Trim the Budget | Black Bean Recipes | The Family Homestead Archives

 

Beans are a great way to stretch the grocery budget. Black beans have been a favorite in my family for many years.

In this post I'm sharing a few black bean recipes from The Family Homestead (my previous website).

You can add meat to any of these recipes or serve them meatless.

*****************************

Black Bean Burritos

6 cups cooked black beans
2 cups salsa
1 cup shredded carrots
8 oz. cream cheese
6 to 8 whole wheat tortillas
6 cups cheese


This recipe makes a large 11x15 casserole. If this is too much for your family I would recommend that you make 2 of them in a 9x9 casserole dish and freeze one, unbaked. In the morning I get my black beans cooking. It takes approx. 3 cups dry beans to have 6 cups cooked beans (you may have a few left over that can be frozen and added to soup in the future). I cook my 3 cups beans in about 12 cups water and 1 T. salt for 2 ½ to 3 hours. After these have cooked you can then assemble your meal or refrigerate them and do it later in the afternoon.

Mix your black beans (with some of the liquid from cooking, don’t make it too soupy, you can always add more water if needed), salsa and shredded carrots together and simmer for about 15 minutes to give the carrots time to soften up. Add the cream cheese and stir and mix until the cream cheese has melted and is mixed in well. Grease your baking pan (or pans) and begin to make layers like lasagna. First layer is tortillas, next is bean mixture, next is cheese, and then you start with tortillas again, ending with cheese. Bake this at 350 for about 30 to 35 minutes until it is nice and hot and bubbly.

Serve this with extra salsa on the side and sour cream, if desired. I serve homemade cornbread and a nice garden salad to round out this meal.

You could use hamburger in this meal if you wanted to and reduce the beans by the volume of hamburger used

*****************************

Black Bean Sloppy Joes
Serves 8 to 10

1 lb hamburger
4 to 5 cups cooked beans, we like to use black beans
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 green or red pepper, chopped
1 ½ cups ketchup, fruit sweetened if possible
2T Worcestershire sauce
1 6oz. can tomato paste
¾ cup water
2 to 3T apple cider vinegar, according to taste
3T sugar
1t dry mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Brown hamburger with onions and green pepper. Add cooked beans. In a small bowl mix remaining ingredients. Add to hamburger bean mixture and simmer long enough to get everything hot and blend flavors.

Serve on homemade whole wheat French Bread Rolls.

*****************************

Black Beans with Cheese and Tortilla Chips

This is a very plain and simple recipe to make. If you like the taste of black beans and you like Mexican food, this will be a hit in your home too!

Cook up a pot of black beans. Here is how I do it:

In a large pot (6 to 8 qt.) combine 3 cups black beans and 10 cups water along with 1 T. salt. Bring to boil and let this cook for about 3 hours. Check to see if you need to add more water during cooking to prevent beans from drying out.

Now for the rest of the recipe:

Ladle spoonfuls of black beans with a bit of the bean broth in serving bowls. Sprinkle with cheese, and sour cream. We spoon salsa over the top as well. Serve with warmed up tortilla chips that can be used as scoops to eat. I serve a salad alongside for a colorful and delicious meal.

*****************************

Black Bean Spaghetti

4 (15 oz) cans diced tomatoes
2 to 4 cups cooked black beans
~cook black beans up earlier in the day to have ready for this
1 T Italian seasonings
3 T sugar

In a blender combine all the cans of diced tomatoes. If your blender cannot hold all 4 cans, do 2 cans at a time. Put pureed diced tomatoes into a 6 qt. stock pot on stove. Add beans, seasonings and cane juice crystals. Bring to boil and simmer until heated through. Serve over whole wheat spaghetti noodles.

Optional: Add ½ lb ground beef along with the beans