wanted for dinner the other night and she pulled out a can of peas, a can of black beans and a can of corn. I made a taco style soup out of it using diced tomatoes and ground beef and rice.

 

[Gator Bait]

That sounds delicious!

 

[Califgirl]

I just made a recipe last night. It was from eatathomecooks.com - I think someone said a DISer runs that website, but I'm not sure.

I used:
a can of black beans, (drain well)
a small can of corn
3/4 cup salsa (I used more)
1 cup grated cheese (with more for top if you want)
a large can of cooked chicken (but you can use left over rotisserie chicken, or turkey @ 2 cups?)
5 tortillas cut up (I think the recipe called for 10, but it seemed like too many to me.)

Grease a casserol dish, mix all the ingredients in, bake at 350 for 30 min. or until hot.
Easy!

 

[candielips]

I love beans as well!

I add black beans to a tossed salad w/ greens, onions, and tomatoes.
I add chick peas to my curry chicken, which helps thicken it and stretch it out.
I add every kind of bean imaginable to my chili.
I also make a vegetable soup with 2 cans of a six bean blend.
You can add a can of refried beans to a soup to thicken it up. I do mine with chicken broth, chicken breasts, a jar of salsa, and a can of refried beans.

Just some ideas off the top of my head. I am sure more will come to me.

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

I use a lot of beans, but I am lucky that my kids are not picky eaters! I made a pot of butter beans with ham last night for dinner and they inhaled them.

Heh...maybe if I were a better cook, they would like them! My kids do like baked beans with hot dogs and black beans in taco soup. However, they do not care for my ham hock bean soup...but, it may be my cooking!!

What is a pot of butter beans? Are they sold in cans and you just cook a pot of them?

 

[Gator Bait]

I use dried beans. They're actually large lima beans... I don't know why, but we have always called them butter beans! I soak them overnight, then put them in the crock pot with a ham bone, some diced onion and celery, a little garlic, chicken stock and lots of pepper. Sometimes I throw a bay leaf in there, but I was out yesterday. When the beans start to get tender, add salt.

A pot of beans is not for everyone... the texture can be a little weird. It's probably not your cooking at all. I seriously have weird kids who love things like brussels sprouts and spinach.