Give Them Something Better

Tag: Beans

It’s A Meatless Monday Taco Party!
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
1. Soak and cook beans overnight.
2. Drain off soaking water. Add fresh water at least 2 inches over the beans.
3. Add onion and garlic. Bring to boil over high heat, reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 hours.
4. 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
1. Mix all ingredients together; store in an airtight container.
February 16, 2015
Garbanzo Sandwich Spread
I love a good sandwich; so when I saw this Garbanzo Sandwich Spread on the Minimalist baker blog I had to give it a try! I made a few adjustments to suit my own tastes and I really like it. I hope you like it too!

On a side note I am really loving that blog! I have tried several recipes and they have all came out great. And the pictures are AMAZING!

Garbanzo Sandwich Spread
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- ¼ cup roasted sunflower seeds
- 3 tablespoons vegan mayo
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup chopped red onion
- ½ tablespoon dried dill weed
- ½ teaspoon sweetener of choice (optional)
- salt to taste
- Optional toppings: sliced avocado, onion, tomato, and/or lettuce for serving.
Garlic Herb Sauce
- ¼ cup plain hummus
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¾ teaspoon dried dill weed
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Water to thin (If sauce is too thick)
- Salt to taste
1. Prepare garlic herb sauce by mixing all the ingredients and set aside.
2. Add garbanzos to a food processor and process until broken up. (it works great if they are different textures; some more whole, and some more mashed up.)
3. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
4. To build a sandwich by spread a little sauce on a slice of whole grain bread, then top with some of the garbanzo spread. Add avocado, onion, tomato and lettuce as desired.
Slightly Adapted from this recipe http://minimalistbaker.com/chickpea-sunflower-sandwich/
February 9, 2015
Meatless Memorial Day: Black Bean Burgers
Memorial day is the traditional beginning of summer. So the question is: what does a vegan eat on memorial day? Which is followed by the real question–Don’t you miss eating the flame grilled burgers and hot dogs? The answer is an emphatic NO!

The reality is I eat better as a vegan than I ever did as a carnivore! Here is how I do it–

Black Bean Sliders
- 1 can (15 ounces) re-fried black beans or 2 cups cooked black beans, mashed
- 1 ½ cups quick oats
- 1 medium onion, diced fine
- 2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten flour
- 1 ½ tablespoons beef-like seasoning
- 1 tablespoon parsley
- 1 clove garlic, minced
1. Pre-heat oven to 400˚ and prepare cookie sheet by spraying with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Form into patties and place on oiled cookie sheet.
4. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 20 minutes.
5. Remove cover, flip patties and bake for 10 more minutes.
May 27, 2014
Meatless Monday: Navy Bean Soup
About 18 years ago I decided to cut all dairy products from my diet. At that time, I had no idea that there was even a word for that kind of diet…vegan, let alone, other people and cookbooks that were vegan. The first few months were very hard. I found a cookbook, which shall remain nameless, that I tried to use but the recipes tasted horrible. And then by divine providence I came across the Country Life Cookbook. It was amazing—the food was not only edible it was really good!

But somehow in the flood of cookbooks and blogs and recipes that is now available, I had forgotten about my first favorite cookbook. So last week I was in search of a new soup recipe and I remembered the Navy Bean Soup from the Country Life Cookbook. It is so good, why had I stopped making it? And for an added bonus, it even has greens in it! It’s a great way to eat my greens, because I usually don’t like them.

Navy Bean Soup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup onions, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 cups water
- 2 cups potatoes, diced
- 2 cups kale or collared greens
- 1 ¾ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
- 3 cups cooked navy beans or 2 cans
1. Sauté onions and garlic in a medium sized soup pan.

2. Add the remaining ingredients and cook for 20-30 minutes until potatoes are tender.

I hope you enjoy the soup! The chips on the side in the picture are a new version of the Chili Cheese Frito recipe I posted last week. This time I used Mrs. Dash’s Fiesta Lime seasoning with some salt and yeast flakes. Very yummy.
February 10, 2014
Meatless Monday: Baby, It’s Cold Outside – White Chili
I certainly didn’t choose to live in Michigan for the weather. It’s freezing and the snow is up to HERE! We eat a lot of chili at this time of year to keep us warm. To change things up a bit we like to make a white chili, instead of a traditional red chili. White chili is made with white beans and chicken instead of the original hamburger and red beans. It is creamy and white with a little zip from cayenne.

White Chili
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 ½ tablespoons minced garlic
- 4 cans (15 ounces) great northern beans, rinsed and drained
- 4 cups water
- 1 can (7 ounces) chopped green chilies
- 2 tablespoons Chicken Style Seasoning
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 cups Chicken Substitute (homemade gluten or your favorite store bought variety)
- 1 container (8 ounces) Tofutti soy sour cream
1.     Heat oil in a large pot over medium. Add onion and garlic; cook until softened, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes.

2.     Add the remaining ingredients, except Gluten Steaks and sour cream, and bring to a boil over high heat.

3.     Stir in the Gluten Steaks and sour cream. Reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, 30 minutes.
January 27, 2014