I see that some of you (liamsmom & melsb) use black beans quite often. What do you do with them?? I myself do not like any beans, but I am looking for some tips/recipes to make black beans (or any other) for my family.

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Nothing is as important as passion. No matter what you want to do with your life, be passionate.
Jon Bon Jovi

A great use for them as a side dish that's a huge hit in my own...

I cook up the black beans...mix them with a little onion and sour cream...My dd's and dh love them this way!!

I use beans in alot of my recipes as I love beans. I use black beans in my soups, chili's, casseroles..you name it...

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Happily married to my geek
Proud homeschooling, cloth diaperin, attached parenting, slinging, simplier, breastfeedin, sewing mama mades, christian and funky mama

We use black beans a lot but Dh's family is from South America, where it's a staple. I make black beans and rice all the time and then feijoada (Brazilian Black Bean Stew) with them, black bean soup etc

I am not a fan of beans, but I'll eat black beans. I've never made beans from dry beans - I use the canned black beans. I put them in chili instead of chili beans. Another thing I do is make a black bean salad in the summer. I take a can or 2 of black beans, rinse them really well. I then add a drained can of corn. I chop up whatever veggies I have on hand - red or yellow peppers, onions, broccoli, celery, seedless cucumber. I mix it all together & pour italian dressing over it, or greek dressing, and maybe add a little crumbled feta cheese. Lasts for days in the fridge.

Not really a side dish but I have a Black Bean Mexican type dip for chips that is super yummy! If you want I can post it for you

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3 large tomatoes, diced
3 cups cooked black beans, drained
1 small clove fresh garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 can Rotel*
juice of one lime
1 large jalapeno**, chopped
2 cups (uncooked) tube pasta


1. Combine all ingredients, except pasta, and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow flavors to combine.

2. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain, and serve tomato and bean mixture over hot pasta.

I used homemade salsa, approximately 1 cup

From Another site and good!

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*Wife to Rick since (14 years)*
~Mom to 2 boys Dakota 13 & Ryan 9~
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~Month~Budget~Spent~
February~400.00~380.35(under 19.65)
March~400.00~419.65(over 19.65)
April~400.00~395.94(under 4.06)
May~400.00~391.53(under 8.47)
June~375.00~373.13(under 1.87)
July~375.00~365.62(under 9.38)
August~365.00~363.24(under 1.76)
September~355.00~292.74(under 62.26)
October~345.00~345.00(even)
November~350.00~352.81(over 2.81)
December~340.00

This is good for an appatizer too.

6 (whole) quesadillas -- about 3 full servings

1 can (15 ounces, or about 1 1/4 cups freshly cooked) black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 of a 15-ounce can of corn, drained
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup cooked chicken*, chopped into thin, small pieces
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
12 flour tortillas (soft taco size)
Sour cream, for serving
Salsa, for serving


1. Combine the first 7 ingredients in a bowl for the filling.

2. Coat 1 side of the tortillas with a small bit of olive or vegetable oil. Lay half of the tortillas, oil side down, on cookie sheets.

3. Spoon filling mixture onto tortilla,s dividing evenly among them. Top with remaining tortillas, oil side up.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until filling is warm and melted and tortillas start browning. Flip quesadillas halfway through the cooking time to brown both sides of the quesadillas.

5. Cut each quesadilla into quarters with a pizza cutter and serve with salsa and sour cream.

__________________
*Wife to Rick since (14 years)*
~Mom to 2 boys Dakota 13 & Ryan 9~
__________________________________



~Month~Budget~Spent~
February~400.00~380.35(under 19.65)
March~400.00~419.65(over 19.65)
April~400.00~395.94(under 4.06)
May~400.00~391.53(under 8.47)
June~375.00~373.13(under 1.87)
July~375.00~365.62(under 9.38)
August~365.00~363.24(under 1.76)
September~355.00~292.74(under 62.26)
October~345.00~345.00(even)
November~350.00~352.81(over 2.81)
December~340.00

Great recipes. Now how can I actually hide them in food so that the kids will eat them??? Next time I make tacos, I am going to cook up my hamburger and mash up some black beans and mix it all up. I just know that the second my kids see the beans they will not eat them.

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Nothing is as important as passion. No matter what you want to do with your life, be passionate.
Jon Bon Jovi

That sounds like a good idea for the tacos. It should work. I love black beans. I don't really have any other ideas. My kids like beans pretty much.

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I have nothing to declare except my genius."
- Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) upon arriving at U.S. customs 1882

I use black beans in my mexican lasagna. It has taco meat, cheese, corn, black beans and tortillas layered up in a pan or crock pot and cook until cheese is melty....Mmmmm.

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Mommy to Hope (10.10.06)
Monkey mommy to Allyson (10.13.02)