I don't buy.... refried beans

I really enjoy Mexican food and have long loved refried beans. When I was in college I often purchased refried beans to make burritos with, eat with corn chips, etc. While that was pretty cheap fair for a college student I have worked hard to make our food budget for our family even cheaper and healthier. This has caused me to make my own refried beans.

  To make refried beans the first step is to cook the dry beans (you could use canned beans but that would add to your cost and make it less healthy).  For refried beans I generally use pinto beans or dried field peas (not green split peas- these are brown). I think you could probably use about any bean you have on hand.

To cook the beans I wash them and then cover them with plenty of water and I usually do the quick soak method where I bring them to a boil and then turn them off and let them sit for an hour. Otherwise you could soak them overnight (without the bringing to a boil). After soaking I drain off the water and put fresh water on and then cook on a medium heat until the beans are soft.

 To make the refried beans I like to fry a bit of chopped garlic (and onion sometimes) in a little oil (bacon grease or any cooking oil) and meanwhile I use my hand held blender to puree the cooked beans with some of the water still in it. If you don't have a handheld blender then you could also mash them by hand with a potato masher or stick them in your regular blender. Add your mashed beans (with some liquid and possibly some taco sauce) in the pan with the garlic. Also add salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder and any other seasoning that you would like and cook and stir.

  That's all it takes! You can make a big batch and freeze it for later if you like. Adjust it to suit your tastes however you like.  Here are a bunch of different recipes you can look at for ideas. This is extremely cheap food and yummy too.

We enjoyed it in burritos yesterday, they are also good in tacos and many casseroles and just served plain with cheese and salsa and rice.

Enjoy!

 I would love to hear if you make refried beans! Please share your tips and ideas.
I am linking this to Frugal Friday at Life as MOM.