Tacos are my birthday meal! They have been my favorite ever since I was a kid. So last year my birthday fell on supper club night and we had a taco party. I was shocked when I realized I had not posted about it yet!
In fact, the only taco post I have made was more than a year ago with a homemade taco burger using bulgur wheat. So I owe you all some taco recipes!
Like my homemade taco seasoning it tastes way better than store bought and it doesn’t have a lot of additives that I don’t really like to eat. I use it on fajita style veggies, in my chili, and of course to make taco meat! If I don’t have time to make the homemade bulgur burger I use a store bought ground meat substitute or some TVP Beef Bits. They all work great!
But one of my favorite parts of a taco is the beans. I really love refried beans. I have a friend who moved here from Mexico and she showed me how her family makes refried beans, so I thought I would share that recipe with you too!
Refried Beans
- 2 cups dry beans (pinto, black, red, pink, cranberry, or combination)
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- ½ teaspoon garlic, minced (optional)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Soak and cook beans overnight.
- Drain off soaking water. Add fresh water at least 2 inches over the beans.
- Add onion and garlic. Bring to boil over high heat, reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 hours.
- Using a slotted spoon, scoop beans into a food processor or blender, reserving some of the water. Add oil and salt to blender; blend mixture until smooth, using reserved water as needed to achieve desired consistency. Depending on the size of your blender, you may need to blend the beans in two batches.
Taco Seasoning Mix
- 1/3 cup ground cumin
- ¼ cup salt
- 2 tablespoons onion powder
- 1 ½ tablespoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Mix all ingredients together; store in an airtight container.
