Beans, Beans, The Magical Food!

A few weeks ago, I read about a couple who decided to try to eat all their meals on $1 a day each and blog about it. I was enthralled by their blog and quickly began thinking about how much we spend on food.



I am pretty thrifty with the grocery bill and we often eat at home BUT I know that I could do better. They included a recipe for refried beans made in the crock pot. This intrigued me and I decided to give their recipe a try but with a few adjustments. This couple is vegan and I'm a carnivore. I knew the beans would need some animal fat and meat to make me happy.



Refried Beans (ala ReeBeckiSupergirl)
makes 8 servings

1 cup dry pinto beans (.54 cents)
1 cup black beans (.86 cents)
3 cloves garlic (.12 cents)
1 tsp. chili flakes (.08 cents)
salt to taste (.04 cents)
2 oz salted pork ($.49)
3 cups water (free!)
3 cups chicken broth ($1.20)

1. Rinse the pinto beans and soak them overnight. Rinse well.
2. In a crock pot, add pinto beans, 3 cups water, 3 cups chicken broth, garlic, chili, salt and salted pork.
3. Cook on high heat for approximately 8 hours.
4. When beans are very soft, pour off water as necessary to drain beans.
5. Use a potato masher to mash beans to desired consistency.

Cost:
Whole batch: $3.33
Serving: $0.42

While my recipe is a bit more costly than the original one, it is quite tasty and still really cheap!



I'm also pretty psyched that I found a great use for these jars! Bean storage!