Thursday, January 24, 2013

Amazing easy black beans, and using what you have

Lately I've had a renewed fervor in not wasting anything. I've been doing pretty well. We've been managing to integrate even small amounts of leftovers into other meals. It's actually been useful to not have a "meal plan" so much as it's a plan based around what needs to be used soonest. I need a plan for a lot of potatoes, but those will keep a while longer. 

Tonight I had a cooked chicken breast and a lot of salsa I needed to use. There's lots of recipes for salsa chicken that would have been fine, except that I only had one chicken breast to use and, of course, it was already cooked. 

I also have all those beans. So.... Nachos! Why not? Kids love nachos! OK, well, most people love nachos. And we had all the things we needed to make it. First step, those black beans. 

It's painfully easy. But oh so good. I've made them for other people, and everyone's gone gaga over it, wanting to know my secret. There's no secret. There isn't even any effort. And it's a simple ratio. For each can of black beans(drained and rinsed), add a cup of salsa and a tablespoon of minced garlic. I made two cans, so two cups of salsa and two tablespoons of garlic. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20-30 minutes. Amazing. 


The nachos themselves were simple. Just chips, cheese, chunks of chicken, black beans, salsa, and sour cream. 


The kids were happy enough. Ansel even hugged me because he liked the beans so much.


Oh yea, and I froze the beans we didn't eat. I really just wanted to use up salsa. But now we have beans for later.

1 comment:

  1. Those nachos look so good! I may have to make those for my kids!
    OvertiredMommy.com

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